January 2014

Brownie Love

January 29, 2014 · 4 comments

Julia’s got her first calendar, she’s marked February 14th with a big heart, and she’s started wishing everyone a happy Valentine’s Day.  She may be jumping the gun, but it isn’t too early to start planning Valentine’s Day treats for the ones we love.  This is one of Julia’s favorites. One of the many unexpected […]

Real Butterscotch

January 23, 2014 · 3 comments

Butterscotch used to be my least favorite sundae topping.  Ok, maybe it was tied for last place with strawberry sauce, but hot fudge or butterscotch?  Caramel or butterscotch? No contest.  Most commercial butterscotch sauce is so sweet it short-circuits your taste buds and makes your teeth hurt –and it’s not very buttery (or Scotchy) at […]

I  know this dish may seem a little strange.  But bear with me — citrus risotto isn’t some odd sweet-and-sour rice porridge.  It’s an elegant dish that beautifully balances tart, creamy, salty and sweet flavors.  And it can turn simply cooked seafood into a very special meal.  It’s a delicious complement for shrimp or scallops, […]

The Vieux Carré

January 13, 2014 · 3 comments

The Holidays are over, but many of us still have months of chilly brown-liquor weather to get through before our thoughts turn to the light, dry drinks of spring.  In the winter, a classic Manhattan is our go-to before-dinner tipple, but a reader recently reintroduced me to the Vieux Carré, a lovely, complex drink developed […]

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve lived here for a couple of years now.  A home is never finished, of course, but we’re still fine-tuning some aspects of the original plan that didn’t quite work. We took the same approach to the powder room that we did to the other bathrooms in the house — […]

Fondue Weather

January 5, 2014 · 3 comments

The Holidays are over.  And it’s cold.  Really cold.  One of the great consolations of winter, though (and from people who know a lot about winter) is Swiss cheese fondue.  It’s so simple –really just good cheese melted into wine– and yet it’s one of the most outrageously delicious and completely satisfying things I’ve ever […]