Posted by Lucy Baker, May 15, 2008 at 1:30 PM
When it comes to eating cake, sharing is the pits. Instead of slowly savoring a slice, you end up fighting over the last few forkfuls. Who will get the final crumbs? It's a race to the finish. The best thing about today's Cook the Book recipe for Italian Almond Cake, excerpted from Wine Bar Food, is that the batter is divided into either tart pans or muffin tins, and yields 8 to 12 individual servings.
So you can have your very own cake, and eat the whole thing, too.
This recipe makes crumbly, cookie-like cakes that keep well for several days. Enjoy them with any spumante—Italian sparking wines made predominantly from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Bianco grapes.
Win 'Wine Bar Food'
As is always the case with our cook the book selections, we're giving away five (5) copies away this week to lucky readers. Enter to win here»
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, March 9, 2008 at 12:00 PM
This week's Cartoon Kitchen features Serious Eats' cartoonist in residence Larry Gonick's spin on amaretti, the classic ultra-light Italian cookie made with little more than almonds, egg whites, and sugar. —Ed Levine
Continue reading »
Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, October 24, 2007 at 4:00 PM
I tend to instinctively go for the simplest recipe when I open a new cookbook, probably just so I know what I’m getting myself into. If everything is terribly complex, then I know to save the book for special occasions. But when it has a whole list of simple ideas, I know I can immediately jump in. And that’s what happened when stumbled on Janet Mendel’s My Kitchen in Spain. Sometimes that seems the easiest way to get into a new book, especially one that claims to have more than "225 authentic regional recipes." I need a place to begin.
By chance, I also had a stash of raw almonds that desperately needed something to do. Everything else for the recipe was in my pantry. More like a bar snack than some of the intricate dishes passing as tapas, this is dead simple and perfect for munching with one hand still holding your drink. I guess that is its real purpose in life anyway.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, July 30, 2007 at 1:30 PM
The first recipe that caught our eye in Cucina Del Sole is a simple pesto made with fresh tomatoes (it is after all vine-ripened tomato season) and toasted almonds. As Jenkins herself writes: "For those who think pesto comes only from Liguria and always includes masses of basil and pine nuts, this delicious alternative may come as a surprise." She also opines that although this pesto can be made in a food processor, she prefers to make it with a mortar and pestle.
Continue reading »
