Fall Memories – Candied Pecans

By Marilyn Hunter

When I was a little girl, we would pile into the family wagon (a Ford with “wood” paneling) and head to mamaw and papaw’s West Texas home for long weekends. Starting in mid-summer through the fall, my brother Eddie and I spent our afternoons gathering pecans from the backyard grove. We knew our efforts would be rewarded come Thanksgiving with Texas pecan pie.

Our boys may be years and miles away from my papaw’s backyard of pecan trees but I can still teach them the art of shelling and candying pecans.

Fancy pecans, candied with ginger and brown sugar, are a special fall treat. Package them in pretty jars and give as gifts, set around the house in small bowls as party treats, sprinkle over salads or mix with chopped fruit to sprinkle over ice cream for a quick and simple dessert. The boys love to snack on them all season long.

Click to read more ...

It’s not Just Icing on the Cake

By Katie Barreira

This week, my dearest friend asked if I would give her a cake-frosting tutorial. Fairly certain that the bride-to-be wasn’t planning a do-it-yourself, or worse, a do-it-together wedding cake, I consented readily.

Between my three-week culinary school foray into the pastry arts, a hand-modeling cameo appearance in a cake decorating spread and testing the magazine’s five, 5-year anniversary cakes, I’ve probably only frosted a whopping baker’s dozen. And yet, I faced the impending lesson with complete confidence. Why? Because I had an ace of a frosting recipe up my sleeve.

The first time I took this frosting for a test drive, it felt as if my offset spatula was a magic wand. But the power wasn’t in the stick, it was in the icing. This glossy, billowing, meringue-based whip glides onto cake with ease and precision. It’s perfect for cake-frosting newbies because you can hone your icing skills and produce impressive results on the first time out; very encouraging.

Click to read more ...

My Favorite Go-To Meal

By Joy Liao

Now that school is back in session, I’m reminded of one of my favorite go-to meals from my college days. While I, like most students, survived on microwave dinners, fast food burgers and instant ramen, I was always on the hunt for simple meals that required few ingredients and little prep time. My solution: Stir-fry Noodles.

Hearty and flavorful, this versatile, one-pan meal can satisfy the biggest of appetites. The recipe calls for few kitchen tools and no advanced cooking know-how, making it the perfect dish for the cooking newbie.

Click to read more ...

In Love with Cranberry Beans

By Lori Powell

This past weekend, I went upstate to visit with friends and neighbors that I hadn’t seen in a while. But truly, the other real draw was to visit the farmers’ market two miles up the road from my house in uptown Kingston, New York.

Much devastation was brought upon the farmers in that area. All the flooding and high winds destroyed crops to the point that they were completely washed out and their wares were found tumbling over the falls in High Falls, New York.

Click to read more ...

Surprise! These ‘Crab’ Cakes are Made with Zucchini

By Sandy Hu

Cherie Pollock of Orland, California, is one of those competent, talented home cooks who can whip up a beautiful gazpacho for 20 and still bake three pies from scratch for lunch. So when she told me about a recipe for ‘crab’ cakes made without crab, of course I was intrigued. Cherie didn’t know the origins of the recipe; she had received it from a friend.

I was skeptical of the outcome, at first. And had the recipe come from anyone but Cherie, I don’t know if I would have tried it. But I did yesterday, and when served hot and crisp, the patties were really quite good. And yes, they did taste surprisingly like crab cakes.

Click to read more ...