where the image is meant to titillate and inspire the cook
Over the last decade, I have made in excess of one thousand Matzoh Balls. We make about one hundred every Passover and enjoy them throughout the year as well. As the self-proclaimed Queen of The Matzoh Ball, with Passover around the corner, I’m sharing my tips on preparing the fluffiest and tastiest of matzoh balls!
Blooming Heart Display Tea
There’s a fancy tea party underway to benefit ovarian cancer research over at Foodbuzz. My talented blogger friends are busy preparing darling tea sandwiches and baking scones, crumpets, precious little cakes. So I decided to brew the tea! But not just any tea – an enchanting display tea where heart-shaped white tea leaves gently open into a blossom centered with pink amaranth and orange lily, crowned by a single perfect multi-petaled jasmine flower. A heady tea worthy of my friends’ flair and baking expertise.
Happy Pi Day!
If you are a math nerd (like me), this is a fun day!
People young and old, all around the world, challenge themselves to memorize ∏ on this day
March 14 or 3.14
3.141592653589793238462643383279502884…
Pi, the ratio of the circle’s circumference to its diameter, is an irrational number which never repeats,
so memorizing pi can be a lifelong adventure!
For this Pi Day, we are not baking an apple pie, nor a pizza pie, nor egg pie or quiche!
To celebrate Pi Day 2011 we are going to appreciate our math teachers, or better yet, all our teachers!
Lacquered Brisket of Beef, Anise Ginger Garlic Tamari Glaze
Served with Pickled Fennel
Meet a match made in heaven: Lacquered Beef Brisket & Pickled Fennel. Bright tart crisp pickled fennel flavored with star anise and cinnamon marries super-tender slow-cooked brisket brushed with a barely sweet Asian-flavored sauce. Reducing the brisket cooking liquid of beef broth, star anise, ginger, garlic, sugar, and tamari results in an intensely flavored glossy glaze.
The meat is lacquered with the glaze, and it is painted onto the plate. The result is a striking combination of flavor, texture, color, temperature. Everything can be prepared a day or two ahead. A five lb. brisket serves nine, with the cost per serving under four dollars, making this a terrific dish for entertaining.
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a p e r s i m m o n d r e a m s i c l e
a f r o z e n p e r s i m m o n i n t e r m e z z o
Last month Sally and I had the opportunity to harvest a ton of hachiya persimmons at the home of our friend Alice. This fabulous fruit is ready to pick here October through December only. And as Alice said, “if we didn’t take ’em, the birds surely would.” That was on December 8. Later that week, with the ripe ones, I made a persimmon bread pudding with a bourbon creme anglaise. Sally made a terrific ultra-moist persimmon steam pudding.
As the individual fruits ripen in their own sweet time, we had a bounty of the fruit for a month. When each fruit became extremely soft, I would squeeze out the pulp and save it, well-covered, in the refrigerator until I had enough to make a batch of frozen persimmon “intermezzos.” One batch was turned into a refreshing dessert reminiscent of the orange creamsicles we got from the Good Humor man as kids.