Category: dessert

travel: pacific pragmatism…

~ The last time I visited Seattle I was a rising senior in college.  That summer, I spent a few days with my friend Miller, who was from the inland suburb of Issaquah.  Thereafter, I went down to Portland to visit another college friend, Newland.  That was the last time I was in Portland too. […]

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travel: pacific pragmatism…

~ The last time I visited Seattle I was a rising senior in college.  That summer, I spent a few days with my friend Miller, who was from the inland suburb of Issaquah.  Thereafter, I went down to Portland to visit another college friend, Newland.  That was the last time I was in Portland too. […]

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travel: intercontinental… (chile part ii)

~ In this second half of my report about my trip to Chile earlier this year (here’s the first half), I take you to some of the most beautiful destinations I’ve ever visited: three of Chile’s wine valleys, and to a few points along the country’s long coastline.

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travel: intercontinental… (chile part ii)

~ In this second half of my report about my trip to Chile earlier this year (here’s the first half), I take you to some of the most beautiful destinations I’ve ever visited: three of Chile’s wine valleys, and to a few points along the country’s long coastline.

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travel: raging case of gowanus…

~ My friend Adam wanted cake.  Specifically, he wanted Frank Stitt’s seven-layer coconut cake, which he knows that I make upon request from time to time.  So, he suggested that we spend two nights at his family’s home on Long Island to relax, to cook, to bake, to eat. We had bagels at a place […]

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travel: raging case of gowanus…

~ My friend Adam wanted cake.  Specifically, he wanted Frank Stitt’s seven-layer coconut cake, which he knows that I make upon request from time to time.  So, he suggested that we spend two nights at his family’s home on Long Island to relax, to cook, to bake, to eat. We had bagels at a place […]

Continue

travel: second city…

~ When I left my twenties, I went to Chicago to mark the passing of that decade, and to welcome the next. In the five years since, I’ve kept the tradition, choosing a different city with each new birthday. In 2009, I celebrated in New York; in 2010, in Washington D.C.; and in 2011, Charleston. […]

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travel: second city…

~ When I left my twenties, I went to Chicago to mark the passing of that decade, and to welcome the next. In the five years since, I’ve kept the tradition, choosing a different city with each new birthday. In 2009, I celebrated in New York; in 2010, in Washington D.C.; and in 2011, Charleston. […]

Continue

travel: rediscovering coastal cuisine…

~ I’m not going to be shy: I’m very good with geography.  I always have been.  (I also have an unusually good sense of direction. My family calls me the walking GPS.) But, whereas I once associated places with landmarks, or friends, or museums, or colleges, I now mentally map out the world with food […]

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travel: rediscovering coastal cuisine…

~ I’m not going to be shy: I’m very good with geography.  I always have been.  (I also have an unusually good sense of direction. My family calls me the walking GPS.) But, whereas I once associated places with landmarks, or friends, or museums, or colleges, I now mentally map out the world with food […]

Continue

travel: one day more…

~ In January of 2011, I went to Lyon a spectator, expecting little more than a fun detour on a two-week break from life. It turned out to be the start of the most incredible adventure I’ve known yet. It’s hard to believe, but one more day and one day more has turned into two […]

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travel: one day more…

~ In January of 2011, I went to Lyon a spectator, expecting little more than a fun detour on a two-week break from life. It turned out to be the start of the most incredible adventure I’ve known yet. It’s hard to believe, but one more day and one day more has turned into two […]

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travel: paper coronation…

~ Europe: if it weren’t for your slow-speed (and often, non-existent) internet and lack of air-conditioning, I’d declare you the superior continent without reservation. But God bless, every time I step off a plane or train in Europe, be it in Brussels or Strasbourg, Zurich or Amsterdam, I’m greeted with the intense smell of coffee […]

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travel: paper coronation…

~ Europe: if it weren’t for your slow-speed (and often, non-existent) internet and lack of air-conditioning, I’d declare you the superior continent without reservation. But God bless, every time I step off a plane or train in Europe, be it in Brussels or Strasbourg, Zurich or Amsterdam, I’m greeted with the intense smell of coffee […]

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travel: a bunker, a photo shoot, and some sprouts…

~ As I enter March, a month perennially fraught with the anxieties of turning a year older, I find myself clinging to January and February a little tighter, wishing they had lasted a bit longer. But I did more than my fair share of living in the first two months of this year. I’ll start […]

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travel: a bunker, a photo shoot, and some sprouts…

~ As I enter March, a month perennially fraught with the anxieties of turning a year older, I find myself clinging to January and February a little tighter, wishing they had lasted a bit longer. But I did more than my fair share of living in the first two months of this year. I’ll start […]

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best desserts of 2012…

~ Last year, I asked: “Is pastry having a ‘moment?’” The question was clearly rhetorical. And in the paragraphs that followed, I cited dozens of examples of why I thought it was so. In 2012, pastry sustained its “moment” because chefs kept redefining and expanding its borders. They continued to explore uncharted territory, questioning tradition, […]

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best desserts of 2012…

~ Last year, I asked: “Is pastry having a ‘moment?’” The question was clearly rhetorical. And in the paragraphs that followed, I cited dozens of examples of why I thought it was so. In 2012, pastry sustained its “moment” because chefs kept redefining and expanding its borders. They continued to explore uncharted territory, questioning tradition, […]

Continue

12 days: drummers drumming (kostow)…

~ On the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me his kitchen. For the final act in this twelve-part series of dinners in St. Helena, Kostow opened the menu up for collaboration among his five sous chefs: Kim Floresca (executive sous), Daniel Ryan (pastry chef), […]

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12 days: drummers drumming (kostow)…

~ On the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me his kitchen. For the final act in this twelve-part series of dinners in St. Helena, Kostow opened the menu up for collaboration among his five sous chefs: Kim Floresca (executive sous), Daniel Ryan (pastry chef), […]

Continue