Tag: ginger

almond paste + almond butter + almond extract = cake

almond paste + almond butter + almond extract = cake

  Here’s another cake that’s delicious when unadorned with any accoutrements.  This is a cake made with almond paste, which I’ve found makes a cake with a moist but firm crumb.  This cake bakes for a long time (as did the other almond paste cake […]

easy applesauce cake

easy applesauce cake

This will be shocking to you, but I don’t always seek out the most complicated recipes I can get my hands on! Sometimes I like to get something in the oven as fast as I can, and this recipe is one that fits the bill. […]

fall = apples + spices (and everything nice)

fall = apples + spices (and everything nice)

ok, ok, i know it’s been a long time. i’ve been taking care of things that needed to be taken care of, and i’m finally getting some good cooking and baking time in, these days. i’m in the process of looking for a really good apple cake – because really, what’s better in the fall than a nice, spicy apple cake? well, besides chicken pot pie. anyway, i’ve tried three or four so far, and have discovered the following preferences:

  • no oil-based cakes. because honestly, they never taste quite that good, and though moist, the crumb is never quite tight enough. i cannot condone an oil-based cake. butter is a flavor, people, and don’t you forget it!
  • i am looking for a spiced apple cake, in particular – it’s fall! i quite enjoy the flavor of apple on its own, but that’s another kind of cake (one which would pair apples with slivers of candied lemon…mmm…). it should be spicy, but not so much that it overpowers the apple. (more…)
when a pie is not a pie

when a pie is not a pie

for the past several months, i’ve been taking friday evenings off – it’s the end of the week, and i’m really feeling the sleep deprivation for that particular week. plus, i work the weekends, so essentially friday nights are my weekend. usually i find myself […]

gingerbread

gingerbread

this gingerbread is nothing like a gingerbread cookie: it’s moist, dense, slightly sticky, and intensely gingery – everything you wish when you eat gingerbread, and more. this is the sort of thing that would be fabulous on a cold night, topped with whipped cream. it’s […]

chicken and rice

chicken and rice

i have never really understood the point of arraying things on a plate in separate areas, only to turn around and stuff it all into your mouth at the same time anyway. why not save your guests the trouble of cutting everything up? of course, there are exceptions to this rule, because a world where everything resembles chopped salad is a depressing world, but chicken and rice isn’t fancy. it’s…chicken and rice. every culture has their own version of it, making it pretty much the universal comfort food.

this is the hainanese chicken from mark bittman’s column a few weeks ago, tweaked here and there. the basic method is to poach an entire chicken, then shred it and its accompaniments together into one delicious pile. this is a chicken and rice that would silence all of those people who believe that chinese food is, above all, greasy and heavy, yet it still remains identifiably chinese in its flavors. and now i’ll stop pretending i have any substantive knowledge of chinese cuisine. knowing how to make your mother’s dumplings and spring rolls doesn’t really qualify you as an expert on the entirety of chinese cuisine, last time i looked. (more…)

pork = love

pork = love

after having dinner made for me on consecutive days (tuesday, bread pudding at 44, and wednesday, really excellent thin fettuccine with a roasted tomato and sausage sauce, at 24), i made dinner for 24 and 44. i wanted to do something fairly involved, so i […]

deep-fried goodness

deep-fried goodness

long time no update! i’ve gotten back into the swing of things, cooking-wise; currently our kitchen is spotless, which certainly makes me very happy. it’ll be hard moving back into the messy, less-clean dorms this fall… this week, i’ve really only cooked on wednesday and […]