Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
Nov
28
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
I know, I know, I promise two posts each week and then disappeare for a week. And you know why? Because I’ve been baking like a fiend. A fiend I tell you. Usually my goal is to have everything done by the second Monday after Thanksgiving. However, this year, that second Monday will be my first day as Assistant Dean Wormer at a new university. And, because I must have suffered a severe head trauma during the holiday baking planning …
Nov
15
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
I plan out what I am going to wear for the week. Major holidays, parties and home renovations get project notebooks complete with time lines, budgets and diagrams. On the Myers-Briggs I am so far to the right of “J” that the indicator bar hits the end of the interval. TD may, occasionally, under certain circumstances, refer to yours truly as Mussolini.
In addition to making myself sound like the most boring person in the universe, there is method to my …
Nov
10
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
There aren’t many pictures for this post because I tested this recipe veeeeery early one morning before the sun was up. And, as you’ve all had to painfully experience, the lighting in my kitchen is awful (that’s right, I’m blaming the environment, not the photographer). I had a meeting. It was a committee meeting. The way to get committee people to do stuff is to trick them into it by providing tasty vittles, asking for volunteers and then reminding them …
Nov
9
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
Here in Southern California, the marine layer has finally said audios until March, the tourists have gone home and college basketball is just starting. Oh, and it’s holiday baking time. The posts this month are all about logistics. We’ve got a baking-round up, a post on how to plan-out the baking bonanza and another on packaging and wrapping. Of course there will be a new recipe or two, but really, November is about getting it done while maintaining your sanity …
Nov
4
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
…you black-out that apple cake you made. Apples! I’m talking about apples…what did you think I was talking about? So frenzied and absorbing has my baking with apples been in the last few weeks that I actually forgot about this apple cake.
This is the last apple recipe. I promise.
I have to admit, what first drew me to this recipe was the opportunity to shred things with my food processor.
The shredded apples get set aside for a bit in a colander. …
Nov
1
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
We know I have a baking weakness for shortbread and sables. So, I couldn’t resist this recipe. Shortbread and toasted coconut? I’m in. The smell of coconut toasting in the oven is a beautiful thing. Along with the nuttiness you would expect come a heady, floral scent that makes me think of warm sand and salty breezes.
Simple dough, a hallmark of shortbread.
Two logs. One for now, one still in the freezer for a later post.
Seriously good stuff!
Toasted Coconut Shortbread
adapted from …
Oct
27
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
You realize I couldn’t resist saying that right?
This week we round out the apple-o-rama with a cake that is really a pie. I found this recipe while looking for another in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours. It was one of those recipes that I knew I had to try the moment I saw it. She’s named it Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie-Cake after a version her own grandmother made when Dorie was a child. And it has a …
Oct
25
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
I don’t know about you, but I like having a little trick with my treat. And this, is a good one.
You know that orange spice up there? Guess what it is.
Okay fine. Let’s back up. You can tell what is in the next photo right?
That’s right, chocolate. And, from the this photo, I bet you can guess where we are going (any references to the movie the Sandbox will be completely ignored. This isn’t that kind of trick).
Returning to the …
Oct
20
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
Do you mind if we stay in Normandy a bit longer? What if I offer another version of tarte aux pommes?
As I mentioned last Thursday, TD and I were in France a decade ago. Sadly, we have yet to return, but that isn’t the point of this post. Or maybe it is. You see, TD is a bit of a francophobe. Despite everything having turned out pretty much okay, he still hasn’t gotten over World War II. So, the only …
Oct
18
Posted by the Misanthropic Hostess.
This cake!
Things start to get a little frenetic around this time of year what with the big holiday season approaching. So, here’s what were going to do: two-a-weeks from here through the end of 2011. We’ve got a lot to cover. So, sit-up, pay attention and let’s do this.
I love Halloween. Well, I love fall in general, but especially Halloween. It’s fun, there are costumes, it’s a little scary. I like a little scary. Of course, there are lots and …