Pumpkin Spice Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Okay, I’ll admit it: this is pulled straight from an issue of Bon Appetit. I’m only willing to deal with a certain amount of complexity in a recipe, and this one is right at the far edge of what I’m willing to do. The cake itself is easy, though I usually go with boxed cake. […]
There’s Nothing Like Apple Pie
I love seasonal food. Of course, I’m blessed with a society that provides all sorts of food at any time of the year. If I want blueberries in February, I can get them. But some food remains inextricably linked to certain seasons. Lemon ice cream just only tastes right in the summer. Beef pot pie […]
Helen Eppley’s Pound Cake
This is the greatest pound cake in the world. That may seem vain to you. However, I make this claim because I’ve been eating this pound cake for far longer than I’ve been making it. This is the pound cake made by Helen Eppley, a dear woman that sat near me in church. Every week, […]
Sweet Potato Apple Casserole
I love Halloween. A few weeks ago, as I cruised a nearby Ben Franklin for Halloween decorations, I stumbled upon an excellent little magazine of Halloween recipes, ideas, costume patterns, etc. Inside was a recipe for sweet potato apple casserole, and my goodness, every bite tastes like autumn. Software 3 pounds sweet potatoes 4 medium […]
Independence Day Parfaits
Software: 1 pound strawberries 1 pound blueberries 1 small carton heavy cream 1 cup of vanilla yogurt Hardware: A standing mixer 6 glass parfait glasses, if possible Chill the bowl and blade of a standing mixer in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Wash the fruit and slice the strawberries. Remove the bowl and […]
Make your own root beer
You know how sodas contain quite a few chemicals and additives, right? Wish you could drink clean soda? I’ve just uploaded a new video to my Cooking with CK website, explaining How to make root beer from scratch. The same directions should apply for any kind of flavor you want to add, from orange to […]
Instructable Wine
Just finished a busy time in the kitchen. Made some icebox cookie dough (with lemon!), some udon noodles from a new recipe, and wine. Sort of ghetto wine, actually. The recipes are from Instructables, a cool website with lots of offbeat how-tos, from How to Make an Easy Inverted Planter to Making realistic Steampunk Airship […]
13 May 08
Just finished watching several episodes of Alton Brown’s Feasting on Asphalt, where he and a small crew travel America, off the highways, eating only locally made food (that is, nothing corporately processed or prepared). It’s amazing, watching someone passionately committed to a concept—real, carefully-prepared food—delivering on it. It’s quirky and risky; you never know how […]
Toffee Bars
A recipe for toffee bars: Combine a pound of light brown sugar and a pound (four sticks) of butter until light and fluffy. Add two egg yolks and 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla; mix well. While it mixes, sprinkle in a pound of flour and half a teaspoon of salt. Spread this mixture in a well-greased […]
18 Nov 07
Homemade Crackers Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine two cups of flour with six tablespoons of butter, two tablespoons of honey, and five tablespoons of water in a large bowl. Mix until it forms a dry dough that neveretheless holds together (add water a tablespoon at a time if it’s too dry). Divide dough in […]