Tag Archives: Dessert

My Mom’s Best Pie Crust

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Pie cooling under the window, Maureen Abood

Everyone who knows my mother knows that the hallmark of her character is grace. Pure grace. This is reflected in her face, her home, her kitchen, her conversations. And her pie. I love watching people taste my mom’s pie for … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes, Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Date-Crisp Balls

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Date ball platter 2 POST

Is this a cookie? Or a candy? How about simply: a treat. An incredibly good treat that comes down to us from my grandmother, Alice Abowd (wife of Richard, confectioner). I don’t know how long Rice Krispie treats have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Lebanese Butter Cookies, or Ghraybeh

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Ghraybeh POST

When a cookie is as white and unadorned as this, it’s a wonder to me that I love it so much. I’m such a devotee of the toasty, of all that is DGB (deep golden brown), that it takes significant … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Ingredient: Chocolate, for dipping

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Callebaut milk block POST

If there is such a thing as the family chocolate, then ours has always been Hershey. It’s our version of a coat of arms. Hershey is what my grandfather liked and what he used in a business that has become … Continue reading →

Posted in Ingredients | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Favorite Things: A Tiered Plate Stand

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Lenox tiered plate POST

Faster than you could say Happy Tha—, my mother had cleared away the pumpkins and leaves in favor of berries, reds and greens at her house. That includes the tiered sweets plate, a favorite piece from her set of Lenox … Continue reading →

Posted in Favorite Things | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Tart Recipe

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Chocolate pecan tart 2 POST

I present to you this prize of my recipe collection with what can only be described as…guilt. My mother recently asked what I’d be posting in the lead-up to Thanksgiving. I knew she had pie on her mind because that … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Technique: Tips for Making Caramel

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Caramel in a bowl POST

Caramel is like the fraternal twin of chocolate when it comes to making the kind of sweet you cannot, and will not, resist. Caramelization—the toasting or deep-golden-browning—of just about anything you cook, from Brussels sprouts to nuts to bread, takes … Continue reading →

Posted in Techniques | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Chocolate Glazed Pumpkin Cakes, and a little song too

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Mini pumpkin bundts 4 POST

For every occasion, there is a song. And if there isn’t a song, I will make one up. My repertoire of tunes-by-Maureen is limited to the a capella (no instruments), and those ditties are typically sung for children. You could … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

How to make your own pumpkin puree

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Pumpkin puree 2 POST

The whole time I’ve been working with fresh pumpkin in the kitchen recently, I’ve been astonished that I’ve never done it before. We are traditional pumpkin pie eaters at Thanksgiving, and though my mother would like to have it more … Continue reading →

Posted in Techniques | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Iced Brown Butter Pound Cake, dreamy good

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Pound cake icing front view POST

Of all of the possible culinary meccas to explore during my time in San Francisco, the Ferry Market was the one I frequented the most. Every Saturday morning without fail during the year I lived in the city, I headed … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Technique: How to brown butter

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Brown butter hardened POST

If I could write a single culinary aria and sing it all the rest of my days, that love song would be to brown butter. It’s a bold statement, given the many contenders that are deserving of such devotion. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Techniques | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Favorite Things: Paper Bakeware

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Paper baking pans in a row POST

There are many reasons why paper bakeware is one of my favorite things, the first of those being that it is the darling of the pastry shop. The pros bake in paper so that they can give us our cakes … Continue reading →

Posted in Favorite Things | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Ingredient: Apples

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Apples fall 12 POST

Here’s the thing about apples and me: we aren’t great friends. They try to get together in August and I refuse to return their calls. I once spouted off so vehemently about not eating apples in summer that a funny … Continue reading →

Posted in Ingredients | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

A Fall Football Menu: Tailgating, Abood-style

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Maureen Abood
tailgate POST

When you grow up in a college town like I did, you end up spending all of your fall Saturdays in the stadium watching football games. That was fun…but let’s face it, the tailgate party before the game has always … Continue reading →

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Postcard from Chicago

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Bittersweet Cafe pastry case POST

I raised to my lips a spoonful of the cake . . . a shudder ran through my whole body and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place. ~ Marcel Proust (Bittersweet bakery, my Chicago favorite. … Continue reading →

Posted in Picture Postcards | Tagged , , | 10 Comments