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Orange-Glazed Polenta Cake

Orange-glazed polenta cake

Apparently I’m not the only one who loves polenta cake. The Italians like it so much that it’s called Amor Polenta. Which means “Polenta Love.”

Well, at least that’s what I thought it meant, because amour in French means “love.” And I assumed that it was the same in Italian. (Another reason for finally getting on that life-long ambition to live in Italy and learn Italian.) But for now, checking in an Italian dictionary, I found out that “amor” means “sake.” (As in, for the purpose of.) So I’m not sure how it got its name, but this cake makes a pretty good argument for the sake of whisking polenta into a cake.

Orange-glazed polenta cake

I’m one of those people who is completely crazy for anything with cornmeal, from corn bread to even a kind of kooky polenta ice cream that I’m sure no one else has ever made, because I used a completely obscure polenta that very, very few people can get their hands on. But I felt compelled to make it, for the sake of using up a little bag of that polenta that I had.

Orange-glazed polenta cake

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Tarte au citron: Lemon Tart Recipe

Not everyone thinks of citrus fruits as “winter fruits.” But that’s when oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, tangy lemons, and enticing limes are often at their peak. And that’s a good thing because there’s nothing that brightens up any season – but especially winter – better than a classic French lemon tart. Any bakery in Paris will have a Tarte au citron on offer. Some are on…

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ready for dessert: behind-the-scenes, baking tips, and errata

Thereโ€™s a lot going on when you write a cookbook. You begin with an idea, then spend a year or two testing and developing recipes. Once the first draft is done, it goes through a developmental edit where the editor gives feedback on what youโ€™ve done so far and offers up changes, ideas, or things to reconsider. After youโ€™ve implemented those (or not), it then…

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Maple Pecan Sticky Buns

I’ve never been a huge fan of sticky buns because I find many of them teeth-screamingly sweet. That said, these dial down the sweetness in favor of flavor, courtesy of two of my favorite things: pecans and maple syrup. Andย having the two swaddled in a butterscotch-like caramel seems to make each one taste even better than they do on their own. I was intrigued by…

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Apple Jelly

I was recently reunited with something I miss very much – a loaded apple tree! Friends of mine who had a house in the French countryside had a tree that, come fall, had so many apples, the limbs threatened to break off. Not wanting to be an accomplice in apple-cide, I decided to do my part to save the tree, and the apples, and make…

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Paris book launch and booksigning of ready for dessert!

Iโ€™ll be at AXS design, one of my favorite shops in Paris, celebrating the release of Ready for Dessert on Sept 30th from 5:30 to 7pm. AXS is filled with treasures, including French dinnerware, glasses and linens, and lots more. They were kind enough to lend me some of their beautiful items for the photos in book, so Iโ€™m thrilled theyโ€™re hosting the book launch…

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Thanksgiving Recipes

It’s that time of the year again. When bakers, cooks, and even bartenders, are baking, roasting, and shaking things up for the holidays. Here’s a round-up of recipes from my blog, my personal favorites, that are great for Thanksgiving and winter holiday fรชtes.ย There are cakes, cocktails, spreads, dips, candied nuts, cheesecake, ice cream…and more! Pecan Pie with Bourbon and Ginger What’s more traditional than pecan…

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Get my new book ready for dessert…now available!

Itโ€™s almost ready! Coming this Fall is the new, completely revised edition of Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes. [Itโ€™s now available at ==> Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and at the links below.] When my publisher told me they wanted a new edition of the book, I decided to revise the book completely, from top to bottom. Ready for Dessert is a compilation of…

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Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

There’s a certain ease and simplicity to free-form tarts like this. Sometimes they’re called a crostata, sometimes a galette. You can call it whatever you want, but I call it a fast way to use great fruit when it’s in season, without a lot of fuss. At the beginning of summer, when rhubarb is still lingering around, and strawberries are elbowing their way forward, it’s a…

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