Scallops with Apricot Sauce

posted by Jaden I was sent a lovely note from blog reader, Carol, requesting a recipe for scallops with a lovely fruity sauce. It’s a dish from Blackfin Bistro, a restaurant in Key West, but sadly they no longer have it on the menu. Don’t you hate that? Fall in …

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Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gai)

posted by Jaden When I was in Los Angeles a few years ago, I stopped by the now-closed (sniff sniff) The Cook’s Library Bookstore and picked up a copy of Tessa Kiros’ Apples For Jam, A Colorful Cookbook fully intending it to be a gift for a friend, but after …

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layered mocha cheesecake

Last Friday at 3 pm, when we had dinner plans at 6, I decided it had been too long since I’d gotten myself into a right mess of a baking project and decided to make my husband a cheesecake for his birthday — which we were already 14 hours into. …

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focaccia sandwiches for a crowd

Last year, Alexandra Stafford published a very good book about bread. It sprang from a recipe for the peasant bread her mother made often when she was growing up. When she shared it on her site, it went viral, which is no surprise given that it’s no-knead, comes together in …

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marbled raspberry pound cake

This small, fearless wildling we literally just brought home from the hospital turned three a couple weeks ago, but despite my certainty that we just got her, I won’t lie, this feels like a gazillion years ago because when did she not have hair. Strangers on the street often ask …

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minimalist barbecue sauce

Every summer, I promise that I’m going to tell you about this shortcut barbecue sauce I use when I don’t have it in me to bring home 11 bottles and jars plus 2 vegetables for what I consider the ultimate, Queen Ina’s. I love that one, regardless. I make it …

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bourbon peach smash

Most conversations about shrubs go like this. “Wait, like the green bushy things that grow in the ground?”“No, it’s a drink.”“A leafy drink?”“No, it’s actually just three ingredients — fruit, sugar, and vinegar…”“Wait, you drink vinegar? Why would you drink vinegar?”“Well, we love sour things like lemon and lime in …

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corn fritters

We used to fritter on the regular. The earlier archives of this site are filled with favorites that got us through many snacky toddler meals and excesses of vegetables: broccoli-parmesan, zucchini, cauliflower-feta, cabbage and mixed vegetables with an okonomiyaki vibe, mixed vegetables with a pakora-spiced vibe, and of course, potato …

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Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cafe Sua Da)

posted by Jaden Vietnamese Iced Coffee is an intensely brewed coffee concentrate that drips down into a tall glass of ice and a big spoonful of sweetened condensed milk. To make Vietnamese Iced Coffee, start with medium grind French Roast coffee, brew in a Vietnamese coffee press with 2 tablespoons …

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