Just Baking

Baking cookies is the best way to placate yourself and your kids, and for me, it’s also a favorite pastime! What I love about cookies is that they can be simple and festive at the same time. I had thumbprint cookies on my mind for a long time. The name “thumbprint” comes from the fact […]

Even though we all seem to only over-indulge in turkey during this time of year, by the third or fourth day, most of us don’t want to see it again, so we’re left to getting creative.
On a recent episode of Rachael Ray’s talk-show, she turned Thanksgiving Day leftovers into a Thanksgiving Stromboli. Of course with […]

This year Thanksgiving was at my grandmother’s house, an intimate affair of close family prepared potluck style.  My aunt and grandmother spent the morning preparing the turkey, two types of wonderful homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  My parents brought salads and finger-foods, some family friends prepared their delicious Hawaiian yams, and I was called […]

While Just Baking tends to lean sharply towards sweet baking, there’s no reason we can’t include a savory one every now and again, and this is certainly a keeper. OMG, I had the best homemade stuffing e-v-e-r today. But first, I’ll backtrack. I was catching up on some of my backlogged Tivo shows this morning, […]

For those of you in the US and who have the four seasons, can you believe that we are knee deep into Fall now? Where in the world does the time go? As much as I love all the summertime flavors, with fresh veggies and cool treats, I do love the comforting flavors of Fall. […]

 
I’m a huge fan of Fall. I love the changing colors of the leaves. I love the musky smell of piles of leaves wet on the ground. I love the cooler nights and shorter days. I love using it as an excuse to bake lots of things with pumpkin in them. So today I present […]

I’m a little stalled right now in my pursuit of artisanal breads.  The reason isn’t that I’m no longer interested or even that I’m not baking… It’s that the holiday season has started.
Why would the holiday season distract me from trying to make the perfect French country bread?  Easy… I’m very much a traditionalist when […]

Last week I told you about the Pumpkin Upside Down Cake with Cranberry Pecan Topping that I was auditioning for a role on the Thanksgiving table.  It was a crowd pleaser, to be sure.  Ultimately, however, I chose to go with a simpler, more understated Ginger Cake with Warm Caramel Sauce, with the thought that […]

Ah, Holiday Season, we know ye well.  Like an old friend we haven’t seen in a while and beg for more time to catch up with.  Though more and more it feels like a game of musical chairs where the music keeps getting faster and faster until…oops, times up.
Not that I have such a cynical […]

I love my neighborhood grocery store.  Billed “The Friendliest Store in Town” (this is actually printed on their paper bags), it is a self-prescribed yet well-deserved distinction.  This is a store where the clerks will open up ANY product in the store for you to taste, should you have any hesitation about buying it.  You […]