Egg whites are the key element in this recipe.
A treat akin to marmalade is lemon (or orange) tart. The mother's traditional role in many a culture has been to provide warm affection, often in the tangible form of sweets and desserts. I am fond of the expression "As American as Mom and apple pie." There are French equivalents of apple pie; they include crème caramel, île flottante (otherwise knows as oeufs à la neige), and tarte au citron.
It's one of few restaurant desserts that can be made at home with foolproof results, even if you're not a star baker.
While writing this book, my family and I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I had great fun exploring a new place and its cuisine. The inspiration for this recipe came late one night when sleep would not. In my mind, it seemed that rich pine nuts and spicy ground chiles would be a fantastic combination in a pound cake. I was right.
These addictive truffles were inspired by some served at the prestigious Magnolia Grill in Durham, North Carolina, a restaurant known nationwide for its innovative desserts. Whereas the chef there uses dry-roasted peanuts, I much prefer the large, toothsome, regular goobers I order routinely from Aunt Ruby's in Enfield, North Carolina (1-800-843-0105), and for even smoother and richer texture, I do add butter to the chocolate. If ever the affinity between bacon and peanut butter and/or chocolate were questioned, these truffles serve as undeniable proof. Stored in an airtight container, the truffles keep in the refrigerator up to about a week and are best served slightly chilled.
Grape pies have all the voluptuous qualities of a blackberry pie, but I've never found a commercial one, or even one from a farmers' market, that's even half as good as homemade. The filling can also be used to make individual tarts or a lattice-covered pie. It freezes well, too, which means you can have a grape tart on Thanksgiving, which I always do.
When our great-grandparents didn't want to bother with the mess and fuss of doing ice cream in hand-cranked ice cream freezers, they used ice cube trays and did this stirred version. No equipment needed and the ice cream tastes just swell.
Ingredients
This rich, crustless cheesecake studded with chestnut chunks is scented with the unbeatable combination of vanilla and dark rum. That combination brings unexpected elegance to this cake, which originated as a simple country pudding.
As plain as these cookies look, that's how surprising they are. At first glance, they have the look of little meringue buttons: their tops are pale, smooth, buff colored, and as crackly thin as parchment. Tucked beneath the crust is the cookie proper, a tidbit that is all crunch. These are cookies you might be tempted to gobble like gumdrops if it weren't for their flavor: anise, a flavor so assertive it can never be taken lightly.