Stories and Recipes
Apricot-Walnut Granola with Orange Blossom, and a new life
I haven’t heard my father’s name spoken so many times in the 12 years since he died as I have in the last week. For the first time I truly understand, and I feel, the power of a namesake. It evokes. It reminds. It says: here is the cycle of life. We are born. We…
Read MoreCrunchy Roast Chickpeas with Za’atar, good and good for you
I know I’m far from alone in starting off the New Year with ideals of eating well. That’s the kind of commitment that will contribute to making the year a happy one. I spent the better part of last year not feeling so hot, and altered eating habits were forced on me under protest. But…
Read MoreYour favorite recipes of 2012, and a new way to find them
It is striking to me to see how, in the year and a half since Rose Water & Orange Blossoms came on the scene, there are certain posts that pull new visitors from around the world again and again to get the goods. The most popular post since the day it was published is for…
Read MoreNew Year’s, with Bubbly, Gougères, and other Nice Nibbles
Gougères are the perfect little French cheese puff, served with cocktails. Gougeres are light but pack great flavor, with the traditional addition of Gruyere cheese to choux pastry. Are you in, or are you out, on New Year’s Eve? I like a little of both, having some bubbly and an app at home, then out…
Read MoreChocolate Cut-Out Cookies with Royal Icing
I had never really imagined a Christmas cut-out cookie in chocolate until last year at this time, when Cindy gave me a little bag of them. Instead of saving the cookies and taking them home to share, I ate every last deep-dark one while we chatted over a cup of tea. They were almost as…
Read MoreDate-Crisp Balls
Date-Crisp Balls are simple to make, on the stove top with no baking, and the dates impart a luscious caramel flavor. And a bonus: they’re gluten-free! 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,…
Read MoreLebanese Butter Cookies, or Graybeh
Lebanese graybeh, or butter cookies are one of the least elaborate, yet most delicious, cookies you can bake. They truly melt in your mouth, with a dough of whipped clarified butter, confectioner’s sugar, and flour. When a cookie is as white and unadorned as this, it’s a wonder to me that I love it so…
Read MoreChocolate-Dipped Candies, and Geo. Abowd & Son, Confectioners
Chocolate Dipped Candies are made by first tempering chocolate, then stirring with anything you can think of that’s delicious chocolate-covered! The last time my Uncle Tom saw his father before he died, he was at the stove. Grandpa (my Jiddo who did not want to be called Jiddo, but rather the all-American Grandpa) was in…
Read MoreChocolate-Caramel Pecan Tart Recipe
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 is the topic of the hour at any given time in our house, starting at…
Read MoreRoasted Butternut Squash with Tahini and Pine Nuts
In a small village in the northern mountains of Lebanon some 60 years ago, a young girl made her father’s dinner for the first time. Her dish of choice was mujadara, and the caramelized onion and lentils did just what she’d hoped: they won her father’s praise. Nothing like a father’s adoration to get a…
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