Francois's Profile

There's a high-end restaurant chain called Fogo de Chao which serves the most wonderful version of these, and will replenish them throughout your meal. Each basket arrives warm. I asked them what makes them so wonderful --soft and chewy and earthy and buttery all at once--and they told me they use yucca flour.

the closest I ever came to meza-style was when we stayed at a bed and breakfast in Montreal where they laid out pate, fresh bread, fruit, cheese, yogurt, tea, and muesli for breakfast. It started my love of pate on wheat toast for breakfast--filling without being heavy, earthy and complex, it stays with you. It became my breakfast throughout my pregnancy (rich in iron!) with a glass of fresh orange juice. odd, but very, very tasty.

We just went through about a year where my daughter (14) made chocolate chip cookies almost every week. Some times she was more attentive to measuring than others and we made a happy discovery which I have since seen confirmed in food blogs-- if you increase the baking soda slightly, your cookie will thin out during baking and result in my favorite-- a thin and very crisp cookie. Normal baking time, you want the cookie to brown but of course not burn. We also decrease the white sugar by 1/4 cup.
I read last fall in the NY Times food section that the longer the dough sits, the better the sugar melds with the butter and flour-- they claim that a dough that sits for a week turns out the best cookie. The problem is we have yet to be able to let dough sit for a week.

Something my daughter said, in complete innocence, when she was little that meant so much to me was, "I only like the cakes you make mom. Other cakes never taste right." The difference, and I never made a big deal out of it, is that I make cake from scratch...I never pointed it out, but she noticed the difference. And there is such a difference. My feeling has always been, if you're going to have something indulgent, it should be great, not just look like a cake, but have all the qualities that make cake a pure delight--real mashed bananas in a banana cake, great chocolate in a chocolate cake-- not 'dump and stir' (which is what the food industry calls premeasured cake mixes). Here's the thing- most people I know have never had a cake made from scratch-- especially younger people. For most people it's a complete novelty, and they assume it's a lot of difficult work, when nothing could be further from the truth. This chocolate cake looks fantastic, and I will be giving it a try.

I only use it when nothing else works-- it was truly magic for getting crayon off the wall. But I am not comfortable using it for everyday, primarily because I use very simple, non-synthetic cleaners for everyday cleaning. Better Basics for the Home is a great book for making your own non toxic cleaning products.

I made these Sunday, and they were fabulous. The sweetness is perfectly balanced-- I usually reduce the sugar in dessert or pastry recipes because they're too sweet for me--this recipe is perfect as is, and the glaze is just the right touch on top. I did add a few scrapes of nutmeg and some pecans I had roasted ahead of time. The only thing I would do differently next time is to freeze the dough for an hour to make it easier to cut and separate, but not a big deal. It's probably a matter of individual freezer times--I keep mine at a lower setting.

fresh lemon juice in milk makes a better buttermilk substitute than vinegar-- more subtle. I use it when making pancakes and waffles all the time-- the first thing I do is measure out the milk and then squeeze in about two tablespoons of lemon juice, stir once and let it sit while I get everything else ready, at least 10 minutes. When I add the milk, it's thickened with the slightest curdle-- like pre-yogurt, and silkens the batter or dough wonderfully.
These look, in the photos, like something between a biscuit and shortbread--can someone describe the texture-- is it soft and biscuit-y, or firmer like a scone, or somewhere between? The amount of butter makes me think of shortbread.

When in doubt, throw it out. I never ever use anything that isn't fresh or I'm not sure about. Food poisoning is never worth it-- takes a big toll on your immune system. I'm relentless in cleaning out my fridge and keeping my condiments and spices fresh.

Didn't have goat cheese, added some grated carrot (zucchini and carrot go so well together) and chopped yellow pepper-- fantastic.

A little too black and white for me color-wise, but I like the idea and, in addition to being green because it recycles cupboards, it also saves paper because you can leave messages for family members and housemates (reminders, phone messages, love notes). We are always leaving notes for each other in my house.

It's also a great idea because when you have friends and guests over, they can find stuff, which makes it easier to take them up on their offers to help...