Build a Gingerbread Brownstone
I've gone and made a pretty little gingerbread house in the style of the brownstones in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. And just because it's the holidays, I'll share my tips for making your own gingerbread creations.
Gingerbread House Basics
This gingerbread is hard as a rock, and the frosting sets up like cement. Just what you want if you plan to make a gingerbread house. This post has my favorite recipes for construction gingerbread, royal icing and poured sugar.
Creepy Coconut Kiwi Panna Cotta
Add a little edible gore to your Halloween. Underneath its creepy presentation, this is a respectable dessert: toasty coconut panna cotta, fresh kiwi and raspberry coulis.
Popcorn pop-up cards
Make your own microwave popcorn bags! I've used my secret origami skills to design a pretty little card that you can fill with popcorn kernels and pop up in the microwave. These little guys are cute enough to give as gifts and practical enough to use for everyday snacking.
Roasted Red Plum & Thyme Jam
Preserving is a fundamental, old-school way to keep a thrifty kitchen. Buy fruits and vegetables in peak season, and they will be cheaper and tastier. Can some of this goodness, and you can relive the tastes of summer when things like fresh plums are a distant memory. This jam uses pretty roasted red plums along...
Turmeric Ginger Beer
Fresh turmeric makes this simple homemade ginger beer bright, electric yellow. Spicy, lightly sweet and refreshing, this is a perfect cold treat for ginger lovers. One surprise: my favorite method for making ginger beer turns out to be the simplest.
Lacy Chocolate Dessert Bowls
Because chocolate is such a precious ingredient, I always want to make the most of it. And sometimes that means making a dramatic presentation with a small quantity of chocolate. I wanted to make a pretty, delicate chocolate container that was not too difficult (or time consuming) to make and did not require special equipment....
Olive Oil Granola
Bakery-style granola can be both addictive and satisfying, they're also rather expensive. Even using top notch ingredients you can get a lot more granola for your buck when you make it yourself. I whipped up a fancy new granola recipe, complete with pedigreed ingredients (almonds, olive oil, sea salt). This granola is fancy...
Magnetic Spice Rack
It’s spring cleaning time, everyone! So what better excuse to sort through and organize your spices? Looking for spice storage can be extremely frustrating. (Too big! Not enough jars! Don’t even think of taking up my counter space!) So I schemed up my own more flexible storage system. And it’s sooooo simple: just tins, glue...
Cloth Cooking Bags
Veggie trimmings and whole spices can add wonderful flavor to long-cooked dishes like soups. But then you have a bunch of slimy cilantro stems to sift out. Cloth bags let the flavor meld into your cooked dish, and keep the texture separate. Here's how to make your own quick, easy cloth cooking bags.
Homemade Yogurt
Yogurt is one of my favorite ingredients. Add some savory herbs or spices and you have a zesty sauce or curry. Strain and layer with honey and fruit, and you have a tangy and tantalizing trifle. If you are a yogurt fan, and especially if you buy the little to-go yogurt cups, you can make...
Pumpkin Taffy
Happy Halloween, everyone! Now let’s all make our own candy! Homemade candy can be a fun, interactive alternative to the ubiquitous processed, artificial sweets. While most candy making is not particularly kid-friendly (think dangerous, boiling sugars and the most impossibly messy ingredient of all: melted chocolate). Taffy is a happy exception. Once the tricky boiling...
