"For me and many others, the arrival of spring was heralded not by the vernal equinox nor by the springing forward of clocks but by the appearance of Cadbury Creme Eggs in grocery and drug stores. (With global warming messing everything up these days, such material signs might soon be the only evidence of seasonal change remaining.)" Not only did Creme Egg enthusiast Doug Gordon stock up on his favorite Easter candy this year, but he also made himself some Cadbury Creme Egg ice cream, and for that act commited in the pursuit of Serious Eating we salute him. (This Easter, Brits are getting an official Cadbury Creme Egg ice cream in limited edition for the first time; they...
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"Each year, Coca-Cola makes Coke with sugar for observant US Jews to drink during Passover. And the rest of us get to go along for the ride. This is a boon for those who don't like Coke with high fructose corn syrup and who have to seek out the superior sugared Coke in small Mexican restaurants and grocery stores." BuzzFeed's post on Sweet Sweet Passover Coke has the ten best links to what is, as a non-Jew, my favorite Passover treat!...
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Forget about buying Peeps this Easter and make your own super cute pastel-colored marshmallows! Williams-Sonoma will sell you a kit with everything you need: "marshmallow mix, duck and bunny molds, pastry bags for piping the prepared marshmallow into molds, as well as the purple, pink and yellow sanding sugars and black eyes you’ll need for decorating your creations. You can also cut the marshmallow into shapes using the included butterfly, bunny and chick cookie cutters." $24.50 for the kit, which is available online/catalog only, not in stores. [via Popgadget]...
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Bea of La Tartine Gourmand has a beautiful recipe for buckwheat herb galettes and mixed salad and a story about a festival that sounds right up my alley: "Earlier this month, I was reminded, once more too late, that on February 2nd, we celebrated la chandeleur. I wonder how comes that I simply can forget since it happens every year. In France, this originally Catholic festivity calls for cooks to prepare crêpes and beignets (doughnuts). Indeed, on the day of la chandeleur, the customs is to eat crêpes !"...
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Mondo Fruitcake is a blog about fruitcake and the ". . . the Web's last bastion of fruitcake RESPECT." Her pick for the best fruitcake? The Gethsemani Trappist Fruitcake: The cake against which all past and future fruitcakes will be judged. I’ll try to stay objective but I’m disclaiming right now that this is the one I’ve grown up with, the one I look forward to every holiday season, and the one that comes to mind when someone says "fruitcake." It’s also why I don’t have the anti-fruitcake bias—I’ve grown up on good fruitcake. Gethsemani Farms Website...
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Get Your Grill On suggests a new holiday tradition: Brisket for Christmas! Brisket is a standard barbecue item at my house, though not all areas of the country would include it as standard. What I like about using brisket for parties is pretty simple: It’s versatile. I can serve it with horseradish sauce, redeye gravy or wine reduction sauce, and it works well with a variety of sides. It can also go from basic barbecue to fancier meals with red wine pairings. It feeds a lot of people. I can plan on feeding 10 or more people per each brisket. It’s just plain good! The prep sounds pretty straight-forward (you will need a smoker) and the end product is sure...
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Who knew? Our officemate Marco is seriously into holiday butter cookies. After chatting with him about them just now, he sent us to his review of Royal Dansk butter cookies. His favorites: The Pretzel Ones: These are always the first to go. It's not hard to see why - these have all of the benefits of a fused-sugar top, but with about two-thirds of the mass of the heavy Square Ones. These are the pinnacle of butter cookie development, and need to be kept exactly as they are. The Swirly Ones: As far as I can tell, these are just the Round Ones with a more interesting shape that results in a better texture. The complex shape crumbles more smoothly...
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