My family has a thing about “nuts and bolts.” I wrote about it in my cookbook Southern Snacks. We have our way of doing it. I make a huge batch every year at Christmas for my brother and occasionally at other times of the year. It isn’t difficult to make, it has just come to signify the holidays for me. I buy all those cereals and nuts and ingredients when I do my enormous … [Read more...] about Herby Brown Butter Snack Mix
rosemary
Cranberry Mold with Rosemary and Vanilla
The cranberry entry to the Thanksgiving can be a controversial choice. You’ve got only from the can and never from the can factions. I am from a no can family, in fact our favorite versions lack the gelled texture of the canned variety all together. The standard on my table is this cranberry-tangerine relish and or one of either of the … [Read more...] about Cranberry Mold with Rosemary and Vanilla
Slow Cooker Italian White Bean Soup
Sometimes, in the bleak days of winter, when the holidays are over and real life comes crashing back in, it is nice to have a moment of simple comfort. A nice, filling, warm meal, but not one that takes hours and hours of hands-on prep. So for that reason, I present this very simple, classic soup that takes very little effort but produces beautiful bowls of hearty soup with … [Read more...] about Slow Cooker Italian White Bean Soup
Tomato Sablés
Some time ago, I went a little overboard in a gourmet food shop, buying up all sorts of little French and Italian goodies – the kind of things that tend to linger on a shelf waiting for the “right” time to use them. More often than not, they go bad before the “right” time comes. I bought a tiny little tube with tomato shortbread batons from France. Only after I left the store … [Read more...] about Tomato Sablés
Baked Camembert with Hazelnut and Cranberry Crumble
When I was in school in England many moons ago, the chic appetizer on menus all over the country, from bistros to pubs, was fried camembert with a cranberry relish. Small wheels, or sometimes wedges, of camembert were breaded and fried and served with anything from a canned-type cranberry sauce to complicated cranberry relishes. One English grocery store even (to this day) … [Read more...] about Baked Camembert with Hazelnut and Cranberry Crumble