Courtesy of my friends Deborah and Steve Nathe, owners of Winding Brook Estate, a 16-acre lavender farm in Eureka, Missouri, this recipe is one of their favorite ways to use farm-fresh (or dried) lavender in the dog days of summer
A slightly more conservative, but equally tasty, spin on my orange-scented White Chocolate-Basil Panna Cotta! Yield: About five 1/2- to 3/4-cup servings Prep Talk: Either fresh or dried lavender buds will work just fine. Expect some trial and error to adjust the
For some, summer in New England is marked by early morning wake-up calls from fishing boats revving up in the harbor for their day’s work. For others, it means lazy afternoons at the beach with warm sand between the toes, or sunsets that linger on the horizon. But for me, the sweetest of summer emblems is
The base of this rosy sorbet is a mixture of raspberry purée and simple syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water) infused with the essence of Rosa Rugosa, my favorite summertime flower. (For a glimpse of this lovely, see
Once upon a time, long before I ever wrote about cookies, I owned and operated a bakery. There in my humble South St. Louis shop, I happily crafted all manner of fancy wedding cakes, from modern mosaics and sculptural suspensions to more romantic chocolate-wrapped and
An enticing dichotomy, this Cookie Swap treat is thin and crisp, yet packed with the robust flavor you’d expect of a bulkier cookie! The seeds make it a natural fit for a spring garden party, too! Yield: 3 1/2 to 4
The topic of mothers has been on my mind lately, and not just because Mothers’ Day is right around the corner. After a year of non-stop work on my next book Ultimate Cookies, I finally submitted the manuscript a couple of
I’m not a fan of the cold. In fact, if I could go sockless and coatless all the time, I would. But, alas, this winter’s been a tough one, and my garden clog-clad bare feet just couldn’t hack the recent
Like it or not, we’re homebound this holiday. My husband is on call through Christmas, and I’m between photo shoots for my next cookie book, struggling to see my way past the latest blizzard of powdered sugar. Cookies in various
Though less common than sweet versions, savory cheesecakes are no more difficult – and just as satisfying. To morph sweet into savory, simply omit the sugar, use crackers or toasted bread in lieu of graham crackers or cookies for the
Classic Christmas recipes can conjure up some of the fondest food memories, for sure, but it’s fun every now and again to break with tradition. Here, I’ve put a twist on two holiday must-haves – the thumbprint and the gingersnap
I originally developed this cookie recipe for a garden party chapter in my first book Cookie Swap, but I’m convinced it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day as well. Call me sentimental, but there’s something about the rosy flavor and surprise red filling
OK, I admit it, I was and always will be a nerd. While other kids were cajoling their parents into taking them to Bob’s Surplus, where new stand-on-their-own stiff Levi’s could be bought for ten dollars or less, I was
Most visitors to Vacationland busy themselves with swimming or hiking or sailing. And me? Well, truth be told: as much as I subscribe to the virtues of physical fitness, my favorite summer pastime remains on the extreme energy-conserving end of
To the uninitiated, pickles can be off-putting. Any food that vies for blue ribbons at the state fair automatically implies a certain level of complexity. Couple this award-winning potential with the lore of champions relinquishing titles over softness, cloudiness, or
By the mid-1920s, Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova had become such a superstar that one ardent chef-admirer created the world’s most airy dessert and named it after her. (Some say the chef was inspired by the dancer’s fluffy tutu worn
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Live sweetly, Julia
