For years, my father-in-law (he hates that term, but I'm not sure what else to use) has talked with longing about mincemeat pies. His mother used to make them for him. Dave's grandmother (mom's side) used to make them for him. I had never eaten one myself and the...
I celebrated a birthday recently and must have been a very good girl last year because I was gifted two Le Creuset cast iron pans. My generous husband gave me a deep covered sauté pan in a beautiful blue. Poor dear searched high and low for this pan. I admired it in a...
I never seem to be able to get my loaves of bread to reach the heights I aspire to. I see photos of towering loaves cresting voluptuously out of bread pans. Mine peek their tops over the edge, yet seem to shrink down a bit while baking. I don't get 'oven spring', I...
I have been on a bread baking journey since March of this year. It has become a weekly ritual in which I bake sandwich bread for our lunches during the week. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. Each time I learn something new. I have...
There is something to be said for making someone's eyes roll to the back of their head as they bite into something you have lovingly crafted. The closed eyes and quickened breath revealing the joy they are experiencing so publicly. It makes the hours spent in front of...
I've been a subscriber to Cook's Illustrated, both print and online for a few years. I watch America's Test Kitchen faithfully and own many of their cookbooks. Their claim to fame is that they test recipes to perfect them so you don't have to. For the most part this...
Growing up in Anaheim, I spent a lot of time at Disneyland. In high school, my best friend and I saved up our allowances to each buy an annual pass. This was better than our previous method of panhandling at the Disneyland Hotel to try to get enough money for a one...
Since mid March I have been making bread weekly. I even purchased a new KitchenAid mixer for the new spiral dough hook. I am proud of the fact that I have used it so regularly and that we have been enjoying luscious homemade bread. Somehow it justifies in my mind the...
Hamburger Buns My sister invited us to an impromptu barbecue for the July 4th holiday. As the only vegetarians, she asked us to bring something we could eat because the main dish would be ribs. The vegetarian burgers we had in the freezer seemed like a good choice....