Our Thanksgiving dinner is both very traditional and not at all. We have the standards: a golden, crispy-skinned roast turkey as the centerpiece, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce glistening ruby red and jewel-like in a cut glass bowl, and stuffing laden with softened celery and bits of onion and so much butter.
Read moreThe Best Cinnamon Rolls
My mom’s cinnamon rolls have ruined me for all others. We’re all a little biased towards the foods of our childhood because they’re comforting and nostalgic. But her cinnamon rolls aren’t just the best because they were ours. It’s not just because I can remember eating them hot from the oven, risking a burned finger to pull at the crisp edges where the sugary filling has spilled out and caramelized.
Read moreCRANBERRY OAT BREAD
The Christmas lights are going up. As I walked to breakfast this morning, head down against the bitter wind whipping towards me, I saw coverall-clad city park workers up in the trees outside the Beacon Theater, wrapping each branch tightly with strands of twinkly tea lights. Soon, they’ll turn them on. The city will take on a festive feeling, lit up at night against the inky black sky.
Read moreHOMEMADE BIRTHDAY CAKE OREOS
Full disclosure: My birthday is March 20, and you’re welcome to bake me a cake if you like. I accept vanilla with seven-minute frosting, raspberry mousse layer cake, and anything with passionfruit.
As it is months away from the blessed event, you might say: “Po, really no need to be making birthday cake anything. Just stick with the calendar and lean into fall and bake pumpkin…everything.”
Read moreDOUBLE CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN LOAF
A few questions for you to mull over today:
Why use one kind of chocolate when you could use two?
What the heck should you do with that half can of leftover pumpkin puree?
Is there a nicer feeling on a cold night than putting on clean pajamas after a hot shower?