All posts filed under: The Recipe Box

Sweet Tooth Tuesdays: Cute Pies for my Cutie Pie

Published by

It’s February folks and that means that Valentines Day is right around the corner, seven days away to be exact! It’s been way to long since I last posted so I thought I’d honor my coming back to Sweet Tooth Tuesdays by hosting Seven Days of Love. We all need a little love right now, don’t we? For the next week, I will be posting all sorts of recipes filled with taste explosions and stories of tenderness to get you into a loving mood! (Cue the mouth watering…) I happen to have a new Cutie Pie in my life, let’s call him Cutie (maybe this is what’s been distracting me lately…), so I’ve created these cute pies for my Cutie Pie. I wanted to make something that represents Cutie for me; and the tartness of these Cranberry Ginger-Lime hand-pies does this perfectly. He’s the sour complement to my sweet tooth, just as the filling is balanced by the hug of the sweet pastry. Let’s make some cute pies! Cranberry Ginger-Lime Hand Pies This makes 8 large hearts or 2 dozen mini hearts. Sweet …

Farmstand Friday: Summer Squash Blossoms

Published by

Summer is sadly coming to an end, and so is my toasted-marshmallow skin. I had such an amazing season this year, one for the books! However, mother nature isn’t quite done with her sun-kissed goods, yet. Tomatoes are at their peak, hot peppers are popping up all around, and my beloved squash blossoms are blooming once again. This is the time of year I always wait for because there are so many fantastic ingredients to work with and preserve for later. My kitchen stove has been huffing and puffing trying to keep up! This week I wanted to focus on one of the best ingredients that anyone can work with– chefs and home cooks alike–the squash blossom. I first encountered these while traveling in Italy with my mother a few years ago. She told me about how special they are, and I waited not so patiently to find them on a menu. They were even more tasty than I imagined! Stuffed with an herbed cheese then dipped in the lightest batter and fried to golden perfection…it was love …

Sweet Tooth Tuesdays: Peach Lavender Macarons

Published by

I’m peachy keen this week! It’s been bit a transition being back in New York after being away in France for the past few weeks (more about that trip to come…) but I’ve arrived with the farmers markets in full swing; and desire for french patisserie. Everywhere I look there is inspiration. I’ve been talking a lot to farmers about how the weather this spring has affected what produce we’re going to be seeing this season. Unfortunately, most stone fruits were destroyed by an early frost, so we’ve been left with the hearty peach! Not that being left with these little balls of amazingness is something to be sad about! I’ve been working on a few recipes with peaches as the star…and these Peach Lavender Macarons will not disappoint you. The addition of lavender elevates the sweet flavor of the peach making the peach even more peachy. They are really a perfect paring! I had some great tasters this week…and they COULD NOT get over the flavor of these macarons. So there. Let’s get baking! Peach …

Sweet Tooth Tuesdays: Angel Food Cake with Strawberry Cream

Published by

I WUVV this cake! At least that’s what I exclaimed, while stuffing my mouth with a whole slice of cake, when I had my first taste of heavenly cake when I was six. It happens to be my mother’s favorite cake, and so my Grandmother Joyce and I set to work baking my first angel food cake. (This was probably the first cake I ever helped make, a big moment folks!) To this day I don’t have much more to say about angel food except that I simply wuvv it… You may be thinking, Diana, I’m donning my bikini soon, I can’t have cake! Well, you can throw that thought right out the window. This cake is like taking a bite out of a cloud because its whipped egg whites held together by a bit of sugar and flour. It’s half air! And topped with a strawberry-rhubarb whipped cream, you’ll be begging for another slice! Let’s get whippin! Angel Food Cake with Strawberry Whipped Cream   What you’ll need: standing mixer with whisk attachment, 12 egg whites …

Sweet Tooth Tuesday: Earl Grey Doughnuts with Lemon

Published by

After a week of cookie melt-downs (literally), I decided to go back to basics today. I’ve been going on a yeast adventure in my kitchen recently, and so I thought I’d make some deliciously wonderful doughnuts. They may seem like a great feat, but doughnuts are fairly easy. These Early Grey doughnuts come from a maternal place for me. I’ve been told that my Grandmother had a counter top fryer, and my mother remembers her making fresh yeast doughnuts once a week. (This was the fifties after all.) I think that is just the coolest thing! After hearing about my grandmother’s fryer, Santa brought me one of my own a few years ago — I’ve been making doughnuts every since! I’ve been working with Stephen Collucci’s book Glazed Filled Sugared & Dipped and the possibilities are endless in the world of fried dough! My day doesn’t start until I have my morning tea, thus today’s combination of earl grey tea and lemon. My mother takes her tea with lemon, so it seemed a fitting combo — and …

Farmstand Friday: Apple & Cranberry Hand Pies

Published by

I’ve gone cranberry crazy. Also, I’ve been experimenting with puff pastry a lot lately. For this week’s Farmstand Friday I’ve combined them both in perfect little hand pies. A tasty treat on the go? Yes, Please! A zesty apple and cranberry filling is surrounded by delicately light puff pastry baked to perfection. I can’t tell you how truly delicious these pies are. You’ll just have to find out on your own! Let’s get puffed! Apple & Cranberry Hand Pies This recipe requires Danish Puff Pastry, see instructions below. What you’ll need: 1 batch of puff pastry (you can use store bought if you must), 2-3 Goldrush or Fuji apples, 1/3 fresh cranberries, 1/4 cup sugar, the zest of one lemon plus 1 Tb lemon juice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 Tb cornstarch, 1 egg lightly beaten. Also, 2 lined baking sheets, a large rolling surface, and a pastry brush. First, prep the apples by peeling and chopping into small cubes; coarsely chop the cranberries as well. You need a scant 2 cups of prepared apples. Combine the two …

Farmstand Friday: Pear & Ginger Chutney

Published by

This fall I’ve had lots of overflowing bowl of fruit around my apartment. I especially love having pears around because they have such a wonderful shape and aroma. They also look very nice ripening in my big yellow bowl. However, when they all begin to become perfectly ripe at the same time, then I’m left with pounds of pears and nothing to do with them! That is, until I decided to make them into delicious chutney. Chutney was actually one my first interactions with home canning. I had a friend who’s mother would never let me leave their house with out a jar of a tasty concoction from her garden — her cherry chutney is to die for! Those first few jars of heaven planted the idea of home canning in my head, and my first year of canning I made all sorts of chutneys (my favorite was a pineapple one, but we’ll dig into that another time). So what to do when you have bowls full of perfectly ripe fruit? Make some chutney! It’s also a …

Sweet Tooth Tuesday: Classic Apple Pie

Published by

Fall means apple pie for me. However, this year I’ve been trying to make a twist on this classic for weeks now — I’ve made about 6 pies in total, making little tweaks along the way. I lost myself in the sea of apple pie variations. It was time for me to get back to basics… So, for this week’s bake I’ve gone classic with my Apple Pie. The secret to my pie is that I use a variety of different apples instead of just using Granny Smith. My apples of choice are Golden Delicious, Rome, Braeburn, Jonagold, and Honeycrisp, but you can use any combination of your favorites. I also don’t add too much sugar to the pie (surprise, right?) and let the apples sweeten the dessert instead. My last sacrilege is that I don’t skin the apples before I slice them. I think the skins offers a nice color to the pie, and who wants the extra work by hand? If you’re still on board, let’s get baking! Classic Apple Pie This recipe makes one …