Wednesday, April 29

Digestivo Mandorlato – Priscilla’s Green Almond Liqueur

Priscilla's Green Almond Liqueur

The Mediterranean region provides inspiration for many of the things I make with almonds. In that almond-growing region, there is a tradition of eating immature fruits and nuts that we don’t hear too much about in the U.S. let alone the Northeast where I live. (Although Turkeywood Farms in Mystic, CT is distilling shagbark hickory to make a sweet syrup I love.) This is my signature spirit, Digestivo Mandorlato – Priscilla’s Green Almond Liqueur Think of

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Monday, April 20

My Almond Lexicon – Green Almonds

Almond botanical illustration from Germany circa 1903

“Green almonds” mean a number of things. Newborn Almonds – Almond buds start to appear on the tree right after the bloom, which appears in early winter. (It’s February to March in California and a week or two earlier in the Mediterranean.) As soon as the bloom drops, a tiny budlet appears on the tree. That’s our newborn green almond. You can easily pop the whole thing in your mouth. It is tender and crunchy.

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Monday, April 06

Green Almonds, a Celebration of Spring

Green almonds, a celebration of spring

These fuzzy green pods are green almonds. These baby nutlets appear on almond trees after the blooms fall. Green almonds, a celebration of spring, mark the calendar in countries where almond trees grow. Cousin to the peach, plum, and apricot, Prunus amygdalus, the almond is the first fruit tree to bloom in spring. Once the fragrant almond blossoms fall, clusters of pale green pods remain on their branches. Called ‘green almonds’, these embryonic almonds will

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Wednesday, April 01

80 Cakes for Jacques Pépin

Last Friday, members of the International Association of Culinary Professionals honored Jacques Pépin at a gala birthday party in Washington, DC. Under the direction of Bill Yossis, former White House pastry chef, more than 80 people donated cakes made in honor of Jacques’ 80th birthday. I was among them, a nervous wreck. “Of course,” I said when asked. And of course I knew I had to make the cake myself, although Bill had arranged for

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"Let no man fancy he knows how to dine
Till he has learnt how taste and taste combine."

-Horace, Satires, 2.4

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