Meyer Lemon Tart

I made this lemon tart using Meyer Lemons which are not as tart as standard lemons.  Their skin is also deeper in shade which helps to make the tart a very bright yellow.  I love this tart, its texture, its flavor, and its crust.  I made it to bring to my sisters home for a visit.  Her four year old son was at school while I was there, but as I was driving home, I got the sweetest little phone call from him… P.J.:  ”Auntie Natie,... [Read More...]

Orange Blossom Macarons & Silk Meringue Buttercream

Its been a long time since I have last written. In fact its been well over six months. In defense, I should admit that my absence was not a cooking hiatus, it was actually a cooking intensive - A six month Classic Culinary Arts course at The French Culinary Institute  in NYC. And what an exceptional experience it was. There is no comparison between the cook that I was before I took the course and the cook that I am now. My whole approach to cooking... [Read More...]

Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies

These were the most beautiful looking and fragrant strawberries at the market today. Spring is finally here! And the rhubarb were deep red and lovely. I didn’t want to make and entire pie so I decided to make hand pies with the fruit instead. The easy thing about hand pies is literally that you can take any pie crust recipe you use with any fruit filling recipe you use and make the hand-pies in their shapes instead of an entire pie. The pie... [Read More...]

Chocolate Caramel Tart

              This was amazing… Just amazing. I absolutely loved this tart - perfect.             I don’t know what the best part of this tart is. Was it the crust - soft, hard, and crumbly all at the same time. Chocolaty enough yet not too sweet for the caramel. Was it the caramel - just the perfect consistency, sweetness, and color. Was it the chocolate ganache - smooth, velvety and rich. Or yet was it the grey sea... [Read More...]