From the category archives:

Pastry, Pies & Tarts

Tangerine Tart with Cookie Crust

Thumbnail image for Tangerine Tart with Cookie Crust

For more than a decade, I’ve held onto this Sunset Magazine page. You see, the prolific tangerine tree that came with this house disappeared the day our yard was demo’d for landscaping. Waaaaa. Not sure why I never just bought fruit to make the tart; maybe I was insecure.

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Ginger Scones

Hans Rockenwagner sold Ginger Scones at his bakeries in LA and Venice. And then he didn’t. Apparently they were deeeelicious; an LA Times food section reader wanted the recipe, and they published it. Larry’s recipe binder is jam-packed with pages like this – baked goods, ginger flavored, someone’s favorite. He had yet to make [...]

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Thyme and Goat Cheese Tart Topped with Mixed Tender Greens in Champagne Vinaigrette

This isn’t exactly how we eat around our home, putting salad on top of a cheese tart. Yet, as swank as this appeared, our “Thyme and Goat Cheese Tart Topped with Mixed Tender Greens in Champagne Vinaigrette” (whew, the name alone is a mouthful) was neither pretentious nor weird. This was the salad course [...]

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Fresh Basil Soft Pretzels

Jen, our way-cool yoga instructor at Camp GetAway for Mothers & Others had an explosion of gorgeous basil growing in her victory garden.  She was asking me about making pesto — just as I was thinking of making pretzels.  The ideas collided.
The March 2004 issue of Gourmet had a Kitchen Notebook story on how [...]

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Blueberry Stuffed Apples in Pastry

Naming this recipe was tricky; besides being stuffed with fresh blueberries and baked in flaky pastry, the apples are sweetened with Red Hot candies and pure maple syrup.  TMI for a recipe name, but Larry thought the Red Hots were a pretty good idea.  I like using up the second pie crust in the [...]

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Larry’s Pesto Pizza

This is another installment in my series, “Hands Off, Ladies, He’s Mine.” Larry made dinner again recently and decided to create a spin-off of his most excellent pizza.   If you are skilled at making homemade pizza, then you can become comfortable playing with it.  Larry does this on occasion, deciding fun toppings and layouts.
This [...]

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Easy Fresh Apple Tart ~ Homage to Julia Child

Fellow IACP members, who recognizes this plate?  Julia Child was a founding member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals; over the years, the group’s cookbook awards gala grew to a rather big splash.  The year 1997 was so splashy, attendees received this commemorative platter and Julia took the time to autograph plates for [...]

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Thelma’s Popovers

Larry makes his mom’s golden, airy popovers skillfully.  Some recipes in our household are his alone, and this is definitely one.  If I proclaimed a decision to make some popovers, fuggeddaboudit.  Not allowed.  He has his giant binder of recipes and I have mine.
My mother-in-law, Thelma is now 88 and doesn’t cook anymore.  A [...]

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Mini Basil and Goat Cheese Turnovers

Dinner party for four here. Casual menu:  Larry made his Excellent Pizza. I was excited for dessert, Butterscotch Pudding.  But while shopping for ingredients, it struck me…  I hadn’t planned an appetizer.
Wracking my brain (well, not wracking, but thinking harder than normal while shopping), my sis-in-law’s recent pool party snacks struck me as do-able. [...]

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Mini Kahlua Carrot Cakes with Maple Icing

Mini cake, giant cupcake or big muffin, you decide.  It’s the same pan – the large one-cup muffin tins.  I obviously like to bake with Kahlua.  If you’ve read previous posts, you know that Kahlua was a longtime PR client of mine.  Few days went by without a learning experience, and now-friend, Madeline was [...]

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Larry’s Excellent Pizza

Have you seen the foodie blog, Hungry Hungry Hippie?   Blogger Elise’s mom is my cousin, Melinda.  I noticed this week that HHH was being written by middle sis, Laura – that’s how I discovered their ENTIRE family is vacationing in Hawaii, ‘cept Laura!  What a good sister – and turns out, a good blogger.

I [...]

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All Butter Pie Shell

When I was a teen, I baked pies for fun.  My dad was very skinny and there wasn’t much of a dietary focus in the household.  Since you couldn’t buy pre-made pie shells in the store yet, the first part of making a pie was obviously making the crust.  Without a food processor.  And [...]

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