Archive for the 'chocolate' Category
The San Francisco Treat
August 1st, 2009by Caroline It’s not, despite the jingle, Rice-a-Roni. No, the true, old school, San Francisco treat is an It’s-It, a chocolate-covered oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwich, originally invented by George Whitney in 1928, and sold for decades at San Francisco’s Playland-at-the-Beach. Now that the playground is gone, It’s-Its are made in a small factory near [...]
Let’s have a little Feast!
July 8th, 2009by Caroline England is not generally known for its ice cream, and that’s ok — having contributed clotted cream (not to mention many fine cheeses) to civilization their dairy reputation is secure. Still, as in Paris, there’s ice cream everywhere here. From trucks that dish up soft serve cones (and, for an extra 70p, how [...]
Birthday Cakes
March 3rd, 2009by Caroline For all the baking I do, you’d think I would have one, standard, go-to birthday cake. But I don’t. I have dozens of cookbooks, and I want to explore them. I baked most of the way through Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame (in Feast) and found many excellent cakes to add [...]
We might not have Paris…
February 23rd, 2009by Lisa Not long ago, on a family trip to San Francisco, Ella, Finley, and I found ourselves staring at the counter of a French bakery, at a pile of croissants. They didn’t know what they were, and as I explained to them the wonder that is a croissant, I found myself telling them not [...]
Some traditions really are just for grown-ups
January 6th, 2009by Lisa A few weeks before Christmas, I found a recipe for caffe con correto con panna in La Cucina Italiana, one of my favorite food magazines. Basically, this translates to liquor-spiked coffee with chocolate and sweetened cream. I bought a bottle of Frangelico, which I had hitherto assumed was for people who liked drinks [...]
Wonderballs (because it’s a bit too early for holiday baking)
December 8th, 2008by Caroline It’s an in-between time right now. We have some Christmas decorations up (paper-glitter snowflakes, a wreath on the door) but not all (no tree, no stockings). The boys are opening up windows on the Advent calendar and counting down the days till Christmas, while I am counting down the (fewer) days till I [...]
Why We Love France
August 5th, 2008posted by Caroline Sure, we love the museums, the sense of history, the people (yes, I really do). The boys love the trains. But we also just really love all the chocolate. It’s available at every meal, whether melted into milk for chocolat chaud, baked into pastry for pain au chocolat, or tossed by the [...]