6 Fall Baking Books
Plus 2 Must-Haves for Foodies
In case you were concerned, I’ve recovered from my summer-has-passed-me-by blues, and I'm looking forward to the fall season. After all, fall is the height of two of my favorite pastimes. Baking and gobbling up all the new cozy cookbooks that make their debut this time of year. There is no end in sight of interesting cookbooks and truly something for everyone. In fact, food memoirs and cookbooks are consistently among the strongest areas of the book industry. Below are six books that I’m planning to add to my kitchen bookshelf this fall. For now my list is focused on baking, but I’ve also included the "queen" (Ina's) memoir and a fun surprise from Dan Pelosi whom I adore.
Tomato Tart for My Sister
More and more over the years, I find myself drawn to tomatoes in the summertime. Although I hate to admit that I don’t necessarily enjoy fresh tomatoes (blasphemy!). I prefer them cooked. Yet the beauty in the misshapen fruits and the varying sizes and shades of red, orange, golden yellow and even green, beg to be celebrated and enjoyed on a warm summer day. Even the smell of vine ripened tomatoes brings up memories. It was fitting that today Facebook pulled up a memory from five years ago of my talented sister Michelle’s colorful tomato harvest. Tomatoes will always be a reminder of my sister Michelle, who I’m pretty sure was looking over my shoulder as I recently made a tomato tart.
Blueberry Nostalgia
Blueberries fill me with nostalgia this time of year. My husband and I and blueberries go way way back. When we were dating I’d buy blueberry cheesecake ice cream, the September monthly special at Baskin Robbins, and make an ice cream pie for his birthday. When we moved back to the Pacific Northwest, blueberry picking became an annual tradition for us. Now that we no longer live near blueberry fields, we are making up for it by eating as many blueberries as we can in one summer. Because you too should be enjoying blueberries, I’m sharing my latest bake with you: a blueberry cheesecake galette.
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Birthday Cake
When my daughter said she and her boyfriend would be coming to the beach the weekend before her birthday and that “maybe we could celebrate my birthday early,” I jumped into planning mode. In my mind, her comment translated to “can you bake a cake?” In trying to decide what kind of cake to make, I ended up offering up a few flavor suggestions and when she reacted to “chocolate and peanut butter,” I knew it was time to make the Zoë Francois chocolate-peanut butter cake.
Devil’s Food Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting
Happy first heavenly birthday to my mom. She would have been 83 today. I wish I could talk to her one more time. I’ve been thinking a lot about her lately. Mom was the one behind our family traditions and she always made holidays and birthdays special. I’ve said before that many of my kitchen memories and favorite foods come from my childhood. My mom stopped baking years ago … maybe that’s why I took it over. I grew up with a cake on the table after dinner more nights than not. Today in memory of my mom, I made a simple two-layer Devil’s Food cake with her recipe for fluffy 7-minute frosting.
Hood Strawberry Balsamic Pizza
Yesterday I drove 45 minutes north on the 101 to Warrenton to buy Hood strawberries from “the strawberry guy” at a roadside stand. Hood strawberries are the best. The creme de la crème. If you know you know. And if you don’t, I’m here to tell you. Hood strawberries or “hoodies” (yes, named after Mt. Hood) are the sweetest, reddest and most juicy flavorful Oregon strawberries you’ll ever taste. Once you’ve tried hoodies you may well become obsessed. The exceptional flavor of Hood strawberries no doubt comes from its high sugar content and the Hood’s beauty comes from its deep red color throughout. The obsession is heightened because Hoods are only available for two to three weeks at the beginning of berry season. They are also very perishable, meaning you’re forced to eat everything strawberry as quickly as possible. The race is on!
Lemon Meringue Bread
I’ve recently been intrigued by a variety of recipes where the addition of meringue gives a traditional recipe a new twist. I don’t know if it’s a trend or if I’m just catching up, but I’m in love with these “fancy” riffs on cakes and breads. It may have all started with the Sweet Potato Tea Cake in Tartine: A Classic Revisited where the loaf cake is topped with vanilla meringue that bakes up crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. I’ve also seen recipes for meringue-topped flourless chocolate cake, carrot cake, pumpkin loaf and lemon bread, with more than one citing the Sweet Potato Tea Cake as inspiration. I was nspired to tackle the Lemon Meringue Bread first.
Carrots, Carrot Cake, Banana Cream Pie & More Spring Recipes
Easter weekend was sunny and beautiful on the Oregon coast albeit with its share of wind! We drove two hours south on the 101 to spend the weekend with family near Depoe Bay where we had no shortage of food or laughter. So, while these recipes may not be as relevant after Easter, I thought I’d share anyway! Besides, if you’re like me, I’m already thinking about what I’ll make next Easter. And, leftover ham in your scalloped potatoes is always a good idea.
Only some of what we made: Carrot Cake, Banana Cream Pie (with chocolate bird’s nest), Scalloped Potatoes, Carrots with Pistachios and Thyme, Easter Salad, Ham and Pepperjack Quiche
Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies
If it seems like Easter snuck up on us this year, you’re right. Depending on the timing of the full moon and the equinox each year, Easter can fall on a Sunday anywhere between March 24 and April 25. So even if it doesn’t yet feel like spring, hippity hoppity, Easter’s on its way and time for spring baking! To get warmed up, and while deciding what to make for Easter day, I made these two versions of what Constellation Inspiration calls “the best Easter cookies.” A fudgy brownie version and a crackle verson both with Cadbury Mini Eggs. I had to make both to determine which one was truly the best.
Solitary Cinnamon Roll
One lonely, all alone cinnamon roll. Ah but sometimes one isn’t the loneliest number. There’s strength in one. One singular sensation. Uno cinnamon-roll-o. One single-serve cinnamon roll for only you. You are the one who gets to eat this soft pillowy cinnamon roll with a gooey center and maple frosting. I’ve been following Sarah of Broma Bakery for several years. She is a delight. Funny, talented and creative. She recently posted a Cinnamon Roll for One and it’s too good - and brilliant - not to share.
Quiche is the Word
One late afternoon last week, I was mulling over the monumental decision of what to make for dinner. I always have chicken and salmon that can be quickly defrosted. But didn’t want chicken again. Not salmon either. I typically buy beef the day I intend to cook it so didn’t have that on hand. Hmmm. I wanted something lighter and none of this was giving me inspiration. Then I remembered that I had a formed pie crust in the freezer from my recent pie dough mania. Maybe Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche but I announced to my husband that quiche was the word, or more specifically, quiche is what’s for dinner! Now to figure out what to put inside said quiche.
Salted Maple Pie for Pi Day
National Pi Day is the perfect holiday for mathematicians and pie bakers alike. Irrational as it may sound, I ended up a journalism major in college after excelling in math in high school. In fact, when I needed another elective block to fill my Bachelor of Arts degree requirements, I took math. Who does that? When I reflect on my senior year in high school, I was one of only three girls in Mr. Hall’s calculus class. I don’t remember receiving any encouragement to do math or to major in a math or science related field. I chose journalism because I liked writing. Fast forward to today and it all worked out. At this point in my life, I would much rather be baking pie than solving for pi.
Perfecting Pie Crust
Last weekend was a rainy but perfect mother-daughter time. I mean what could be better than books, shopping and making PIE?! We spent an excessive amount of time in the delightful Vivienne Portland’s Culinary Bookstore (think cookbooks old and new, colorful linens and trays, consigned kitchenware, cute olive oils … oh my!) and went to a pie class! The focus of the class, taught by Chef Luca, was on pie skills and perfecting pie dough. I’ve always been intimidated making pie crust and get inconsistent results. But, upon taking his class and coming to the revelation (thanks to Luca) that my inner pie creativity will be unleashed once I master the art of pie pastry – I can’t stop dreaming about pie. I may even have spent all this morning going through Sister Pie and Pie Camp making a list of “pies to make.” Figure I can start practicing now and be a pro by Thanksgiving.
Easing Back into Baking
January and February in the Pacific Northwest are sluggish at best. The cold, windy, rainy start to the year grants a license to hibernate. While I typically find it difficult to “do nothing,” this year I’ve done a pretty good job of doing just that. I keep looking at the stack of cookbooks begging for my attention. But mostly I’ve been sauntering by that stack to the couch where I’ve been instead making my way through the Oscar-nominated movies and binging Great British Bake Off (GBBO) episodes. Luckily, those GBBO episodes motivated me to pick up my new copy of Small Batch Bakes from Edd Kimber and make three cookie recipes: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, the Emergency Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Lime Coconut Macaroons.
Apple Fritter Monkey Bread and Salad-topped Frittata
I was recently planning a breakfast for my daughter and her boyfriend, and the dozens of apple recipes in my recipe reserve popped to mind. Apple cider pull-apart bread, apple fritter bread, apple cinnamon rolls, apple cakes, scones, galettes, you name it. I was tempted to try so many of these but then I remembered that I’ve had Apple Fritter Monkey Bread flagged in my One Tin Bakes cookbook for a year or two. Of course, I would need a savory egg dish to give me permission to serve this nostalgic treat as an accompaniment. Back to the bookshelf I went. As I browsed through one of my newer cookbooks, Smitten Kitchen Keepers, her Slumped Parmesan Frittata caught my eye. Decision made.
Two Pumpkin Bar Recipes and a Pumpkin-Crust Pizza
There just aren’t enough days in the two months I consider “pumpkin months” — October and November — or calories for that matter, to make and eat all the iterations of pumpkin recipes that exist. Today I’m sharing two easy sweet and one savory pumpkin recipe for you to try before fall flies by!
Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Bars with Gooey Chocolate
Pumpkin-Crust Pizza with Arugula and Prosciutto
World Peace Cookies
I may have just made the world’s best tasting cookie. It’s part chocolate sable and part chocolate shortbread. World Peace Cookies have been on my list to bake for a very long time. I woke up a couple days ago and suddenly remembered them. The horrific loss of life and atrocities currently going on in the Middle East may have subconsciously been telling me that today was the day I would finally make World Peace Cookies.
Let’s Eat! Book Signing with Grossy Pelosi
When I heard that Dan Pelosi aka Grossy Pelosi, author of the New York Times Bestseller “Let's Eat: 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart and Home,” was coming to Portland for a book signing, I quickly ordered two tickets for me and my daughter and I’m so glad I did!
Pink “Barbie” Movie Treats
The "Barbie" movie is now one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. With all the hype around the movie, I was experiencing a case of FOMO (major FOMO between Barbie and Taylor Swift). My neighbor and I were talking about how neither of us had seen the movie and decided it was a great excuse for a “pink” party! So last weekend, a lovely group of GenXers and Baby-Boomer tail enders from the neighborhood gathered at my home to reminisce about our Barbie-playing days and watch Barbie while wearing shades of pink, sipping rosé and partaking in popcorn and pink movie treats.
Strawberries for Summer Solstice
Strawberries are the cheerful, joyful fruit. What better way to celebrate summer solstice, the first official day of summer, than with the happiness of strawberries. I love that they kick off the berry season … strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. Technically speaking, salmonberries are first since they ripen as early as May and I would remiss not to include them now that I live on the Oregon Coast and one of my favorite restaurants here is indeed The Salmonberry in Wheeler. I’m here to tell you that one of the best things about moving back to Oregon is the availability of Hood strawberries or what those in the know call “hoodies” – the strawberriest of strawberries to be found!