Dessert
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Jumbleberry Cobbler, AKA “Baked Summer”
Recently, while brushing up on my history of the American cobbler (and it’s crazy how much I’ve forgotten since eighth-grade American cobbler class), I read up on how to distinguish the cobbler from its close kin: grunts, slumps, crisps, crumbles, Bettys, buckles, pandowdies, zonkers, sonkers, tarts, tortes and croustades. And with that information fresh in mind, I had to fight the temptation to change the topping in this recipe to something nutty or cracker-crumby JUST so I could call this “Jumbleberry Crumble.” Doesn’t that have a nice ring? But I resisted that temptation, because I don’t think any other topping would do this justice. If you had a mind to…
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Prophetic Nutty Bars
That was the craziest day I’ve had in a long time. No, that’s not extreme enough. That was the craziest day I’ve EVER HAD. It all started innocently enough. I planned to spend the morning enjoying Gage, bake a pan of Nutty bars to send to North Dakota with Britt, and then see the two of them off on the train later in the day. Riiiight. (Insert ominous soundtrack here) Here’s how the day actually went: 4:30 a.m. Get up with Gage while Dave takes Britt to work 8:00 Start making nutty bars. Realize I’ve forgotten to buy nuts 9:00 Load Gage in the car and drive to Safeway to…
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New York Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Topping
They say that only two things are certain in this life: death and taxes. In my world, there are two more certainties: Dave would like tacos for dinner, and Dave would like cheesecake for dessert. Any day, any occasion, any time ...
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Oh-So-Lemony Bundt Cake
I have never met a lemon I didn't like. When I was in my early teens, I came up with my first food-related invention: lemony V8 juice. It was a pretty simple recipe: one part lemon juice to three parts V8, topped with a big sprinkling of pepper. That's a lot of lemon juice, when you think about it. But it was only the beginning ...
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Wynken, Blynken and Nod … and a Poke Cake
And so it begins. Last night, my three sisters, one brother-in-law, and two nephews braved the elements and joined us in an impromptu going-away party for Zac. Two of my sisters left their car at the top of our hill and walked the quarter-mile downhill, across the trail, and back up hill, slogging through the remnants of all that snowfall last week. But no one wanted to miss the gathering. I really can’t believe my oldest child is somehow old enough to sail away on a fishing boat headed for the Bering Sea. I still remember playing “watch out for the shark” when he was just a tiny, curly-haired boy.…
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Pecan Tassies
A long time ago -- long before I'd begun acquiring my people -- I acquired this fancy little gadget, which my friend ordered from a man in Philadelphia who was handy at carving fancy little gadgets. I think she ordered one for me so I would stop badgering her into baking me batches and batches of my at-the-time most favorite dessert: Pecan Tassies. Lois looked relieved when she shoved her gift across the table toward me. "And here's the recipe," she added. Despite the period at the end of her sentence, I couldn't help but hear the unspoken, "Now, quit bugging me." We're still friends. But I've had to make…
