Whether or not you’re a big football fan, Superbowl Sunday is a chance to gather with friends and make all the snack foods and appetizers you’ve been craving all winter, not to mention a few liquid libations.

Both my husband, David, and I grew up in New England and have been Pats fans for years, but our tastes in snacks run more to the South. We’re quite partial at our house to nachos; pulled pork with David’s famous BBQ sauce (coleslaw ON the sandwich, not on the side, thank-you-very-much!), and Cowboy Caviar (kind of like salsa). (more…)

Bagels for babies? Think toddlers sitting in the shopping cart, happily gnawing their way through a chewy bagel half as mom shops. Or those of us eating “baby-sized” portions in order to take off those 5 pounds that magically appeared during the holidays; this recipe makes cute little 3 1/2”, 2 1/2-ounce bagels, over a third smaller than normal bagels.

Or maybe these bagels are for you bagel-baker wannabes who’ve never made this signature treat before. Because this particular recipe, while exacting in both ingredients and timing, produces a pretty darned good bagel if you simply follow the directions. (more…)

From the National Confectioners’ Association Web site: “A recent survey revealed that 52% of U.S. adults said they like chocolate best. The second favorite flavor was a tie (at 12% each) between berry flavors and vanilla.”

Meanwhile, the International Ice Cream Association (Washington, D.C.) says America’s favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla (29%), with chocolate a distant second (8.9%).

So, my fellow Americans, which is it—chocolate, or vanilla? (more…)

WHEW!

Now that the long, LONG Presidential election process has finally drawn to a star-spangled conclusion, let’s all take a big breath, let it out slowly, and RELAX. Winter’s here, and it’s a great time to settle in with some simple comfort food: soup and muffins.

I admit, I’ve never been a great soup-maker. Bread, yes. Cookies and cake and pizza, fine. Stir-fries and curries, stew and anything on the grill, I’m in my element. But somehow, the fine art of soup preparation has thus far escaped me. (more…)

My Web team buddy, Janet, and I have been working together here at King Arthur for almost 20 years. Comfortable old friends, we often like to relax at the end of the day. So late yesterday, she’s reading me the menu for today’s inaugural luncheon.

“It’s supposed to reflect Abraham Lincoln,” she said. “Seafood stew—scallops, shrimp, lobster with a puff pastry topping.” (more…)

Chocolate. A perfectly fine ingredient on its own. Some folks like to pair it with raspberry. Some, no doubt devoted fans of the Sacher Torte, marry it with apricot. Many add coffee and say “Make mine mocha.” And some benighted bakers actually pair chocolate with (gulp) orange. To which I say, “Hot chocolate is hot chocolate and OJ is OJ, and never the twain should meet.” (more…)

It must happen at least 2 or 3 times a month. One of us here in the King Arthur test kitchen will hold up an orphan equipment sample from a vendor and say, “I hate this thing. Is anyone else actually USING it, before I get rid of it?” Never fails but someone else will say, “I LOVE that thing! Put it on MY station!” (more…)

Now here’s a dessert I’ll bet you haven’t seen in ages: jelly roll.

That’s right, just a plain, old-fashioned jelly roll. Which, to those of you born after the Boomer bubble and thus never exposed to classic desserts of days gone by, is simply a thin sheet of cake spread with jelly or jam, and rolled up. No mousse, no liqueur, no single-source varietal cacao bean nibs. Just cake. And jelly. (more…)

Ahhhhh, cinnamon toast. (more…)

I confess to a certain ignorance about Jewish baking. I didn’t grow up in that culture (aside from a brief exposure to Chanukah songs in kindergarten). As a kid, my Jewish friends gravitated, like me, more towards McDonald’s fries and Ring-Dings than latkes and honey cake.

But I have to admit, my education has been growing by leaps and bounds since I started blogging here. You readers out there have seen to that. (more…)