Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter
Muirhead Pumpkin Butter is a delicious jam like spread that can be used on breads and cheeses or to make baked goods including a pumpkin pecan bread. Made by Muirhead Foods of Ringoes, New Jersey (about 20 miles north of Trenton), the pumpkin butter contains five ingredients: pumpkin, sugar, lemon juice, pecans, and spices. Despite the name “butter” in its name, there is no butter or even a trace of fat in this product which always surprises me because the taste is so rich. Read more 
Decorative Chocolate for Desserts
For those who never tire of decorating baked goods or pastries with chocolate, there is a website called www.pastrychef.com that provides customers with top quality decorative chocolate toppings. Opened in 1997 as an internet website, www.pastrychef.com is based out of Boca Raton, Florida with sales limited to on-line or catalog/phone. Advertised as a baking and pastry superstore, www.pastrychef.com offers a wide variety of chocolate decorative ingredients (and other ingredients and tools) to both home and professional bakers. Read more
Jeni’s Splendid Frozen Yogurt
During the summer, ice cream is a regular part of our daily diet with the choices limited to the local soft serve or store-bought hard variety. A few weeks ago, my daughter asked if we could order a healthy alternative – frozen yogurt – since the selection is limited in this remote area of upstate New York. We went on-line and came upon Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and noticed she makes 5 flavors of frozen yogurt (which varies depending on the time of year) so we ordered all five flavors. Three days later, the five pints of frozen yogurt: Black Currant, Grapefruit, Lime and Blueberries, Lime Cardamom, and Mango Lassi – were delivered (via UPS ground service) to our door frozen solid on dry ice. Read more
Dulce De Leche – Milk Caramel
Dulce de Leche or Milk Caramel is made by slowly cooking fresh milk and sugar until the mixture thickens into a luscious creamy caramel sauce. Popular in Latin America and in Spain, my first taste of Dulce de Leche was in Madrid a decade ago when it was served poured over vanilla ice cream.
Thicker than a sauce, Dulce de Leche is more like a cooled melted caramel – thick, rich and not unlike the caramel that sticks to a spoon when making caramel apples. Although Dulce de Leche cannot be used to make caramel apples (because it doesn’t harden when cooled), the sauce can be spooned over ice cream, yogurt, cake, waffles, crepes, biscuits, toast, and even used as a layer between sweet crisp breads known as “tortas” (as pictured above). Some fans have been known to stick a spoon in the jar and enjoy Dulce de Leche plain – it’s that good. Read more
Ladurée in Paris
Most people go to Ladurée for the fresh macarons: a sweet meringue based confection filled with a ganache or buttercream. Crunchy on the outside, moist and soft on the inside, the classic small round macaron originated in France. Ladurée has been making macarons since 1862 and is the most well-known brand in the world, if not the most elegant. With more than 20 flavors offered in the most beautiful ribbon covered pastel boxes ever made, Ladurée macarons can make you feel like Marie-Antionette at Versailles. Read more
Gagne’s Blueberry Petite Pie
When I think about Maine, I am reminded of rocky beaches, the cold salty ocean, lighthouses, lobster, and blueberries. In fact, the wild blueberry is the official fruit of Maine and is as much a symbol of the state as the lobster or the lighthouse.
Some people like to say the beacon in the lighthouse and the promise of lobster bring tourists to Maine but the possibility of eating deep blue pea-sized wild blueberries bursting with sweetness is also a draw. So, it’s no surprise that Gagne Foods of Bath, Maine combines their skill at pastry – the company’s 24-layer cream cheese biscuits are award winners – with wild blueberries to produce one amazing Blueberry Petite Pie that is also referred to as a Blueberry Turnover. Read more
Fat Toad Farm Caramel Sauce
Several years ago, I tasted the creamiest yogurt ever and set upon figuring out how a small Molkerei (dairy) in Switzerland could make a yogurt with the proper balance of three major traits: smooth texture, big flavor, and a slight tangy aftertaste. I tried to replicate that yogurt about a dozen times with my yogurt maker using every type of milk before I gave up and decided to ask the owner of the Molkerie in Switzerland how they make their yogurt. The owner told me the secret to making really great yogurt lies with the cows: they need to graze and be well cared for. I realized I would never be able to reproduce a really great yogurt unless I had my own cow, and that was pretty much out of the question but the message stayed with me. Read more
Blueberry Buckle Streusel Cake
Up until a few years ago, blueberries were only available in late summer. To take advantage of the bountiful supply, August menus were filled with blueberry laced recipes: muffins, pancakes, cake, pie, cobbler, and buckle. No one ever got tired of blueberries but just as quickly as the blueberries arrived and just as we were able to fully appreciate how incredible these special berries taste, they would disappear and we would have to wait a year to see them again. Read more
Great Food Products for Entertaining
Over the holidays, I rely on outside sources for many products – especially hors d’oeuvres and desserts – because these items can be stored in the freezer, are quick to thaw or bake, easy to serve (especially when time is limited) and delicious.
Cheese and crackers are certainly good but spinach and feta in puff pastry, mini quiche, or Brie en Croute are even better, especially on a cold wintry evening when friends drop by for a drink. In the same light, homemade desserts are always wonderful but not always feasible so when a spectacular dessert is needed last-minute, I turn to my freezer where stacks of products from two companies – Dufour Pastry Kitchens and Galaxy Desserts – line the shelves. Both companies make magnificent frozen hors d’oeuvres and desserts. Read more
Restaurants and Gourmet Markets in La Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua is filled with restaurants and there are always new ones opening up. Below is a short list of my favorite places to eat in this colonial treasure of a town: Read more
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