In fig season we can’t get enough – juicy ripe figs stuffed with cheese, wrapped in prosciutto, roasted with honey or eaten whole in one bite if they are small enough, just delicious. These Fig, Goat Cheese and Rosemary Ficelles take advantage of fresh figs and their affinity for tart goat cheese. We serve the bread along with olives and small dishes as an appetizer. It’s also a great accompaniment to a charcuterie board or
Olive Rosemary Focaccia
Salty, crispy crunchy flatbread like this green olive focaccia with rosemary and garlic calls to me when I want a savory snack or unusual sandwich bread. For months I’ve imagined how this Olive Rosemary Focaccia would taste. My palate craved crunchy and chewy dough squares topped with briny olives. I made this recipe to use up a jar of briny olives and some excess sourdough starter. (You can make it without the starter, but your
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Almond Romesco Sauce
Hot weather means cold food. We cook early in the day before our kitchen heats up. And we rely on a rotation of dishes to beat the heat including this Almond Romesco Sauce. Spanish romesco sauce is made from charred tomatoes and almonds or walnuts, which give it a dark undertone. Almonds in place of walnuts and roasted red peppers in place of tomatoes changes the flavor profile, lightening the sauce. There’s not much to
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Sourdough Parchment Crackers
For anyone that loves crunchy foods, these Sourdough Parchment Crackers are for you. Sturdy yet paper thin, they deliver the kind of snap I cannot resist. I call them parchment because you can see right through them. Delicate yet crisp, I defy you to eat just one. Jump to Recipe With everyone exploring sourdough bread making, there is a good deal of starter to discard. (For the uninitiated, when you make starter to leaven your
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Apricot Cherry Frangipane Tart
Anytime I see ripe fresh apricots I buy them. Apricot growers have upped their game. New storing techniques help preserve their flavor. Now they entice enough to inspire me to make desserts like this Apricot Cherry Frangipane Tart. Jump to Recipe To make this tart, I adapted the sweet tart dough recipe from On Baking, the textbook I co-author. Sweet tart dough bakes into a crisp shortbread-like crust. Use it when you are making a
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Sourdough Crackers
Anyone who gives life to sourdough starter knows that it is a hungry pet. You feed the flour and water mixture with more flour and water twice a day, just like the family dog. You end up with a bubbling vat of starter capable of making a billowy loaf of bread. And a lifetime commitment to keep the thing alive. Sourdough Crackers help use up some of the excess starter. And they are addictingly good.
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One Step Brioche
As close to cake as any yeast bread, brioche relies on butter, eggs and an overnight fermentation to develop its delectable flavor. This One Step Brioche recipe does not skimp on the butter, but it is made more quickly that its French cousin. Rich dough like this one for brioche requires a thorough kneading. For this reason, I always mix such doughs in a stand mixer or food processor. In this recipe, I use my
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Experimental No Knead Bread
No Knead Bread launched more fine baking careers that I can count. And it brought the craft of home made yeast bread back to kitchens around the world. Many professional bakers were introduced to no-knead bread when Canadian chef and baker James MacGuire wrote about it as a thought experiment in The Art of Eating newsletter. He wanted to come up with a way to capture the texture and crust of a French baguette at
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Lemon Glazed Cinnamon Raisin Buns
Weekend bakers look for projects that make them shine. And taste delicious. These Lemon Glazed Cinnamon Raisin Buns fit the bill. So much so that Charlie ate two of them in one day, a record for someone who finds an English muffin a little sweet. Inspiration for this recipe came a friend, a novice baker looking to make cinnamon rolls. Searching for a reliable dough for her to make, I realized that the one I
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Veal Marengo with Green Almonds
Green almond season has me thinking of ways to use this symbolic food, the first fresh green thing to appear in many orchards. Seeing veal in the local store gave me the idea to revisit an old chestnut, Veal Marengo. It is a classic preparation for an elegant yet homey dish of veal stewed with tomatoes and mushrooms. Adding green almonds proved to be a lucky hunch. When cooked, the green almonds taste like cooked
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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




