The Other Woman Cooks

Friends will attest to my tendency to bake after losing elections. Years ago, a good pal lost a shot at becoming state senator. I kneaded my way through the loss producing 27 loaves of poppy seed challah. The way I've been baking the last few days, you'd think we lost everything last Tuesday. I texted that thought to an ally this morning and she immediately wrote back, "Well, we did lose a lot." Democrats, and it's no secret that I'm a Democrat, experienced sea change. Some of us saw it coming, helpless against that tide, stayed home to save ourselves. For us in Massachusetts, we had to work hard, harder than we have in a long time, to hold our fort. And we did ... but the reverb from the national landscape affected me more than I thought. Not that I'm whining. The thing about elections is there's always another one. The good news? I've come up with a fabulous new quiche filling and savory butter crust recipe. H...

This crust recipe is worthy of the best French chef -- the simplest ingredients using a complicated technique that delivers scrumptious results. From fussy Frangipane with pears (full recipe below) to fresh berries glazed with seedless jam (microwave the jam a minute before brushing it over the berries piled in the perfectly baked crust). Cooked chocolate pudding (make it dark chocolate) also makes a yummy filling. Add a dollop of whipped cream. Not exactly on the low-cal diet menu but I guarantee your family will be in awe! BUTTER SHORTBREAD TART CRUST 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar dash of salt 1 stick very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1 large egg yolk Put the flour, sugar and salt in the food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in — mixture will be the size of baby peas. Whisk th...

Not everything in life is easy. Take pitting a pound or two of fresh cherries -- a real PITA (Pain In The Ass) but once you bite into this Cheery Cherry Tart it'll all be forgotten. Today was Father's Day. Ask any dad who worried that the mother of his children would never forgive him for his part in convincing her to make him a dad. OK, so the truth is that we never forget and we do tend to talk about it in gory detail for months afterward. Especially to other new moms -- it's like comparing notes after final exams. But we don't mind so much once it's over and the babies are so loveable that most of us are willing to try it again. Having reason to celebrate Father's Day and/or Mother's Day is worth it. Kinda like pitting cherries. CHEERY CHERRY TART Crust: 1 -1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup confectioner sugar Dash of salt 1/8 teaspoon almond extract 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, allowed t...

We're still flush with apples and that means I'm rolling in dough -- or rather rolling the dough. It's no secret that I don't often bake whole pies -- except for family holiday dinners or when company's coming. And whether I bake a traditional all-American apple pie, a blueberry beauty or late harvest peach-raspberry melba, I like to use my own original yogurt crust recipe. This recipe works well for one crust pies like lemon meringue and pumpkin, too. Try it with vanilla yogurt instead of lemon for a baked shell worthy of your best cooked chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream after chilling. For savory recipes like quiche or even French meat pies (Stay tuned, my grandmere's tourtiere recipe will grace these pages before you know it!) eliminate the sugar and substitute plain yogurt for the flavored kind. For a fancy finish, pick up a set of decorative pie crust cutters from your favorite kitchen boutique. My fall leaves came from Williams-Sonoma last y...

My husband, Farmer Paul (aka Fisherman Paul, Hiker Paul and all variety of other vigorous and productive activities), and I sat on the patio after dinner (The Silver Palate Cookbook, page 187 - Red Snapper with Butter and Shallot Sauce), sipped a little white wine and admired our garden. A plopping sound cut through the quiet. "Apple down," he said, jumping up to snatch a beautifully ripe and pretty big Macintosh from the grass under the laden branches of our supposedly (another story for another day) dwarf variety of self pollinating apple tree. "Let's go in and bake a pie." I haven't made an actual pie in a long time. My youngest son hasn't lived home since college and a whole pie is just too big for three of us to eat before the crust goes soggy. What you see in the picture here is a piece of last night's Apple Blueberry Galette with a side dollop of homemade creme fraiche. Galettes are my specialty. Sounds fancy, doesn't it? So around here...