dessert

just when you think it can’t get any better.

cinnamon creme brulee

12/25/2011 | 2 Comments | Topics: dessert, food., holidays

Merry Christmas. I hope you and your family and friends are happy and healthy, full of merriment and grace. This is little dessert gift, from me to you. I adore the subtle flavor of cinnamon permeating this exquisite, always-welcome pot of cream. And I love that it is easy to make. I use a little culinary blow torch to ‘brulee’ mine, but truth be told: I am hankering for… [more]

whiskey bread pudding

12/07/2011 | 2 Comments | Topics: dessert, food.

This Thanksgiving I made 3 desserts. It seems like a lot, but then again long, lovely meals are about lingering at the table. And the more desserts you have to try—the longer you will sit and enjoy. I firmly believe if ‘Thanksgiving’ and ‘desserts’ are in the same sentence: all bets are off. You can open your plate for business, pile it high, guffaw at nearby dieters. You can… [more]

DaVinci Wine Cookbook: page 9 [of 10] DOLCI

10/09/2011 | 1 Comment | Topics: DaVinci Wine, dessert, Italian food

Dolci. Dessert in Tuscany is often a simple cake, a fruit tart or cookies. Chocolate shows up too, but my experience with dessert is beverage-forward: Grappa or Vin Santo (sweet white wine) and always espresso. Once you have the drink down and are wholly satiated on the aforementioned multi-course meal, dessert is more of an excuse to stretch time and good conversation than showcasing multi-tiered dessert cakes or layers… [more]

arborio rice pudding

06/26/2011 | 8 Comments | Topics: dessert

Though I have seen rice pudding with long-grain and basmati rice, I am committed to this arborio version. Just try it… you will know why. I have to say, after dipping my spoon a few-too-many-times into this dreamy pudding, the nostalgia hit me. My grandmother (who incidentally also loved canning, gardens, hummingbirds and apparently dreamy pudding) used to make a creamy rice for Sunday dinners. It wasn’t made with… [more]

Spotlight: Rhubarb.

05/19/2011 | 4 Comments | Topics: dessert, food spotlight, vegetables

Did you like rhubarb growing up? I didn’t. Though I find that to be true of quite a laundry list of foods: tomatoes, bell peppers, avocados, eggplant… now I love them all. I bought rhubarb the other day through my CSA; I opened the box and my eyes went straight to these long, deep-red stalks. Rhubarb is stunning—probably the envy of celery. Celery gets used more, to be sure. But… [more]

Flourless Chocolate Cake.

03/16/2011 | 1 Comment | Topics: dessert

We make this often at the cooking school, and serve it up with rum-whipped cream or just-made caramel—or even slowly simmered poached berries. A chocolate cake—a really good one—becomes a starting point for flavor plays, a brilliant stepping off point for mixing in the fruit of the season or contrasting flavors like vanilla cream anglaise or rum sauce. Besides: who doesn’t need a good chocolate cake… [more]

Upside down… pear and caramel cake

01/27/2011 | 8 Comments | Topics: dessert, dip, sauce & syrup, just talk

I am cooking like a mad-woman. And baking too! Now that I teach cooking classes (some at a nearby school, some private—in your home or mine!), I feel the need to ‘practice.’ What do I mean? I guess it means this teacher is always, always a student. Some love of learning thing… If there is one thing I learned at culinary school, it is just like any niche profession,… [more]

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust.

11/10/2010 | 9 Comments | Topics: dessert

You can make a whole cheesecake, individual tarts or bite-size tartlettes. I had a similar dessert years and years ago—and never forgot it. I searched and found this recipe—one that is equally memorable—and am so relieved it isn’t just a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There were a number of online options, but I chose this particular recipe from the Food Network. Okay, yes: I made them with using a mini… [more]

Tuscan chocolate cake

03/31/2010 | 6 Comments | Topics: dessert, Italian food

My boys loved this cake—and have already asked when I am going to make it again. Maybe I should make it when our cousins visit? They would love it. I am so lucky to have boys who are into food, who give me compliments as well as critiques. (Last night’s pork had a balsamic reduction… and they thought it was a bit acidic. Needs either sugar or cream, mom.… [more]

you are just 6 ingredients away from the best-ever Tiramisu.

03/05/2010 | 13 Comments | Topics: dessert, Italian food

My sons and I had a once-in-a-lifetime 6 day Tuscan road trip. I could go on and on about it, but I already have here and here and piled photos here. We drove from Florence to Volterra, took a ferry to Elba Island, hopped back to the coast and visited some of the most beautiful hill-towns I have seen (Sorano, Pitilgiano, Scansano)—then soaked our bodies in… [more]