sweets

On the Farm: A trip to Heritage Prairie

19 November 2010

Chicago has been awash in Michelin Star buzz. The awards have been described as good, bad, and plain unexpected. Just the same, they have given Chicago’s food culture a lot to crow about. Now, the reality check. All we need to do to be reminded about how much more we have to learn about food [...]

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Chocolate and Sea Salt Cookies

15 November 2010

When it comes to the world of cookies, I am inclusive. I like crisp cookies, soft cookies, fruit-filled cookies, nutty cookies, cookies brimming with chocolate chips, and cookies with few ingredients beyond butter and flour. But I do play favorites. This particular cookie, a chocolate shortbread speckled with sea salt, has earned its spot in [...]

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The Cake: A Q&A about Food on Film

7 September 2010

There are food movies—Mostly Martha, Big Night, and Eat Drink Man Woman being a few of the obvious ones. More typical are movies in which food acts as a device that moves the plot along. What seems to be changing is our appetite for food on film. Unless we are Swedish and put our characters [...]

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A Moment for Zucchini Bread

12 August 2010

I‘ve been meaning to make zucchini bread for a while now. I had to do something to control the endless supply of zucchini we’ve encountered this summer. They’re at the market and in friends’ yards. There were more than a few in the CSA box—for several weeks in a row. When my mom came to [...]

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Iced Coffee Talk

10 August 2010

There are times of the year when iced coffee becomes a necessity. My brother’s wedding on the coast of Massachusetts last year was once such occasion. The week before the wedding, we rented a odd, split-level house in Marion to help in wedding preparations. To say that it was hot that week is to shortchange [...]

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Sour Cherries, Straight Up

28 July 2010

There they were, two pint baskets brimming with sour cherries. I’ll just say it: I love sour cherries, and the reason is largely pie-based. Sour cherries have the perfect texture for a pie filling. They cook down soft, but not too soft. And even though they need to be mellowed with sugar when baked, they [...]

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Vanilla Beans

11 June 2010

A few  posts on pork this week has led me to crave something a little less demanding. Like vanilla. Specifically, Mexican vanilla beans. Auntie Pam always brings them as gifts when she visits from Mexico. When she pulls them out of her suitcase, we approach, arms extended, feeling just a tad greedy. The intrigue starts [...]

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