I think lots of nice foods teeter on the knife edge between salty and sweet. None, however, has made me quite as happy as this recipe did. These muffins are neither definitively savory or sweet, which might give you pause once you realize they have feta cheese and parsley in them. Feta doesn't scream "sweet!", but consider that these muffins are basically cornbread in sneaky muffin form, and we all know how cornbread can handle molasses just as well as it can spicy chili and cheese.
Read moreSQUARE BISCUITS
I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. I was busy getting involved with these biscuits -- and once you're in their buttery, flaky clutches you really can't be distracted by things like work or friends or vegetables.
You see, these are almost too easy to make. So easy, in fact, that after you bake them once, you will forever be thinking: Oh, I have a spare 10 minutes, I guess I could sort through the mail or call my mother or do a quick 7-minute New York Times calisthenics workout...or make some biscuits.
Read moreBLACK & WHITE COOKIES
On the corner of most New York City blocks sits a bodega. You duck inside to find a veritable food wonderland: The contents of an entire grocery store crammed into a tiny room with narrow, high shelves. You can buy everything from ice cream to tomato paste to cornstarch. Perched above the cold drinks case are stacks of crackers in every shape and flavor. Boxes of Asian snacks line one wall. Tiers of neatly arranged chocolate bars flank the cash register.
Read morePEACH BLUEBERRY GALETTE
There is something infinitely comforting about small towns. The streets appear to be lifted from a children’s book, the orderly sort that teaches you neighborhood words: policeman, schoolhouse, doctor, farmer.
This week, we drove up into the Catskills for an evening by the lake, ending up in Woodstock for dinner. To get to the water, we drive past a tiny white steepled church, next to a wide brook that rushes over smooth gray boulders. A weathered red barn houses a theater where indie bands will play all summer. We drive out of town late at night with the windows down, the air smelling sweetly of cut grass.
Read moreFUDGE BROWNIES
Finding forgotten dessert in the freezer is akin to finding twenty dollars tucked in your jacket pocket. I've wisely taught myself to pack leftover brownies, scones, and raw cookie dough away in the freezer. Hide them under your sensible frozen foods -- bags of peas, cornmeal, almonds, and ice cubes -- and thank yourself later.
Brownies lend themselves to freezing above all desserts, in my opinion. Choose a recipe that is between cakey and fudgy. The more fudgy, the less it will freeze solid, so it yields to your teeth as you bite.
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