A Bark You'll Want to Bite
Nothing generates as much consternation for home cooks as the notion of tempering chocolate. People avoid it at all costs. No small wonder—chocolate is expensive, and it’s somewhat demoralizing when things go wrong during the tempering process, which can be a matter of making the choc

Cranberry Conundrum
There's no question that cranberry sauce is a necessary component of Thanksgiving dinner. This tart, bright condiment is the perfect counterpoint to bland turkey. The only decision here is canned or homemade? I actually had a good friend from college who insisted on having cranberry sauce

The Pleasures of Pumpkin
The countdown to Thanksgiving is officially on. I'm not cooking this year, so the pressure if off me. No frenzied planning, list-making or blitz-shopping. I am, however, making a few pies for desperate friends who are cooking, but are somewhat dessert-ch

Almond Joy
Chocolate-Covered Almonds are among my favorite confections, second only to Chocolate Almond Bark. Coating fragrant toasted almonds with smooth bittersweet chocolate is a really good idea. Tossing them in a mixture of cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar makes them that much better.

Strawberry Shortcake, Cream on Top
Yesterday I had a food styling job which required me to create a Christmas tree out of strawberries (I'll post a picture of it sometime in December). After completing the project, I had about 4 pounds of fresh strawberries clogging up my fridge, so I thought I'd make one of my favorite