A seething mass of turgid drama.

Oranges: Slim Shaded

2026-04-27T17:09:20Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Upside-Down Blood Orange-Rosemary Tea Cake.
"This gorgeous ombré* cake features in-season blood oranges, rosemary for a subtle savory note, and cardamom** for a delicate floral touch. And don't skip the whipped cream - some things in life are simply better with it."***
( Read more... )
* "shaded", presumably referring to the oranges fading into the cake?
** or not.
*** True!

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Yeast is Yeast, West is West.

2026-04-06T21:26:56Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: (Spiked) Sourdough Bread.
I am giving you my revised version, with actual sourdough leavening rather than just flavor.
( Read more... )

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madbaker @ 2026-03-16T10:24:00

2026-03-16T17:37:35Z

We day-tripped Crown this last weekend. ( Read more... )

All in all we had a decent time and enjoyed chatting with friends.

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Modern Mock of a Modern Method

2026-01-06T22:43:02Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Mortadella Cookies.
Medieval mortadella sausage is 1) not emulsified; 2) does not contain pistachios. But this is a thoroughly modern cookie recipe that (spoilers!) looks quite like its target. Pics on FB in the Saluminati group if you're interested.
( Lengthy instructions, but surprisingly quick and easy )

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Let Them Eat Cake

2025-12-30T15:37:50Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Tunisian Orange-Almond Cake.
"Breadcrumbs, used in place of flour, give this Tunisian-style cake a delightful texture."
( Read more... )

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Every Girl Crazy

2025-12-21T20:16:28Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Autumn Galette.
"This recipe is a real celebration of autumn. It's a sweet-savoury combination of apples, shallots, and cheese. Serve with a sharply dressed salad." (Which I assume is made by ZZ Top.)
( Galette Me Try This )

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madbaker @ 2025-11-28T09:42:00

2025-11-28T17:46:58Z

Thanksgiving with my dad went well. He is doing much better, although he still can't have alcohol or spicy food while he is on blood thinners. The traditional dishes tasted like my childhood ones. The Marlborough Pudding (apple custard pie) was good and fully set, despite some crust failure. I used a bit too much butter/lard and the sides slumped, so the slightly over-full filling covered the crust completely. And of course that meant a soggy bottom. But making a day ahead meant that it removed from the pie pan easily, at least, and I am looking forward to leftovers with tea today.

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madbaker @ 2025-11-17T11:02:00

2025-11-17T19:06:13Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Chocolate Olive Oil Cake.
( Read more... )

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Curd Your Enthusiasm

2025-10-06T16:35:07Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Yorkshire curd tart.
"This is traditionally eaten at Pentecost. It's an old form of cheesecake that was traditionally made with beestings, or colostrum, the first milk a cow produces after calving. In more recent years, the cake has been made with curd cheese."
( Read more... )

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madbaker @ 2025-09-13T11:55:00

2025-09-13T19:00:03Z

Thursday the wife and I drove to the other side of the City for dinner and a movie. We went to our usual place when visiting this theater - a family-run Chinese restaurant. Sadly they aren't doing soup dumplings anymore but we still enjoyed some of our usuals: green onion pancake, green beans with chile, and dry-fried chicken wings (which are fabulous). The service is pretty slow but even with commute-hour traffic we had plenty of time.

We saw Spinal Tap II the day before it opened. I'm not quite sure how this indie theater gets to do that but I'm not complaining. The movie wasn't as good as the original, but it was never going to be. The Comicle put it well: it may not go to 11, only 8, but still rocks. We enjoyed it.

I have started brining 5 lbs pork loin to replenish our lonza stores, and am attempting a puff pastry sausage roll tonight for dinner. Mildly ambitious but that's okay for a weekend, and I'm using commercial puff pastry because I am not insane.

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Cobbled Together

2025-06-22T17:11:31Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Small-Batch Biscuits.
"With just five ingredients and ten minutes of prep time, you can have two golden, tender biscuits ready in time for breakfast."

America's Test Kitchen delved into making fruit cobbler some time ago - their conclusion was that it is impossible to get a consistent bake on the biscuit topping when it is on the fruit; the underside always is doughy. (Confirmed with experience, although I usually don't mind.) Their suggestion was to make deconstructed cobbler, with baked fruit cooked separately and topped with a biscuit. That's what we did here - we each had a small Pyrex pan of cooked apricot/sugar/cinnamon, with a split biscuit on top. It was lovely... but I will take apricot cobbler in pretty much any form during the season.
( Read more... )

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Cinnamissing

2025-05-18T18:39:48Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Banana Bread Blondies.
"These bars have the chewy and fudgy texture of a great blondie but the big banana flavor of the quick bread."
( Read more... )

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First of Two Similar

2025-03-12T15:56:01Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Turkey and Bean Tamale Pie.
"A tamale pie has little to do with an actual Latin American tamale. But the dish is retro comfort food you wax nostalgic for whether it was part of your childhood or not."
( It was not part of mine... nevertheless )

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The Lemon Song

2025-03-03T17:53:33Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Baked Lemon Custard Brulée.
"This is one of the simplest, classiest treats ever to come out of my kitchen. Baking is both science and magic."
Yes, I am aware I am mixing two different Led Zeppelin songs. Squeeze my lemon...
( I like your custard pie )

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They can't all be winners, Kid.

2025-02-16T18:57:07Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Sourdough Discard Lemon Crinkle Cookies.
Ten internet points if you correctly identify the title reference. Hint: Not my usual cup of tea.
( Read more... )

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Hey Mr Tangerine Man, Bake a Cake for Me

2025-02-02T18:14:07Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Tangerine Cake.
"I think this is better a day after it's made, but I don't complain about eating it anytime."
( I'll come following you )

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I Deal With the Holidays

2024-12-29T17:45:33Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Cranberry-Rosemary Breakfast Pudding.
"Your kitchen will smell like French toast when you pull this sweet, custardy casserole from the oven. This creative combination of tart cranberries and piquant rosemary makes an ideal holiday breakfast."
( Read more... )

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Salmon Chanted Evening

2024-12-23T20:05:43Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Salmon Wellington.
"Swaddled in buttery puff pastry, this is a stunner of a holiday centerpiece even a novice cook can nail."
( Read more... )

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Oh Snap! (Cookie Edition)

2024-12-16T20:52:53Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Chocolate Snaps.
I had a recipe from my childhood that I was very fond of, and wanted to make again. Unfortunately it did not go well as it called for margarine - which has been substantially reformulated, and the recipe no longer works.

I threw that one away and made a new batch after a quick web search. Yields ~3 dozen.
( Read more... )

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Popovers Go the Easy

2024-12-08T19:23:08Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Sourdough Popovers.
"The sourdough starter gives them a tang, and while these aren't the lightest popovers you'll ever experience, their combination of crisp crust and soft interior is a wonderfully comforting treat."
( Read more... )

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madbaker @ 2024-11-24T09:41:00

2024-11-24T17:43:00Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Spinach-Cheese Bake.
"The hearty, protein-packed dish works as a vegetarian main course or an egg-forward brunch dish."
( Read more... )

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The Buckwheat Stops Here

2024-10-27T17:42:03Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Buckwheat/Oat Pancakes.
"These pancakes are tangy, nutty, and equally rich with butter, making them feel oh so perfect in the morning when you want to eat something 'healthy' but also feel pampered and oh so very special, because you are."
( Now that your life has been affirmed... )

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Flaking Responsibly

2024-08-11T17:12:07Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Shortcake Biscuits.
"Like many overachievers, for too long I clung to the belief that the hard way is the best way. Twaddle. These biscuits are the opposite of fussy - no cutting in of butter, no painstaking flouring and folding. Since the fat in cream and butter is essentially the same, the full flavor remains.

"Despite the recipe's simplicity, the results are tender, flaky, and rich. No one need know you took the easy way out. This streamlined style is known as a cream biscuit, a cousin of the scone and the shortcake."
( Read more... )

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Barbarian Rhubarb

2024-06-17T15:12:07Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Rhubarb Pound Cake.
"This tender poundcake (sic) has slivers of vanilla-poached rhubarb running across the top and shot through the center, adding a tangy sweetness to the buttery crumb."
( Read more... )

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Fair Enough

2024-05-29T16:00:42Z

This week's Resolution Recipe: Farinata.
Apparently this chickpea pancake is known as "farinata" in northern Italy and "socca" in southern France. I previously made a socca recipe, but this is a different recipe, so it still counts.
( Read more... )

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