February 2010 Archive

Brown Butter Spiced Crisp
February 2010 Desktop Calendar
Pecan Mudslide Cookies
Sourdough Baguettes
[Edible Idiom] Le gratin

February 19, 2010

[Edible Idiom] Le gratin

This is part of a series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food. Browse the list of idioms featured so far. This week's idiom is, "Le gratin." As cooks may already know, gratin* is the generic French term for preparations (often involving vegetables and some sort of binding sauce) cooked in a baking dish in the oven until the surfa...

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February 16, 2010

Brown Butter Spiced Crisp

Planning the menu for a dinner party is all about being realistic, balancing the different dishes not only in terms of flavor and style, but also in terms of workload. If I opt for a main course that's a bit elaborate, then I know I won't have much time or energy to devote to dessert, and the fruit crisp or crumble* is my wildcard choice. (The tr...

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February 10, 2010

Sourdough Baguettes

[Baguettes au levain] When I started to bake bread on a weekly basis, I thought of baguettes as out-of-reach territory: I would bake the kind of loaves I love -- a hearty crust (but not too dark at the bottom), an open crumb (but one that's still tight enough to withstand a good spread of dairy or almond butter), great flavor from a slow ferment...

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February 3, 2010

Pecan Mudslide Cookies

I spent a few days in New York City in early December to promote* my latest book project, and I happened to stay at a hotel that was very near the Chelsea Market. I had very little free time in my schedule, but the proximity allowed me to do a little personal shopping (books, utensils, magazines), buy a few things to improvise breakfast in my ro...

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February 1, 2010

February 2010 Desktop Calendar

At the beginning of every month, I am offering C&Z readers a new wallpaper to apply on the desktop of your computer, with a food-related picture and a calendar of the current month. Our calendar for February is a picture of a diminutive winter squash poetically named pomme d'or (golden apple) in French; I thought its glow might bring a bit of su...

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