Breakfast for us kids on Christmas morning was always cinnamon rolls: the soft, billowy kind with a simple filling of brown sugar and cinnamon and a sugary glaze, sometimes flavoured with orange, sometimes ‘regular’. We would eat from the outside, … [Read more...]
Toscakaka: Scandinavian caramelised almond cake
This is a cake beyond the ordinary. I encountered Toscakaka (Tosca cake) years ago in Norway, where it is well-loved throughout the year. I associate it mostly with Christmas, however, as the best I had there was baked by a lovely woman named Elsa, … [Read more...]
Finding time in the festive season
[This is one in a series of Crumbs on the Table columns published in Cambridge Magazine. It includes recipes for a lightly curried Salmon Egg Gratin that's a do-ahead boon for lunch, brunch, dinner or as part of a holiday buffet; plus a whimsical … [Read more...]
Thanksgiving cornbread stuffing
This is the dish that means Thanksgiving to me. It's a recipe handed down by my mother and I treasure it as much for that as for its taste. It's a family-heirloom, with roots in my mother's Texas childhood, though she learned to make it for herself … [Read more...]
Cambridge in December: festive partridge and pear
I’m re-thinking my holiday checklist, and perfection isn’t on it. It is mid-December and there is so much to do -- cards, presents, tree, the turkey, the cake -- and that’s not even considering work and day-to-day survival in the meantime. The only … [Read more...]