use real butter

Recipe: chocolate hazelnut petits fours glacés

Sometimes it takes me a few iterations to realize that I hate something… Humans have an amazing capacity for blocking out bad experiences like relationships, suffering, and making petits fours glacés. I’d like to think my inspiration was spurred on by the extra sheet of vanilla chiffon cake I had in my freezer from last time, but I honestly believe I had forgotten that I uttered the words, “I’m never making these again!” just over a month ago.

It’s the same story with a slightly different cast – a cast that probably appeals to more people because it includes our friends chocolate and hazelnut.

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. I am definitely on the mend although not 100% back to normal. I really can’t stand being ill, but to add insult to injury is my loss of appetite, which I guarantee rarely happens.

Peabody mentioned that she likes pears in salad a while back, and that got me thinking… It’s pear season and pears are everywhere. A couple of nights ago, I thought I’d follow a good suggestion and added it to a favorite salad. It’s quick, easy, but full of a lively array of flavors. I tossed baby arugula with a light dressing of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then I topped it with a few shaves of Parmesan, some slices of ripe pear, and a couple of thin sheets of prosciutto. Thanks for a great idea, Peabody!

Recipe: peppermint ice cream

I can’t tell you how excited I was to finally try a peppermint ice cream recipe! I’ve been wanting to make peppermint ice cream ever since I left Ithaca, New York 5 years ago. Ithaca was where on occasion, I would buy Purity brand peppermint ice cream which wasn’t that crappy green stuff. It was real peppermint and pinkish and absolutely heavenly. I suppose peppermint ice cream to me is what Coffee Heath Bar Crunch is to Jeremy. But I was never much of a dairy expert and ice cream wasn’t high on my priority list of skills to accomplish. I don’t know why now, but I’m glad!

This recipe comes from David Lebovitz’ The Perfect Scoop. I actually found it on Elise’s terrific site here. I’ve had issues crushing peppermint candies in the past. My favorite peppermint candy is King Leo brand peppermint sticks, but they are so airy they would just dissolve in ice cream. I used those generic red and whites from the store. When I made peppermint bark in the past, there was a lot of swearing and harming of worktable surfaces. I wised up this time and remembered my seldom-used mortar and pestle.