Yes.  We are still talking about blueberries.  And happy Bastille Day while we are at it.
I’m always game to try a new cookie recipe and so set this one aside last fall after it appeared in September’s Bon Appetit Magazine to rave reviews.  Who knows why it took me this long to get to it.
The recipe is for blueberry and cream cookies from Momofuko Milk Bar in New York.  It begins with a sort of, well, milk-crumb-streusel concoction.  Now, I …

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In general, words and phrases that have been purposely spelled incorrectly (usually as a means of kitschifying said word or term) earn a blanket boycott from me.  I don’t care how good the pancakes at the Koffee Kart in Manhattan Beach happen to be.  I refuse to step foot inside the place.
There is one exception. Embarrassing as it is to admit (and it’s okay, you can laugh), in our household we call blueberries baluberries.  After the Balu the cat.  You …

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Every once in a while I get inspired and come up with a recipe.  The inspiration for this one came while looking at all the odds-and-ends of half-empty bags of chocolate and confections that reside in the bin in our pantry creatively labeled “chocolate.”  Specifically, the nearly eight ounces of crumbled Lindt white chocolate white coconut bits I had from making curls for at least three different cakes.  What to do?  What to do?
Here is what I did.  And here …

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We’ve already established the fact that I like parties even when I don’t like the people involved…hence the name of this little blog.  So, as you can imagine, my head nearly explodes with anticipatory excitement when the chance to celebrate is paired with groovy people (think Oprah’s favorite things excited).  This was recently the case when we feted the upcoming nuptials of a favorite colleague.  The hosts indulgently allowed me to to have some fun with it. Though, I think …

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We’ve talked about Cooks Illustrated before and about how great their recipes are.  And they are great.  Spot on.  Always turn out.
However, after having collected the magazine for years, I can say with confidence that Cooks Illustrated could make pouring a glass of lemonade sound complicated.  And I understand this, because as I’ve openly admitted, I’m the same way.  I like to do things right and sometimes this requires multiple steps.   However, complicated seems too derogatory a term for …

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TD: Can you make me some cookies?  Only, you know, the normal ones.
Me: You mean the kind without any of those villainous pink peppercorns?
TD: Uh huh.  Yeah, those.
And so goes TD’s quarterly request for what he calls, “the normal cookies.”  The “normal cookies” is simply code for chocolate chip cookies.  Whenever I make a batch, they are quickly put into a zip lock bag and appropriated to the “man loft” where they are stored in the “man fridge” to be …

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I was at the gym the other day watching Sex and the City on Closed Caption while toiling away on the rowing machine.  I think it’s funny that I get most of my pop culture via subtitle while at the gym.  Of course this can lead to confusion like the time I was watching VH1 while on the treadmill and spent an entire music video thinking Menudo were the Jonas Brothers (all the while opining, ‘hey, these Jonas Brothers are …

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Most of the time I consider baked goods gender-neutral.  I’d like to think that as a product of post-modern feminism, I’m above the cliched sugar, spice and everything nice for girls or squirrels, snails and puppy-dog-tails for boys.  Most of the time, dessert is just dessert.  But.  Every once in a while I come across a recipe that for me, resonates either yin or yang (yeah, yeah, we all know I was just in China and am not fooling anyone).
This …

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Greetings from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in China!  Can you believe I’m posting from an IPhone in Southwest China??? Hazzah!
I realize I still haven’t shared photos from my Hong Kong/Shenzen trip in March.  Perhaps there is a mid-summer China post in my future.
Anyhow, shall we continue with the cake theme? Yellow cake.  Milk chocolate frosting.  Lots of colorful sprinkles.  Can you get any more “birthday” than that?  I have to admit up front, that this cake didn’t come together as …

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May is my birthday month.  So, I thought I’d make cake.  All month. Seems reasonable right?
Let’s start with a love of mine from childhood birthdays passed: the lemon poppy seed bundt cake.  I remember watching my mom make this cake: lemon boxed cake mix+lemon pudding mix=little kid heaven.  It’s been on my mind for some time to see if I can recreate the deliciousness of this boxed pudding cake from scratch.
Well, at least the remembered deliciousness…I have a feeling that …

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