♦ First gardenia of spring ♦ The Windsor, made best by the bartenders at The Hive in Bentonville, Arkansas. Enjoy it there if you can, but if that’s not possible, here’s your how-to. Combine in an ice-filled cocktail shaker: 2 ounces Absolut Ruby Red vodka 1 ounce St. Germaine elderflower liqueur 1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice…
Author: cookbookwall
Pear Tart (the Drink)
Sometimes I get recipes through circuitous routes. This one, for example. My husband and I spent a wonderful April evening at The Hive restaurant in Bentonville, Arkansas. We were early for our dinner reservation and so ordered cocktails from the bar, then spent a delightful half hour sipping and perusing. Modern art decorates the…
Raves and Faves 7
Fat peonies with disheveled petticoats of petals ♦ ♦ ♦ Korres Mango Butter Lipstick in Natural Rose (#25) ♦ ♦ ♦ Playing the Q-I word in Words With Friends. It’s a great way to dump the Q, because I never have a U when I need one. ♦ ♦ ♦ My cat Bo’s Clevercat Top Entry litter box. It hasn’t exactly…
Orange-Chocolate Mini-Chip Cake
I like to give a cake plate with a glass dome as a wedding present. Simultaneously useful and beautiful, a cake plate and dome promises good times ahead and a lifetime of celebrations to share. And it keeps your cake fresh and the flies off. What could be better? At the check-out counter of a…
Broccoli-Cheese Soup
Soup doesn’t have to be seasonal, and by the looks of things in my state, neither does the weather. Snow fell over parts of Arkansas this morning in amounts never recorded before this late in the year. The wet chill in my backyard is confusing the hummingbirds and causing the dogs to make nests out…
Chocolate Tart with Raspberries
I’m not a real food blogger. 1. I forget to take pictures of the finished product. 2. I don’t photograph many recipes in progress because my nail polish (when I’m wearing any) is usually chipped beyond salvaging. Not pretty. 3. I am passionately interested in tasting the food of great restaurants, but I get so…
Raves and Faves 6
Waxy, beautiful freesia: gorgeous blooms, gorgeous scent. ♦ ♦ ♦ Jesuit popes ♦ ♦ ♦ Brad Paisley’s new album, “Wheelhouse.” ♦ ♦ ♦ Noosa Yoghurt, raspberry flavor.
Shrimp and Basil Pasta
I keep a couple of bags of shrimp in the freezer just so I can make this recipe on days I’m trying to avoid the grocery store, like senior citizen discount Tuesdays. I also make it because it’s so good. Now, to produce this on a whim requires just a little forethought, which takes some…
Raves and Faves 5
Blogs I love: Planting Dandelions (Kyran is a local girl done good – via Newfoundland, that is, so far away that my search on Mapquest for the number of miles between Little Rock and Newfoundland came back completely scrambled. Basically, however, it’s closer to London than Little Rock. London is my criterion for civilization.) A Cup…
Evolution of a Fresh Coconut Cake
There’s no recipe here today, just a record of the process and a public declaration: I’ll never grate a fresh coconut again. The first ingredient listed in the recipe for Fresh Coconut Cake from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book is (ta dah!) one coconut. Author Marion Cunningham instructs the cook to access the meat of…
Cookbook Wall 