Transition

Dear readers,
I have transitioned to a new site. I will keep sharing my favorite simple recipes there (and more lovely things). I would love to see you there!

The Scarf and Stripe

love and cupcakes,
Nichol

strawberries, mascarpone & whole wheat bread

This could also be titled, "what you should be eating right now."

Whole wheat bread (lightly toasted), spread with creamy mascarpone cheese, and layered with ruby strawberries. For breakfast, for snack, for a quick tea sandwich.

It is just so lovely. I wish I could say I came up with this on my own.

Leopold (Hugh Jackman) made this for breakfast for Kate (Meg Ryan) in the movie Kate and Leopold. The thoughtful gesture moves her to tears and it is my favorite moment of the movie. (But I do get a bit obsessed with food ideas from movies. Do you have a favorite food/movie moment? I'd love to hear about it.)

I love the simple perfection of summer food.

a few Easter ideas

I hope you find yourself surrounded on Easter with those you love.
If you're in need a little last minute Easter celebration meal inspiration, I submit the following: 

I think these would be quite charming on an Easter table.

It would not be Easter dinner if I wasn't peeling 10 pounds of potatoes to make this.

This has been a regular go-to spring dessert and the tart crust can be made in advance.  

Finally, some bits of leftover ham and Easter dinner veggies could find a new purpose in this dish.

Happy Easter !

lemon blackberry tart

This is gorgeous and simple. I have brought it out for a number of events and people always love the combination of the lemony curd and the buttery crust. I love it because the crust can be made well in advance and the lemon curd and berries are just assembled at the end.

These pictures are not too fantastic and simply do not do it justice. My excuse? This tart was mere seconds away from having the lid of my cake carrier snapped over it in a rush to get out the front door for work.

Do I think homemade lemon curd is better than store bought? Absolutely. However, when pressed for time, energy and plain sanity, there are a number of lovely options at the store. My personal favorite is Trader Joes lemon curd. (It made a memorable appearance here.)

The shortbread tart crust recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa.

lemon blackberry tart

3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
pinch salt
1 10.5 ounce jar of lemon curd
1 to 2 pints of blackberries

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.

2) Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into flat disk. Press the dough into a 10-inch round or 9-inch-square false-bottom tart pan, making sure that the finished edge is flat. Chill until firm.

3) Butter one side of a square of aluminum foil to fit inside the tart and place it, buttered side down, on the pastry. Fill with beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, prick the tart all over with the tines of a fork, and bake again for 20 to 25 minutes mores, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Note from Ina: The tart shell can be baked a day ahead, and the tart can be assembled a few hours before serving. Never refrigerate a baked shell or a finished tart. (Ina is very correct about not refrigerating a baked shell. It gets very tough and seems to pick up every flavor in the fridge and not in a good way.)

4) Spread the tart with the lemon curd (about 3/4ths of the 10.5 ounce jar) and arrange the blackberries on top in whatever fashion you fancy. Sometimes I like a nice neat pattern, other times a shimmery jumbled heap of jeweled fruit. Serve immediately.

vegetable pot pies with puff pastry

 Chicken pot pies were a big deal when I was a little girl. They were generally only served when my parents were going out for the night and we were left in a babysitters care. My mom would pop them out of their individual cardboard boxes and into the oven before she started to get dressed up for the evening. It was actually pretty genius of her because we were so obsessed with them, it distracted us from the fact that our parents were going some where without us. They were of course the premade, frozen kind. But we could not have cared less. We loved the buttery crumbly crust and savory gravy. 

A couple years ago, I attempted a homemade chicken pot pie and it did not turn out so well. It made me pot pie shy and I have not attempted once since. One of the joys of learning to cook is revisiting a recipe that was a previous failure only to see how my own skills have grown. This recipe was such a success I feel that I have to share it. 

The recipe originally is for chicken pot pies but the ones pictured are all vegetable. I have a good friend who showed up at my doorstep the day before with a sack of fresh gorgeous veggies from her garden, including some lovely little turnips (see below- isn't it pretty?) I quite like turnips and they found a nice home in these pies (along with some diced butternut squash, shallot, and peas.) 

 As we move into spring and summer harvest I like to have recipes around that lend themselves to adapting to whatever produce is loveliest now. I think this is one of those recipes.  The original recipe is from Martha Stewart Living.

 

vegetable pot pies with puff pastry

1 shallot, finely chopped

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small turnip, peeled and diced

1 russet potato, peeled and diced

1/2 cup butternut squash, peeled and diced

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

3 thyme sprigs

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

5 teaspoons cornstarch whisked with 2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 package (14 ounces) puff pastry, cut into four squares

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook shallot in oil in a large pot over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add turnip, potato, and butternut squash. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes. 

2) Add wine; simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock; bring to a boil. Add thyme and peas. Season with salt and pepper. Add cornstarch mixture and cream. Bring to a simmer; cook until thick, about 5 minutes.

 3) Divide mixture among four 6-ounce ramekins; top with pastry. Brush with egg. Cut a hole into each to vent. Bake on a baking sheet until golden, 12 to 14 minutes.

4) When finished baking, wallow in their delicious adorableness! 

potato leek soup

Some days are better than others. I came to this conclusion recently when, around 4pm, I realized that the day I was currently in was not so great and had little chance of being salvaged. And yet I also realized that I can't have great days (days of bright sparkling fireworks of beauty, love, grace and butter) without crummy days thrown in along the way. Some how this knowledge helps me release the crummy days a bit more easily.
I also thought of this poem by Longfellow:

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the moldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark and dreary; 

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the moldering past, 

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast

And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life a little rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

For me, potatoes are my comfort food. Mashed, roasted, baked, fried- I will take it all. This soup is simple to put together and the reward for minimal effort is velvety smooth and savory. Interestingly enough, unlike so many potato soups, there is no cream. I promise you will not miss it.

Note: aside from being great comfort food, this is also great party food. We had a Halloween party one year and I served little tea cups of this soup on the buffet. I loved the moment when I turned to see a couple of gentlemen guests carrying tea cups back into the kitchen for refills (several times.)

The recipe is from The Joy of Cooking.

potato leek soup

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 large leeks (white part only), cleaned thoroughly and chopped
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
5 cups chicken stock

1) Melt the butter in a soup pot over low heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned. This will take about 20 minutes.

2) Stir in the potatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.

3) Puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (If feeling fancy, garnish with chives.)

chocolate covered strawberry cake

This is not a humble shy kind of a cake. It is not a quiet restrained kind of a cake. It is a show stopping ta-da! kind of a cake. I like to think that if this cake could talk it would greet me with a "why hello sugar" and a sassy wink. This is not the kind of treat to serve to someone that you are just okay about. This cake a declaration of love, true friendship, and genuine affection.

I think it would be a very appropriate over the top gesture to make this for someone for Valentine's day. See if you get a little "hello sugar" yourself.

chocolate covered strawberry cake
The cake is three main components: north douglas chocolate cake, strawberry buttercream, and chocolate ganache. The creamy light strawberry buttercream frosting is sandwiched between two layers of moist chocolate cake. Then a good dosing of chocolate ganache is poured over all. Each component on it's own is pretty easily done. It is the combination of them together that creates this magical experience.

North Douglas chocolate cake
(link) Follow the recipe for the cake portion only of the North Douglas chocolate cake.

strawberry buttercream frosting
(this recipe is from Martha Stewart)
So, this recipe is a bit fiddly. I will admit to that. It is not particularly tricky or difficult, but it does require some patience to stand in front of a mixer and drop in each little piece of butter and allow it to fully incorporate. But, wow oh wow is it worth it. Friends flip out over this frosting. It is like strawberry cloud heavenly light.

4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, pureed (blitz the strawberries in a food processor)

1) Place whites and sugar in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.

2) Remove from heat, and attach bowl to a mixer. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking well after each addition.

3) Switch to a paddle attachment. With mixer on low, add strawberry puree, and beat until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Use immediately, or cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)

chocolate ganache
(this recipe is from the genius Ina Garten)

1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz good semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

1) Cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

2) When smooth, remove from heat and set aside. Let it cool slightly.

cake assembly
1 pint of strawberries

1) Once the cake has cooled completely, take one of the layers and place it top side down on the serving dish.

2) Pile 3 cups of the strawberry buttercream frosting onto this layer and smooth out to the sides. Be a bit gentle with the buttercream because we did spend some time getting it nice and fluffy. It would sad to lose that to spatula smashing.

3) Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream frosting, top side up. Take the remaining 2 cups of buttercream frosting and fill in the side space between the chocolate cake layers. (Note: do not put any of the buttercream on the top of the final cake layer. This layer will be covered with ganache).

 4) Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake. Gravity will probably pull the gorgeous chocolatey-ness down the edges of the cake, but if not a gentle nudging from a spatula will do the trick. 

5) Wash and cut the tops off the pint of strawberries. Blot the cut top of the strawberry on a paper towel and then arrange cut side down on the chocolate ganache cake.

6) Step back and marvel at the general gorgeous splendor. Share with someone you love.

weeknight chicken noodle soup

During the work week, my husband and I kind of have an unspoken check in around 4:30pm every day. It's that chance for us to say hello and talk about the evening- confirm late meetings, dinner plans, etc. Sometimes that phone call or email is also the first notification that one of us is not feeling well and that what started out as a sore throat in the morning, has now hideously morphed into a sore throat- smashed sinus- throbbing head cold.
Sickness rarely schedules itself at a good time and getting sick in the midst of the midweek whirl of work, activities, and commitments is always lame. When I am sick (or taking care of someone sick), I want to provide comforting soothing things, like soup.  But the time crunch between the end of the work day and the beginning of the dinner hour does not allow a lot of time for homemade soup making. Enter weeknight chicken noodle soup. I make this for those nights (and really anytime) that I crave homemade soup but do not have the time to poach my own chicken or make my own stock. This is not a magic recipe (it still takes some time, I'd say about 45 minutes) but it is made far less laborious by relying on a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and pre-made stock.
Is stock made from scratch the best? Absolutely, no dispute there. However, it is also time consuming. For years, I had read in so many cookbooks that the only real way to make soup was to make one's own stock and I must admit I was so completely intimidated that I did not make soup for a long time. Then I realized that we have to keep living and more often than not this means I use store bought chicken stock in my cooking. I take enormous comfort in knowing that Nigella Lawson uses bouillon cubes or concentrated stock pretty regularly in her recipes.
I hope this soup will nourish you and those you love on busy nights. 

weeknight chicken noodle soup

1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped (I like to cut them on the bias to make them look pretty)
3 carrots, chopped
1 rotisserie chicken
(3) 32 oz. containers of chicken stock
1 16oz. package of egg noodles (I use about 3/4 of the package)
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch Italian parsley

1) Chop the veggies and cook on medium heat in a large pot with a good glug of olive oil (about 1 tablespoon.) Cook until the onions are translucent. (A fun fact: onions, carrots, and celery all cut up together are referred to in French as a mirepoix and are the starting base for many soups and sauces. I've noticed some grocery stores now carry little tubs of pre-cut mirepoix in the produce department.)

2) Pour in the chicken stock and raise the heat to medium high. While the veggies soften up, shred the rotisserie chicken (discard any skin and bones) and add to the pot.

3) Once the stock is simmering, add the noodles and cook until tender (about 11 minutes). This is a good point to taste the broth for flavor. I prefer a good bit of black pepper in my chicken soup (like grandma makes it) and if the broth feels a bit thin, a couple of teaspoons of chicken bouillon can help.

4) Once the noodles are cooked through I like to stir in a large handful of rough-chopped Italian parsley leaves.

5) Serve a large steaming bowl to someone in need of comfort or cheering up.

lemon butter cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and candied lemon peel

I will preface this by saying I realize that lemon cupcakes and November are not a natural fit, but I made these awhile back and have just not gotten around to posting the recipe until now and really they are too scrumptous to wait any longer to share. For a perfect fall recipe, may I suggest apple cardamom cake with caramel frosting? which, ironically, I originally blogged in May.

These cupcakes were made for a friends birthday. Before I make someone a birthday treat, I like to ask what flavor of dessert they would like. A lot of people prefer chocolate (I can not blame them for that). When my friend mentioned that she really loves lemony things, I was excited to try something new.

I have to admit that I have not always loved lemon desserts. Where I grew up, lemons were not easy to come by and so I am afraid that most things were "lemon flavored"- ie the flavor was obtained from one of the small brown glass extract bottles in the cupboard. I always thought those bottles were magical. However, the first time I snuck a sip of vanilla extract (it smells so good! surely it must taste good!) I was sorely disappointed.

Where I live now has lots of lemons. The valley around me was once full of groves of lemons, oranges, and avocados. Neighbors, co-workers, and friends often have lemon trees in their yard. It is not unusual to arrive at work and find a large paper bag filled with lemons sitting out by the coffee. There is no note that accompanies these bags, people just know that their presence is an invitation to take. It is such a happy thing.

For this cupcake I wanted to capture that fresh lemon loveliness. I also love the voluptuous tang of cream cheese with sharper tang of lemon. The cupcake recipe is a variation of a Martha Stewart yellow butter cupcake. The cream cheese frosting is Ina Garten. The candied lemon peel provides that extra hit of concentrated lemon flavor at the end.

Lemon Butter Cupcakes

makes 36 cupcakes
(I almost never get as many cupcakes as a recipe indicates- I think this recipe yielded 30 cupcakes for me. But then I do tend to overfill cupcake tins.)

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
9 ounces (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (rather than add the vanilla, this is where I substituted the zest of 2 small lemons)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

2) Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

3) Reduce speed to low. Mix remaining wet ingredients in a bowl (To make the these cupcakes lemony, this is where I mixed in the lemon zest and omitted the vanilla).

4) Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each full.

5) Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.

6) To assemble the cupcakes: take a cooled cupcakes and slather with a generous portion of cream cheese frosting. Place a little pile of candied lemon peel on top. Enjoy! 

Cream Cheese Frosting
(If ever at a loss for what type of frosting to use, this is always the solution.)

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/ 2 teaspoon pure almond exract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners sugar, sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extracts (for these lemon cupcakes, I omitted the almond extract from the frosting). Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Candied Lemon Peel
makes 1/2 cup

4 lemons 
1 cup sugar

1) Using a citrus zester or vegetable peeler, shred long strips of lemon peel. (I found it helpful here to use a vegetable peeler to strip off the peel and then a small knife to julienne it.)

2) Place strips in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Drain; repeat two more times with fresh water.

3) Place sugar in a clean saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the citrus strips to the boiling syrup; reduce heat and simmer until strips are translucent, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat; let strips cool in syrup, at least 1 hour. Remove from syrup when ready to use.

curry chicken and potatoes

I love when I taste something for the first time and it feels like coming home: warm, inviting, comforting. That is how I feel about this curry.

I have no childhood memories of eating curry. My parents did a wonderful job of introducing my sisters and I to new foods but I do not believe that any type of curry was ever among them.
The summer I was 17, I spent three weeks in India. I was with other kids from all over the states on a short-term missions trip. I was this skinny, wide eyed kid from Alaska. I woke up the first morning saying over and over to myself, "I am in India, I am in India, I am in India." It was amazing.
I always remember my dinner the first night- my brain was still buzzing from the airplanes and the cacophony of sights and sounds during the drive from the airport to where we stayed. At dinner time, we sat down at tables in a dimly lit hall and were served curry potatoes and chipatis. I rolled the potatoes up in the chipati and ate it like a burrito. It was mildly spiced and the potatoes were a soft golden yellow. I felt it filling me up, nourishing me in a new way. For months when I returned back to the states, I dreamed of those curry potatoes.

I did initially made this dish in an attempt to capture some of that early curry love but ended up falling for it for it's own virtues: tender chicken and potatoes soaked through with aromatic broth.

 I have learned that curry powder is really just a mixture of other spices. This original recipe is from the cookbook "The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes" by Judith Finlayson. It does not call for any curry powder, just a blend of spices. However I, very uncharacteristically, did not read the full recipe beforehand. It was only when I started cooking that I realized it called for caradmom pods and not ground cardamom, cumin seeds and not ground cumin. I added what I had of ground spice and in an attempt to salvage the dish, added a few tablespoons of curry powder. It was such a relief when it turned out so well! I love happy mistakes. Below is my adaptation of the recipe and I really love it.

A note about crockpots: This recipe helped usher in a new era of successful crockpot cooking in my household. I say successful because early on in our marriage I had made several valiant attempts at various crockpot dishes but it all ended in such disaster that I gave it up for a few years. It was only after dinner at a friends home, with a delicious roast they made in the crockpot, that I felt sufficiently inspired to give it another try. It really is pretty fantastic at the end of a day to walk into my home and smell a completed dinner.

curry chicken and potatoes

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 1/2 lbs chicken pieces (this can be a whole cut up chicken, but I think it's best with bone-in, skin-on chicken breast)
6 medium potatoes (about 2 lbs- red potatoes work well)
3 yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced gingerroot
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon curry powder 
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 bay leaf
3 cups chicken stock

1) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened.

2) Add garlic, gingerroot, coriander, tumeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, salt and black pepper, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add lemon juice, bay leaf and 2 cups of chicken stock. Reduce heat to low.

3) While the sauce is on low, scrub and peel potatoes. Cut each potato into half length-wise and then each half into thirds. Place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the crockpot and place chicken pieces on top of the potatoes. (You may certainly add more potatoes- it's a great way to stretch this dish for a crowd or for greedy potato eaters.)

4) Pour sauce over chicken, cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

5) Once the chicken is cooked through, remove the pieces from the crockpot and discard the skin and bones. Also, discard the bay leaf. Shred the chicken and add it back to the crockpot, submerging it in the sauce and potatoes. Enjoy!

Beer Bread

Is there anything better than fresh baked bread? Some of my favorite childhood memories are of opening the front door and smelling yeast, flour, honey. Watching my mom pound down dough and then setting it above the wood fireplace for its second rising. Straight from the oven and slathered in butter, it was heaven.

A few years ago I went through a short lived phase where I was baking all our bread. It was a high caloric dream indulgence of fresh baked slices with butter and jam at night and then piles of french toast every other day (we could not waste any bread!). Oh, and BLTs, lots of BLTs- anything to let the bread shine. It was wonderful but very time consuming.

Now when I want fresh bread from the oven, I make this: beer bread. It is laughably easy but so satisfying: just a quick whisk of dry ingredients then fold in the beer and it is ready to bake. The beer helps serve as the leavening agent for the bread. It is dense and full of nuttiness from the oats and hops from the beer.

I love to have this with soup- it is easily mixed together and while the soup simmers, the bread bakes and is ready to eat for a simple super. I also think it is too perfect for breakfast. I have a real crush on this bread.

It is lovely from the oven and but also very good toasted the next day. I do confess, that by the third day, it is done. But that is okay because there are rarely any leftovers that remain that long. This recipe is from The Joy of Cooking.

Beer Bread

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups light or dark beer (but not stout), cold or at room temperature but not flat

1) Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan.

2) Whisk together thoroughly in a large bowl all the dry ingredients

3) Add the beer. Fold just until the dry ingredients are moistened. (please be careful to not over mix). Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center and all the way to the bottom of the pan comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.

chocolate sorbet

As summer days give way to back to school shopping and eventually thoughts of fall, I want to offer up one more frozen treat recipe. I really love my ice cream maker and will make ice cream and sorbet year round but, naturally, this is the season when I crave it. I am also including some pictures of my ice cream maker because, frankly, it is too adorable!

 My husband bought it for me as a 2nd anniversary present and I was so thrilled. I like it's cheery red color. But I love any kitchen appliances. Do you remember the scene from "Father of The Bride" where the whole wedding is almost called off because the groom buys the bride a blender? I first saw that as a kid and even back then I thought she was crazy.

I have learned many things from The Barefoot Contessa and one of them is to be conscious of flavor- for example, that chocolate things should really taste like chocolate. I know that sounds a bit silly, but think about it, haven't there been times when you've tasted something supposedly "chocolate" only to taste just sugar? Ina Garten talks about "turning up the volume" in her cooking and I think this sorbet is a great example of that. It does not have any cream in it but the cinnamon and espresso give a rich full roundness to the chocolate. The result, I feel, is more refreshing than chocolate ice cream. Do not panic, I still love chocolate ice cream, but I feel strongly in giving this sorbet a try.
Also, there is little to match the magic of pulling homemade sorbet out of the freezer to offer a friend (or yourself).

Chocolate Sorbet

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup very good cocoa powder (Ina recommends Pernigotti)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups water
1/4 cup brewed espresso (1 shot)
1 1/2 tablespoons coffee liqueur (Ina recommends Tia Maria, I have a bottle of Starbucks coffee liqueur that only sees the light of day when I am making this)

 1) In a large saucepan, mix the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in 2 cups of water and the espresso. Cook over low heat until the ingredients are dissolved.

2) Off the heat, stir in the coffee liqueur. Transfer to plastic containers and refrigerate until very cold.

3) Freeze the mixture in an ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's directions. The sorbet will still be soft; place it in a plastic container and freeze for 1 hour or overnight, until firm enough to scoop.

candied orange peel

I am blessed to have some really amazing friends. Earlier this summer, one of them pulled a group of us together to go see an outdoor Shakespeare production. It was a perfect June evening and a brilliant production. At intermission, light refreshments were served. To me, they were an example of a simple thing done very, very well. There was a small variety of crackers (water crackers, oat biscuits), a couple of cheeses (blue cheese, brie), dried cranberries and blueberries, glazed pecans, and candied orange peel. This was all served with little glasses of champagne or lemonade. It was just a perfect assortment of things to nibble and the orange peel was a fun zingy sweet surprise. Our little gang of friends had fun coming up with "perfect bite" combination's (my favorite is oat biscuit, brie and orange peel). I decided that I had to steal the idea.
The recipe below is from Martha Stewart. I confess, it is a bit fiddly, but not at all difficult. It is also something that could be completed far in advance.
I intended to take pictures of the orange peel with brie and crackers (as I first had it) but I'll be frank, in my hungry greed I piled it on whatever I had around. This turned out to be some shortbread cookies and creme fraiche. It is certainly not a terrible idea.

Candied Orange Peel

makes 1/2 cup

3 oranges
1 cup sugar

1) Using a citrus zester or vegetable peeler, shred long strips of orange peel. (I found it helpful here to use a vegetable peeler to strip off the peel and then a small knife to julienne it.)

2) Place strips in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Drain; repeat two more times with fresh water.

3) Place sugar in a clean saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the citrus strips to the boiling syrup; reduce heat and simmer until strips are translucent, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat; let strips cool in syrup, at least 1 hour. Remove from syrup when ready to use.