This most definitely requires vanilla ice cream. The combination is glorious. I hope this looks as wonderful as it tastes. Plums are naturally high in pectin so I only used 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. This thickened almost to a jam. Plum Crumble with Pistachios and Cardamom Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 50…
Tapioca Pudding with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
I’m working on the pudding recipes for the cookbook and tapioca is my favorite. If you adore oysters and other foods whose textures are indescribable (not in a good way in my opinion), you undoubtedly can be found at the little storefronts selling humongous-size tapioca floating in an even more suspicious-looking liquid. Tapioca pudding requires,…
Baked Peaches with Pistachios and Rose Blossom Water
Another oldie, one of the most popular recipes from my Lebanese cooking class. This couldn’t be any simpler, just be sure to use the ripest peaches you can get your hands on. I actually used this as a topping on a Victoria sponge for Kendra’s wedding cake, we just sliced the peaches and made a…
Baked Pears with Crystallized Ginger, Cinnamon, and Star Anise
It’s been awhile since the pear tree in front of our house was in bloom. Many pears and apples are every-other-year producers. There’s probably a botanical name for this, but I’m too busy picking fallen pears off the ground so the deer won’t get hit by cars each twilight, that I really don’t have time…
Sour Cherry Clafoutis
With pits. You need powdered sugar to make this a bit more presentable. It was 98 degrees in the kitchen and the clafoutis was cold, so I had to keep mounding on the sugar to get the top photo. Pudding or cake. I guess if we have to choose it’s more towards pudding – and…
Rhubarb, Raspberry, and Grand Marnier Crisp
Who can wait? Certainly not me. Forget that giving-up-sugar thing, please. Rhubarb is at it’s peak season right now. No raspberries yet but I slipped some in from the health food store for color and taste.. Frozen will do. Saw a sign for pick-your-own strawberries up the road. Maybe I should haul myself over there…
The Bestest Brownies
No cocoa powder here. We’re using half a pound of Callebaut chocolate to make this decadent delight. If you are unable to obtain Callebaut chocolate, Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate from the supermarket will do as a stand-in. There’s no way I’m going to add walnuts or chocolate chips to this sticky, soft indulgence. However, if you…
Grandma’s Apple Cake
This is the only thing I ever ate of my Austrian grandmother’s cooking. Every other Sunday we spent the afternoon at Grandma’s house. At 3 in the afternoon the dining room table, permanently covered with a padded plastic tablecloth, would be set with coffee and Grandma’s apple cake. Then would commence the perpetual discussion of…
Plum Perfect Tart
My obsession with plums after making some green gage jam earlier this summer has remained unabated, I was so excited to find these local prune plums. Some crystallized ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla for a classic pairing, then a pinch of black cardamom and star anise added a little mystery. Going all out with not only…