AhitoZiti

Winter Grilling

The winter in Chicago can be quite overwhelming so with a foot of snow outside my window I decided to break out one of my favorite Indian cookbooks from Madhur Jaffrey and fill my house with some fabulous aromas. I think my expectations were quite high as I've made many things from Jaffrey before and Tandoori chicken is an Indian staple so I thought her spin would be special and a great cure for my winter blues. To be fair the recipe is supposed to be cooked on a grill in the heart of the......Read more»

A Sweet New Year

Happy New Year! My husband got me this fantastic cookbook for Christmas and thought I would break in the book with Joanne Chang's cookies from Flour Bakery and Cafe in Boston. The ingredient list is slightly different than your average chocolate chip cookie as the flour component is a mix of 1 cup of bread flour and 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour. The bread flour seems to result in a puffier cake like cookie. I've made tons of cookie recipes in the past and this was my first experience......Read more»

That's a Flop

Greystone Bakery's Olive Oil and Sherry Soufflé Cake has all of the makings of what I had hoped would be a sumptuous finish to an Italian dinner. The cake features less than 10 ingredients, all of which are delicious on their own - Sherry, EV Olive Oil, Rosemary, Lemon zest, etc. The batter for the cake takes less than 20 minutes to prepare and is poured into a Bundt pan, which is a shape I love baking with as your cake always finishes looking polished and toothsome.......Read more»

Urban Ranch

Beef tenderloin is a true classic and honestly one of the best dishes to serve for any special occasion or to make just for yourself if you are a true steak lover! You really don't need to add any special seasoning to this cut of meat to produce a winner but Perini has a fantastic rub which adds a special kick to an elegant meal. The Perini Ranch Steak Rub is the perfect combination of crunch and spice which brings out all the great flavors from the meat. The recipe is perfect as it it......Read more»

Tartine Bakery Shortbread

Finely textured and very tender, this is the perfect version of the Scottish cookie. Many recipes include some kind of starch that contributes, along with butter, to the “shortness” of the dough, which is where these cookies get their melt-in-the-mouth texture. Potato starch, cornstarch, and rice flour are among the possibilities. Rice flour gives a bit more crunch, while cornstarch is the softest of all, making a particularly short and flaky cookie. If my butter hasn’t......Read more»

Lemon Bliss

These may be among the very best lemon squares I've ever had and certainly ever made. They are very easy to make and without question think the lemon batter is well developed. The recipe leaves something to be desired with regard to the shortbread crust in that for a seasoned baker it is unclear how to finish baking the crust. Once you get past the ambiguity introduced while making the crust - you will want to partially cook/finish the crust with pie weights and then finish cooking the crust......Read more»

A Classy Start

This holiday season I had the fortune of making a family dinner and needed to make an appetizer that all types and ages of guests would enjoy from the really young to the more mature. This is a staple I've made thousands of times and when you tell company how simple it is I guarantee they will all add it to their repertoire. Cheese is something which by itself appeals to almost everyone and adding butter then baking them together only makes it that much better - a dare say sinful. You will......Read more»

Succulent Osso buco

An undeniable classic! This dish is one of my favorites - I love this time of year as having family around gives me an excuse for making this. It has absolutely fantastic flavor and is so easy. I can be a gracious hostess to my guests while still preparing a very gourmet dish for dinner. Bone marrow is not always everyone's favorite though is really a very special part of this dish, not a requirement but if you haven't had it before this dish is a great way to try. One small note about the......Read more»

Best of Both Worlds

This is a really interesting recipe in that it produces a dessert which is both a pudding and a cake from the same batter! I decided to serve this at a dinner party to find it met with some mixed response in that several foodies found it likely the result of a prior failed attempt to make soufflé and immediately dismissed it as a failure. Despite the criticism I thought it a perfect end to our meal. It was exactly as the recipe described, the top half was a very fresh light lemon cake......Read more»

Pecan Wonderland

I've been waiting for the right moment to write about this pie as it is without question one of my new favorites. This will be a crowd pleaser for any occasion or a fantastic treat to make for yourself. Don't worry if there are only two of you - my husband an I enjoyed this pie for several consecutive nights as it lasts quite well. There is nothing too complicated about this pie though I highly recommend making your own crust as the recipe indicates - don't skimp and buy a pre-made crust. This......Read more»