A Sweet Start to the New Year

Sweet Potato Pecan Sticky Buns Traditions are hard to shake. For years my family skied at Big White in Canada for the Christmas holiday, and I’d make sticky buns for a late-morning Christmas brunch, served after a couple of hours on the slopes when we were all ravenous. When I didn’t make them this year, […]

Going Bananas?

Going Bananas? Hazelnut Chocolate Banana Loaf Stay-at-home orders have spawned a resurgence of baking (3). Banana, bread has been called the “unofficial baked good” of the Covid-19 pandemic. In April, banana bread topped the charts as the most googled recipe in the U.S. and worldwide (1,2,3). Who knew I was on-trend when I started tinkering […]

St. Patrick’s Day Food – Irish and American

Irish Soda Bread with Figs and Oats I don’t like corned beef. My excuse for not serving it on St. Patrick’s Day is that it’s not really an Irish dish, although it may be served to tourists visiting Ireland. Corned beef was an Irish-American substitute for Ireland’s bacon and cabbage (1). I do like Irish […]

Break Bread this Thanksgiving with Rustic Grain, Fig and Walnut Rolls

The classic must-have Thanksgiving dishes of today vaguely resemble what historians say was served at the “First Thanksgiving,” shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag people at Plymouth Colony in 1621, according to an article “What Was on The Menu at the First Thanksgiving” (Reference 1).   Wild turkeys were available but they were more likely […]

For the Best Burger – Make Your Own Buns

Potato-Onion Burger Buns   Burgers have gone wild over the past few years.  No longer just a patty of ground beef, you can easily find recipes for veggie, salmon, Greek, Southwest, California, Middle Eastern falafel, Japanese pork and shitake, French herbes de Provence burgers– and more. And then there are the add-ons.  Stuff your burger […]

Shopping for Whole Grains

My son recently called me from the grocery store with a question.  ”Hey Mom, what is the best source of whole grains –pasta, bread, cereal or brown rice?”  A fabulous question that is not easy to answer.   A college student, he explained that adding whole grain sources of carbohydrates to his diet made him feel […]

A Tradition of Easter Bread Baking, Italian Style

Pan di Ramarino   I can’t celebrate Easter without baking a festive yeast bread as is the tradition in many European countries.  When I headed up the test kitchens for Fleischmann’s Yeast, the phone lines lit up for weeks before Easter as bakers called in with questions about how to recreates their great aunt’s or grandma’s […]

Embellish Your Feast with a Wreath of Rolls

 Toasted Quinoa and Herbed Potato Rolls  A Thanksgiving feast without homemade bread?  Can’t imagine.   Whether you’re in charge of the whole meal or making a contribution to a shared feast, make a splash with this recipe for Toasted Quinoa and Herbed Potato Rolls.  It’s not a variety you’ll likely find at your local bakery or […]

Egyptian Sun Bread

Homemade Egyptian Bread Homemade bread took on a new significance when I tasted the “Sun Bread,” made by the family of an Egyptian farmer, on the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor, last December, a few weeks before the revolution.    Having run the kitchen and consumer affairs for Fleischmann’s Yeast for years, I’m […]