Foodie's Arsenal

creme brulee 2

Apr

2013

Oh, creme brulee! This is fast becoming one of my favorite desserts, particularly because of HOW GOOD IT IS. I first encountered this strange flammable dessert when I worked as a waiter. The kitchen expected all the servers to be able to plate their own desserts, so I got a crash course in burning...

cinnamon swirl bread 1

Mar

2013

Hi — you will love this. A few weeks ago, after revisiting the oatmeal bread my Dad would always make when we were kids, I remembered the way he used to add a cinnamon-raisin swirl to the dough every once in awhile. A little exploring and testing later, and I have this bread for you....

little victories 1

Mar

2013

Not a perfect picture, but that kind of supports what I’m trying to communicate with it. This meal was, first of all, breakfast for dinner, so you know I was treating myself to something special. Second of all, it was delicious. But I’m showing it to you specifically to talk about little victories, of the...

love traditions 4

Feb

2013

Last night instead of a romantic evening for two, we decided to have friends over to join in a fun tradition from my family: heart-shaped pizza. My Dad, as an artist, would often look for reasons to add significance or visual accent to life events, so on Valentine’s day he would take his already-much-celebrated pizza...

oatmeal bread 5

Feb

2013

This oatmeal bread is a very special bread to me. When we were growing up, it was a favorite among the many delicious baked goods my Dad would frequently make; it would fill the house with its toasty-sweet aroma and our mouths with soft and chewy joy. It’s a great all-around bread, but in some...

vanilla extract 1

Jan

2013

Vanilla has actually been on our “do it ourselves” list for a long time. I had heard from various sources that it wasn’t hard to pull off (which is true), and it just seemed like something that would be a nice addition to our arsenal (and give us a few more points toward our already...

pizza love 4

Jan

2013

Took some photos while we were making pizza the other night. I got a matching baking stone over the holidays to go with the one we already have, so now I can have a wall-to-wall stone oven for bread and pizza. Along with the gift of a new camera lens, it makes for some...

bagels 10

Jan

2013

The bagel, like the cheesesteak, is a food that has such fanatical regional loyalty that I’m pretty cautious to claim that I can make them. Many would say that the only truly great bagels are from Jewish bakeries in New York city — made with New York water, boiled in lye, and served with your...