IN CASE YOU DID NOT know, homemade sourdough bread is so April 2020. The latest rage, at least based on the scanning of my news and social media, is beet pasta. If it’s any consolation, I just found out myself. The good news is, that you can whip this savory dish up in, well, a …
The perfect Ciabatta bread
We’ve written before about our experiments with Ciabatta, Italy’s response to France’s baguette. After some tinkering with the recipe, we believe we have arrived at the optimal combination of ingredients. What’s more, it is very simple and easy to make. 3.25 cups (650 grams) flour1.5 cups (350 milliliters) water1 tbsp (15 g) sugar1 tsp (5 …
Our favorite Christmas cookie
I have written before about the tradition of making what we call Christmas horns, a family recipe handed for generations from the old country (Moravia). You can read the original post here. Use a sifter or strainer to dust lightly with powdered sugar. I experimented in my latest batch by reducing the amount of sugar …
Homemade pizza just like Mom used to make
GROWING UP, the birthday boy or girl in my family had several privileges on their special day: They could order their favorite mealThey could invite one friend over for dinnerPresents and cake, of course More often than not, my siblings and I would choose pizza for the meal. Our mother, though Czech by heritage, prided …
Continue reading "Homemade pizza just like Mom used to make"
If you make jam, you’ll want an English muffin to go with it*
Sometime during the end of summer, Sherry spent an industrious afternoon picking fruit from our strawberry tree. If you haven’t heard of strawberries growing on trees, we are not far ahead of you. We hadn’t either until we purchased our home, where two mature specimens adorned our back yard. The tree grows to the size …
Continue reading "If you make jam, you’ll want an English muffin to go with it*"
My Thanksgiving culinary calamities
Every cook has horror stories; I have my own fair share and two of them are related to Thanksgiving. Some years ago, I was attending a Thanksgiving dinner with some friends and their extended family, including their elderly grandmother. I decided to contribute a pumpkin pie. Image by Element5 Digital from Pixabay The pie baked …
The season of sharing
Many years ago, I decided to throw a little dinner party for some friends on the weekend before Thanksgiving. I went out to get the groceries and returned home to be greeted by my son, then 7 years old. As with most growing boys, he had a keen interest in food. He eagerly assisted me …
The Battle of the Breads: Wands vs. Slippers
Having successfully produced a few batches of baguettes, the quintessential French bread, I decided it was time to take on its Italian counterpart: ciabatta. The history of these two loaves is fascinating and underscores the friendly culinary competitiveness between the two nations. The baguette has been around since the French revolution. Bread was a mainstay …
Continue reading "The Battle of the Breads: Wands vs. Slippers"
Foolproof crackers
ABOUT A YEAR ago, Sherry and I were in a small town in Minnesota staying at a Residence Inn. It was your typical chain hotel with nondescript rooms. But this place had quite the happy hour. It wasn't the friendly service or copious amounts of alcohol that impressed us the most, though. It was the …
Sherry & George 