about those cookies…

My dear readers, all five or six of you, I am so sorry I have failed you! I tempted you with photos of cookies, promised to provide the recipes…and never followed through. Now it’s January, when everyone is trying to hit the gym and ignore the sweets, and I am giving you cookies. Delicious, sugary, buttery cookies. While I won’t try to say I’m not wrong, I also won’t say you have to wait until next December to try these out. Cookies are delicious all year round, and as long as we stick to our other resolutions…what’s so wrong with a cookie here and there??

Tags: chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, ginger, ginger snaps, glaze, lemon, lemon cookie, peanut blossom, peanut butter, recipe

dad’s sunday morning pancakes

More often than not, weekend mornings find me craving brunch. Omelets, home fries, someone keeping my coffee full and hot…there’s nothing better, especially if the night before was a late one and involved more than a drink or two. Last night was one of those nights, but this morning was not one of those mornings. I wanted pancakes. My dad’s pancakes.

Tags: breakfast, buttermilk, dad, pancakes, recipe

holiday party treats

Peanut Blossoms and Lemon “slice-and-bakes,” and off to a holiday party! Don’t worry, recipes will follow shortly…

Tags: baking, Christmas, Cookies, holiday

incredible cupcakes (and they’re vegan, too!)

Over the years I’ve had quite a few friends with dietary restrictions (who, coincidentally, often happened to be my roommates). As someone who can and will eat just about anything, this was initially a bit of a road block for my love of baking. How can you make delicious treats without gluten? Without dairy??

Luckily, it’s really not too hard, and it’s also a lot of fun to bake for people who aren’t used to being able to eat cookies or brownies or, in this case, super-moist, insanely delicious cupcakes. What might be even more satisfying is the reaction of non-dietary-restricted people when they find out that what they’re eating is gluten- or dairy-free — generally some incredulous variation of “No way! But it’s so good!” The happy occasion for this particular round of cupcakes was a housewarming party for myself and my lovely, lactose-intolerant roommate.

Tags: banana, chocolate, coconut, cupcakes, dessert, frosting, peanut butter, recipe, treats, vegan

back at the flea

Final outdoor Brooklyn Flea of the season. Final pupusas eaten on a sunny playground ’til spring. Maybe final 60 degree Saturday? (Let’s hope not!)

For those uninitiated, pupusas are a delicious Salvadoran specialty: thick, handmade tortillas stuffed with any number of delicious things like cheese, black beans, chicken and/or chorizo. They’re served fresh off of a flattop grill with cool cabbage slaw, pickled onions, pickled jalapeños, tomato sauce, and sour cream.

They are, honestly, pretty irresistible. I’ve looked up some recipes, but for now I recommend keeping an eye out for Solber Pupusas at the flea and other festivals around the city. You won’t regret it!

Tags: Brooklyn, pupusas

great news!

Guys, TOP CHEF IS BACK!!!

What am I saying? You know that. So, want to know the other exciting news?

I finally caved and got a fancy-pants phone, with all the fancy features, and I downloaded the WordPress app, which means I can now blog to you from an-y-where! I get that this is sort of non-news for you, but just think: now I can send you photos of delicious food while I’m cooking it! Or eating it. Or drooling over it. Things are about to get exciting – and by exciting I mean I promise to post more often than once a month. Because that was totally lame.

So here we go!

bourbon apple pie with pecan streusel

For some reason I actually had off of work for Columbus Day to…think about Columbus? Of course, I wasn’t expecting it at all, but it gave me an opportunity to make some really delicious, though not Columbus-inspired, food. In addition to this yummy pie, I made Vietnamese noodle bowls that I will definitely write about soon. But this pie…this pie is one of the best apple pies I have ever had. Ever. (Modest, I know, but wait until you try it!)

Tags: apples, bourbon, crust, Granny Smith, James McNair, Macintosh, pecan, pie, recipe, streusel