I wasn’t planning on beginning this post for a pie recipe with anything other than a story about how much I liked it, encouraging you to make it. (Which I’ll get to later.) But after I had started writing it, several neighborhoods in Paris came under attack, including mine, and I put everything on hold. Cafés and restaurants that I knew, and areas that I frequent, were…
I wasn’t planning on beginning this post for a pie recipe with anything other than a story about how much I liked it, encouraging you to make it. (Which I’ll get to later.) But after I had started writing it, several neighborhoods in Paris came under attack, including mine, and I put everything on hold.
Cafés and restaurants that I knew, and areas that I frequent, were targets, as was the area around the theatre where my outdoor market is, which suffered the worst of it. Everyone I know is okay, but others were not so fortunate. It’s a crazy world we are living in and often we just see it on television and switch the channels to something more entertaining, so we don’t have to think about it. But when it happens right outside your door, or in a city that you love so much (whether you live there or are just an occasional visitor), you can’t avoid the shock and the grief. In addition to some introspection, my hope is that this will bring a conversation and dialogue that will somehow address why – and how – this happened, and where to go from here.
When it comes to baking and desserts, one doesn’t necessarily think of salt as a flavor. But more and more, I keep considering, and reconsidering, the role that salt plays in just about everything I bake. And because I keep both salted and unsalted butter on hand – I can’t imagine my morning toast without a little salted butter spread over the top – I’ll…
When it comes to baking and desserts, one doesn’t necessarily think of salt as a flavor. But more and more, I keep considering, and reconsidering, the role that salt plays in just about everything I bake. And because I keep both salted and unsalted butter on hand – I can’t imagine my morning toast without a little salted butter spread over the top – I’ll sometimes reach for the salted variety when tackling a baking project or making dessert.
I wasn’t the first person to put salt on dessert; people from various cultures have been sprinkling salt on fresh fruit for ages. And many pastry chefs, as well as some big chocolate companies, have gotten in on the “salt in chocolate” act as well.
But I’ve gotten so used to sprinkling it on sweets that sometimes if I’m having my last course in a restaurant and I think the dessert needs a little perking up, you’ll find me looking around the table for a little bowl of flaky sea salt. Salt is so important to me that I’ll sometimes carry a little wooden box of fleur de sel, which when I’d bring out in restaurants, my co-diners would give me a look as if I was being pretentious. (Then – of course – they’d ask if they could have a pinch too.)
This is one of the simplest fruit tarts to make. Juicy fruits are embedded in a rich almond frangipane, making it easy to slice, and it keeps well, too. So now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about nectarines. Peaches get a lot of press. Yes, they’re juicy and yes they’re sweet. But honestly, I prefer the more assertive flavor of nectarines,…
This is one of the simplest fruit tarts to make. Juicy fruits are embedded in a rich almond frangipane, making it easy to slice, and it keeps well, too. So now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about nectarines.
Peaches get a lot of press. Yes, they’re juicy and yes they’re sweet. But honestly, I prefer the more assertive flavor of nectarines, with their slightly tooth-resistant skin, just enough to provide contrast to the juicy flesh, but not enough to make them necessary to peel. Yay for that as well.
Being a baker, summer is my favorite time of year. Not only are peaches, nectarines, cherries and plums abundant at the market, but as the seasons progress, the volume of fruits lowers the price, and I stock up on whatever I can, whenever I can. At Paris markets, I try to search out producteurs, the vendors who grow the food they sell, and every summer, one in…
Being a baker, summer is my favorite time of year. Not only are peaches, nectarines, cherries and plums abundant at the market, but as the seasons progress, the volume of fruits lowers the price, and I stock up on whatever I can, whenever I can.
At Paris markets, I try to search out producteurs, the vendors who grow the food they sell, and every summer, one in particular shows up at my market with lots of Reine Claude and mirabelle plums, a few different varieties of cherries, plump melons that you can smell standing a few feet away, tender figs, and fresh apricots.
Making the shopping experience even better, were the fellows who sold the fruits. Not only were they easy on the eyes, but they often put punky-looking cherries in baskets, labeling them “for clafoutis” (a nicer way of saying “for baking”) and selling them at a reduced price. This year, there seems to have been a turnover in staff – zut – but the replacements also offer up the imperfect fruit, or even an overload, at a discount.
There’s a certain ease and simplicity to free-form tarts like this. Sometimes they’re called a crostata, sometimes a galette. You can call it whatever you want, but I call it a fast way to use great fruit when it’s in season, without a lot of fuss. At the beginning of summer, when rhubarb is still lingering around, and strawberries are elbowing their way forward, it’s a…
There’s a certain ease and simplicity to free-form tarts like this. Sometimes they’re called a crostata, sometimes a galette. You can call it whatever you want, but I call it a fast way to use great fruit when it’s in season, without a lot of fuss.
At the beginning of summer, when rhubarb is still lingering around, and strawberries are elbowing their way forward, it’s a good thing the two go so well together. And I’m happy to help them hook up.
Everybody loves ice cream, and now more than ever, it’s easier to make ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt at home. While people have been making ice cream before the advent of electricity (so yes, you can make ice cream without a machine), there are several options in various price ranges that make the job easier, with results that your friends and family will love….
Everybody loves ice cream, and now more than ever, it’s easier to make ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt at home. While people have been making ice cream before the advent of electricity (so yes, you can make ice cream without a machine), there are several options in various price ranges that make the job easier, with results that your friends and family will love.
There are a few options to consider when buying an ice cream maker, but rest assured there’s one that’ll fit within most budgets. I’ve got additional information in my book, The Perfect Scoop, the best-selling guide to making ice cream at home,but here is some additional information about the various ice cream machines that are available, to help you make your decision.
(Note that this post contains affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase using a link from this page.)
I’ve used a Cuisinart ice cream machine with a built-in compressor for over a decade with excellent results. Their latest model, the Cuisinart ICE-100 produces great ice cream and the price is right for a self-refrigerating machine. The great thing about a machine with a built-in compressor is that you don’t have to pre-canisters; you can churning your ice cream or sorbet as soon as it’s chilled!
One downside is that some people find the noise bothersome. But it is a machine and machines do make noise. (I’m still waiting for someone to make a noiseless vacuum cleaner!) To minimize noise, keep it in another room when churning ice cream.
The Breville Smart Scoop machine comes with more options, at a higher price point. It offers the ability to pre-cool the machine, change speeds, and will keep the ice cream frozen for up to three hours. Outside of the U.S., these machines are sometimes sold under the Sage brand.
A lower priced option is a machine where you pre-freeze the canister 24 hours in advance before churning, so it requires a little patience, and sufficient freezer room, if you use one.
The upside is the price. These types of machines cost less than $100 (at the time of this writing, the machine above is selling for $69), and machine makes great ice cream as well as being affordable. Krups makes a similar machine, as does Hamilton Beach. (Hamilton Beach also makes a large capacity machine, that lets you freeze 4 quarts at a time, but requires you to add ice and rock salt. White Mountain, founded in 1853, also makes large-capacity machines that require ice and rock salt, and come in both electric and hand-cranked models.)
If you have a KitchenAid mixer, their excellent KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment works very well. I’ve used one extensively and it churns ice cream quickly, and you can adjust the speed easily.
Like other machines that don’t have a built-in compressor, you need to pre-freeze the canister at least 24 hours before you plan to churn your ice cream. So make sure you’ve got the freezer space for it.
Note: If you live outside the United States, KitchenAid mixers have different features and the U.S. ice cream attachment may not be compatible with them.
A new kid on the block is the Ninja Creami ice cream maker. Unlike traditional ice cream churning machines, this one works on the same principle as a Pacojet, a pricey machine used by professionals that can cost up to $8000! In these machines, you freeze the base in a pint container overnight, then place it in the machine and a rotating blade shaves the ice cream into a scoopable mass. The Ninja machine costs around $200 and although I haven’t used one, people are happy with the results.
You can also find more of my recommendations for machines and ice cream making equipment, as well as recipes for all your favorite ice creams, sorbets, granitas, toppings, swirls, and more in my book, The Perfect Scoop, revised and updated!
I’ve been having my own little lemon festival ever since I got a Meyer lemon tree. Meyer lemons aren’t well-known in France (yet), although I have a feeling once people get a taste of their sweet, highly perfumed juice, we may start seeing…
I’ve been having my own little lemon festival ever since I got a Meyer lemon tree. Meyer lemons aren’t well-known in France (yet), although I have a feeling once people get a taste of their sweet, highly perfumed juice, we may start seeing them more and more.
Bergamots aren’t something one runs across every day in the supermarket, or even at greengrocers. But mid-winter, depending on where you live, you just might get lucky and happen across some, as I recently did in Paris. But no matter, this recipe can be made with other kinds of lemon, especially “sweet” lemons, such as Meyer lemons. There’s conflicting information on what a bergamot actually is,…
Bergamots aren’t something one runs across every day in the supermarket, or even at greengrocers. But mid-winter, depending on where you live, you just might get lucky and happen across some, as I recently did in Paris. But no matter, this recipe can be made with other kinds of lemon, especially “sweet” lemons, such as Meyer lemons.
There’s conflicting information on what a bergamot actually is, but it’s definitely a member of the citrus family and most consider it to be a relative of the bitter orange, which might have been mated with a lemon at some point in its murky past.
Starting in late December, pastry shops in Paris start jumping the gun, and windows and showcases begin filling up with Galettes des rois, or King Cake, in anticipation of the celebration of Epiphany, on January 6th. Because it’s such a popular treat, and lucrative for bakeries, the period of availability seems to extend a few more days every year and it’s not unusual for find…
Starting in late December, pastry shops in Paris start jumping the gun, and windows and showcases begin filling up with Galettes des rois, or King Cake, in anticipation of the celebration of Epiphany, on January 6th.
Because it’s such a popular treat, and lucrative for bakeries, the period of availability seems to extend a few more days every year and it’s not unusual for find bakeries peddling them until the end of the month of January. It’s hard to blame them (and those of us who buy them) because they’re so good. Years ago, I used to bake them when I worked in restaurants, and they’re called Pithiviers, named for the town in the Loiret (south of Paris) where they allegedly originated.
