Gold, Delicious

The sun still dapples the land, warming the charmed air and keeping the frosts at bay; for the moment at least. In time, it will be away on holiday too. Until its irresistible return next year, that is. For now, though, it still smiles benevolently upon harvesting the wonders it spent all summer encouraging. Here…

Have You Tried This?

The cake, maybe, if last November’s Spanish Almond Cake inspired, but have you ever tried it with cherimoya, or custard apple, pictured below? Custard apple is an apt description, as the creamy flesh is the consistency of soft-serve, and its taste is ambrosia, a beguiling mixture of apples, pears, bananas and mangoes.  The pulp is…

Brownies for a Princess

By legend, when an Austrian princess was staying at the Italian resort isle of Capri back in the 1800s, she started longing for the dense chocolate cake of her native Vienna, Sachertorte.  Not knowing how to make the Viennese delicacy, the resort’s Italian chefs prepared a more familiar local almond cake, added cocoa and hoped…

Take Another Look

At a glance, today’s entry looks to be an omelet, doesn’t it?  No eggs were involved this week, though.  Instead, we have a rice-flour crepe, lightly thin and pan-seared to crispy perfection, barely able to contain all the goodness within its grasp.  This is Bánh Xèo (in English, pronounced “bun sale”), a street food made…

Never Too Many Almonds!

Today’s dessert is for almond lovers only, but isn’t that pretty much everyone?  As it is, few people have a greater affinity for almond than do the Spanish, who not only grow the nut in orchards throughout the country, but who also started California’s championship almond industry when they settled the territory.  It’s only fitting,…