At the Market:: Rhubarb

Blogging Over Thyme: Rhubarb Meringue Cups 

I am excited to bring you a new column here today called At The Market where I will highlight seasonal fruits and vegetables that are gracing the local fresh markets and delicious recipes to accompany each find.  I will be baking/cooking as well as finding inspiration from some of the best food sites around.  Today I am excited to start out with rhubarb, the pink-tinged vegetable that is especially delicious in a pie or made into a jam.  Rhubarb is now available at farmer's markets and grocery stores.

Adventures in Cooking: Strawberry Rhubarb & Tarragon Tart Tartan

(Apt 2. B Baking: Rhubarb & Gin Sorbet with Rose Cream)

Tangerine Olive Oil Cake with Pasolivo Olive Oil

One of the things that I love about the winter season is the amazing variety of citrus that is available - super sweet satsumas plucked from the tree, honey tangerines, pomelos so many options to keep you healthy during the winter season.  Citrus is also a great fruit to incorporate into any meals whether cooking or baking a fresh squeeze of juice is a great way to enliven a dish. Last year I made my first olive oil cake incorporating Meyer Lemons, but this year I decided to use fragrant tangerines and tangerine infused olive oil courtesy of Pasolivo Oil.  I made this cake on a cold weekend day when the sun stayed tucked behind the clouds all day calling for an energetic dessert that would make me feel like it was shining.  This cake is incredibly moist while being fluffy at the same time and the flavor is further enhanced by a simple glaze infused with tangerine zest.

Strawberry Hand Pies

When it comes to summertime berries, I definitely do not discriminate - blueberries, raspberries, currants and strawberries are some of my favorite things about summer.  Whether you pick your own, or swing by your local farmers market, these beauties are available and at their peak.  I recently picked up a pint of strawberries at the market and decided to incorporate them into individual pies, one of my favorite things to make these days.  I love creating person sized desserts, something about them is enduring, as seen here and here. Instead of making small tarts I settled on the hand pie, a hybrid between a pie and a pop tart.  The exterior is slightly sweet, thanks to the sanding sugar, while the inside has a strawberry jam-like goodness.  Continue for more...

Ruffled Feature:: A Styled Wedding Shoot

One of my favorite aspects about living in New York is the amount of sheer talent in every square inch. I mentioned a while back here, how I was working on special project, well I am excited to share it with you today since this special project is featured on Ruffled wedding blog. I, along with wedding planner extraordinaire Tamra from Ever Swoon, Gabrielle from G! Designs, Jill from Shindig Invites shot by Jessica of Jessica Schmitt Photography, Courtney a talented videographer and Ellen, a makeup artist, brought to life a retro-styled wedding shoot at Colonie in Brooklyn. I assisted in the styling and yours truly made the cake and snowball desserts that decorated the dessert table.  Hop on over to their site for the full shoot!

Lemon Granita

Sometimes I get on a lemon kick meaning I either add lemon to everything or I have tunnel vision when it comes to looking for things to bake.  Lemons bring such a sense of brightness to anything that they touch, don't you think?  Over the Labor Day weekend, I was looking for a refreshing dessert that would leave us with the taste of summer tingling in our mouths. I decided to make a Lemon Granita, the easiest dessert that I have ever made - not only does this not involve the stove or oven, but it is easy to clean up before and after it is eaten. This treat is not only delicious, it is also incredibly self-containing when served inside of a hollowed-out lemon.   

A Blogging Anniversary and Chocolate Chip Cookie 'Cupcakes'

I can't believe that I started blogging one year ago today - gosh how time flies.  Little did I know what an outlet this little space would become for me. One thing that blogging has taught me is that I have a plethora of interests and passions in life that I think were laying dormant for many years.  I have always had ideas floating around in my head and had a sensitivity and liking towards beautiful things. Luckily this is the spot where I have been able to put them all together and I am just so lucky that I have found an audience to listen. Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to where things can go from here. In order to celebrate this occasion I made a very simple and easy Chocolate Chip Cookie 'Cupcakes' and topped it with vanilla bean ice cream and of course a candle, in order to celebrate the occasion. Continue for directions...

Ice Cream Parfait with Cherry Compote & Oatmeal Crumble

I love layered desserts. There is something great about sinking your teeth into a new layer with each bite.  I had been wanting to incorporate cherries into a dessert all summer, so I decided to make cherry compote, layer it between vanilla ice cream and top it off with oatmeal crumble.  This tasted like a cherry pie, but without the crust, it was delicious.  

A Few Things: The cherry compote also pairs perfectly with Greek yogurt.  Another idea is to top the yogurt with some granola for a healthy breakfast.  

*All photographs by Alison

Chocolate Chip Cookie Icecream Sandwiches

I have a huge weakness for chocolate chip cookies, as I mentioned here.  When you pair an incredibly chewy and rich cookie with a scoop of vanilla bean icecream, it might just be heaven.  I am always looking for the next best chocolate chip cookie recipe, so this time I made the famed chocolatier Jacques Torres's recipe.  The results were dangerously delicious - why do I say dangerous, because I can tell you it is nearly impossible to eat just one! These proved to be very refreshing treat on a hot summer day.  

A Few Things: Once the cookies had completely cooled, I added one scoop of best quality vanilla bean ice cream. I then rolled the sides of the sandwiches in chopped peanuts and sliced almonds, then let them set in the freezer for an hour. 

*All photographs by Alison

Vanilla Pound Cake with Berries

I love pound cake, if only for it's buttery and fluffy goodness, but when piled high with fresh whipped cream and sweet summer berries, it changes everything.  I recently made this vanilla pound cake recipe for a 4th of July barbecue, it was absolutely delicious.  What makes this recipe so fluffy is largely due to the fact that you beat it with a mixer for eight minutes, sure it is a lot of time, but the pay-off is huge.  I definitely recommend making it for your next summer picnic!

*All photographs by Alison

Fudge Popsicles

Growing up, my favorite summer treat from the ice cream man was a fudgesicle - I love them for their  intense chocolate flavor and how they had the ability to refresh on the hottest of summer nights.  I still have quite the soft spot for this frozen treat, which is why I decided to whip up a batch of my very own and it could not have been easier or more delicious.  I used this recipe for fudge popsicles and was completely blown away by the chocolate goodness they delivered. 

(Empty paper cups)  

(These delightful treats completely frozen)

 A Few Things: Instead of using whole milk as the recipe called for, I used half skim and half 2% and the results could have fooled everyone, as these pops were still so thick and creamy almost as if they were made with heavy cream! Also, this recipe only made three pops, so if you are wanting to make six or more, I would double or triple the recipe.   Finally, I did not have popsicle molds so I used paper cups specifically for cold drinks that worked just as well. I filled them up half way and about eight hours later I was enjoying one of these pops in the sweltering summer heat. If you choose to go this route once the pops are completely frozen just peel away the paper and they are ready to eat. 

*All photographs by Alison

Carrot Cake with Fluffy Vanilla Bean Frosting

When it comes to cake, I typically gravitate towards chocolate, however I was recently requested to bake a carrot cake and I quickly realized after my first bite that my cake palette is much wider than I had thought.  Growing up, I was never really fond of carrot cake - I did not like the large bits of nuts or the dried fruit that often appeared inside of each layer and I definitely did not like cream cheese frosting.  I wanted to find a recipe that would appeal to all, so I settled on this recipe for Carrot Cake and frosted it with light and fluffy Seven Minute Frosting with vanilla bean seeds and let me tell you, it was beyond delicious. This cake was incredibly moist and had a great nutty flavor thanks to the pecans that were finely ground inside.  

A Few Things: I scooped up a few bunches of fresh carrots at the farmer's market in Union Square that were decadently sweet.  I also finely chopped the pecans into extremely tiny pieces, in order for them to fully incorporate into the batter. Finally, instead of using vanilla extract, I added the seeds of one vanilla bean which provided a wonderful flavor to the frosting. 

*All photographs by Alison

Strawberry Lychee Granita

My first experience with a lychee was in Hawaii, I vividly remember biting into this freckly nut and not really knowing what to expect, but I can tell you I was smitten from the first bite. I love the intense tropical flavor and how it now transports me back to the paradise of Hawaii.  Since then I have had lychees pretty much only one way and they involve martinis, but hrough my research I discovered this recipe for a Strawberry and Lychee Granita and luckily the sweltering weather called for it.  This was a light and refreshing dessert and thanks to the in-season strawberries it had a tremendous sweet flavor.  I hear the temperatures are going to spike again this weekend, so I hope that you try it. I might now be hooked on granitas, as they are so easy to make and require very little clean up - I'd love to make lemon, mango and watermelon, so stay tuned!

*All photographs by Alison