I found this recipe for one of the world’s easiest but most delicious desserts in a rather fabulous book, by chef and “culinary philosopher” Gioacchino Scognamiglio, called Il Chichibio: Ovvero Poesia Della Cucina, which translates as “The Gallant: or the Poetry of Cooking” (and Chichibio, I should also tell you, was a rakish Venetian cook in Boccaccio’s Decameron). At Scognamiglio’s instigation, I went to great lengths to acquire a bottle of Elisir San Marzano, which has a peculiarly Italian, chocolate-coffee-herbal hit. Feel free to use coffee liqueur or rum or, better still, a mixture of the two in its place. This is a no-churn affair. You mix everything together, wodge it into a loaf pan, freeze, and you’re done. I like this with a few raspberries to tumble around and a chocolate sauce to Jackson Pollock over it.
Ingredients
Ingredients
This lovely, magical candy bar is named for our lovely, magical friend and mentor, Dorie Greenspan. We could think of no better tribute to Dorie, a renowned cookbook author herself, than to include the bar that she inspired. It's a combination of all our favorite flavors and textures: the crispness and deep, dark flavor of the chocolate cookie (adapted from one of Thomas Keller's recipes, no less; the lush, melt-in-your-mouth salted caramel ganache; the chewy dried apricots and tart lemon; and the surprising zip of black pepper. "More than the sum of its parts" doesn't even begin to describe it.
Ingredients
We were asked to make these as wedding favors for a friend, and we kind of rolled our eyes. Buckeyes? Really? But they're so ... boring. Peanut butter filling, rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate to resemble horse chestnuts. Sure, they're a favorite of Ohio natives, where the buckeye is the official state tree; and sure, they're easy enough to make. But where's the challenge? The excitement? Didn't they want something fancier for a wedding?
Baking the galette on a pizza stone ensures a very crisp bottom crust. But a baking pan or cookie sheet will work just fine too. Patch any little tears in the crust with extra pieces of dough and smooth them with a wet finger so the juices won’t leak out of the galette. Don’t fret when you are folding over the dough; if the edges are a little rough, they will only add to the rustic character of this delicious dessert.
We prefer the sweet flavorful flesh of the kabocha squash over any other pie pumpkin. The chestnut-like texture of this pie makes it especially toothsome.
Even people who aren’t big pumpkin pie fans will like this genteel version. Light, delicate, and sweet, it is a recipe from a kinder, gentler time. Its very name—“chiffon”—evokes a sheer and floaty fabric, a long way from today’s sturdy Spandex. Even after a hearty holiday meal, we find there’s always room for a small slice of this lovely pie.
Afra Lineberry, Agee to her family, opened The Jerre Anne Bake Shoppe in St. Joe, Missouri, in 1930. It was the last stop on the trolley line. Conductors would leave their cars running while they ran into Agee’s for a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. “It seems like I just always knew how to make a good pie crust. It may take a little practice for some, but the only time to get excited about a pie crust is when you’re eating it,” Agee used to say. The little shop grew to be a smashing success, and by 1990, with Geraldine Lawhon (Agee’s niece) running the place, it was selling 625 pies at Thanksgiving alone. Sadly, The Jerre Anne closed its doors in 2008. When you eat Agee’s pie, send your thanks heavenward.