Let Sleeping Bunnies Lie

August 25th, 2008, doughs + doughn'ts, photos, Janaki, 2 Comments

Or bake, at least. This is a ricotta parmesan bunny, emulating a pose Moo adopts on a regular basis. All four of his legs disappear underneath his body and are covered by all his fur, so all you see is this egg-shape…with his head and tail sticking out, of course. It’s ridiculously cute. I enjoy sculpting things with bread, so of course it seemed a natural evolution of an idea.

And one more, just because I can:

If you’re interested in tasting the oft-boasted-of ricotta parmesan bread, it’s going to be the featured bread-of-the-month for October at Lynfred Winery.  Not in bunny form, of course…but I assure you that it’s quite delicious nonetheless (if not, strictly speaking, quite as adorable).

Oh No, Not Nocciole!

August 20th, 2008, cake, dessert, photos, Janaki, 0 Comments

Sometimes friends of mine feel as though they’re putting me to some sort of trouble if I make something for them, whether it’s for a birthday or for some other occasion. Usually, they couldn’t be further from the truth. The only thing more fun than eating this gorgeous torta alla gianduia for Joe’s birthday this year? Making it.

Full of rich, dark Belgian chocolate, a ridiculous amount of Nutella, some Frangelico, and of course topped with a nice dark chocolate ganache and some lovely freshly toasted hazelnuts, what could possibly be better?

On the Ataulfo Coast

August 20th, 2008, photos, salads, Janaki, 0 Comments

Unfortunately you won’t find them in stores here any longer, as their brief flash of seasonality has now passed, but as a lifelong mango lover, I’m of course indescribably fond of ataulfo mangoes, or champagne mangoes, as they’re sometimes called.

Of course, this means I might do something crazy like buy an entire case of them for that brief time they’re available. And indeed, I’ll eat at least one just by itself everyday as a snack. But that only takes care of some of the case, and since I’m the only one in the house who likes mangoes by themselves¹, naturally I have to find something else to do with them.

This leads to things like making curried mango pies, which are nice, and freeze reasonably well—if they last long enough, that is. Or smoothies, which are obvious. Or a lovely chunky mango, cilantro, and chive vinaigrette to go over a nice, cool summer salad—like this one.

1. I know, it’s a travesty! [↩]