herbed summer squash and potato torte

This poor things isn’t going to be winning any beauty pageants [psst, until it got fresh photos in 2023!], and especially not in the rushed, omg-it’s-10p.m., why-aren’t-you-ready-yet way I cooked it, but this torte should not be underestimated. It’s some delicious stuff.

Recipe

nectarine, mascarpone and gingersnap tart

So far, the summer in New York City has been relentless–hot, sticky, humid or rainy just about every single day, and often a combination of all four, so I wasn’t kidding when I said this heat is getting to me, and has all but sapped my desire to cook. But I didn’t mean “cook” per se–I don’t wish to eat take-out every night–I meant the kind of cooking that requires the oven to be on for more than 10 minutes.

Recipe

sauteed radishes and sugar snaps with dill

I realized something frightening over the weekend: I am so far behind on posting recipes we’ve auditioned over the last couple months, I could pretty much post every day for the next week and only just then begin to be almost caught up.

Recipe

why we’re afraid to cook + salad olivier

I’ve had an entire week to read your cooking phobias as they rolled in and you know what? I had a lot fewer cooking fears when I started this process! I mean, fish? offal? phyllo? Why hadn’t I thought of those? Thank goodness I warned you I’d be doing some outsourcing.

Recipe

chocolate sorbet

I’m going to take a brief break from your food phobias today to tell you about my newest one. It lives in the freezer. It controls my mind, and at times, my spoon. And at the rate we’re going, it will be the very end of me. Or my waistline. Or my husband, as he leaves me for the Paris-dweller who envisioned this masterpiece.

Recipe

chopped vegetable, watermelon and feta salad

Wow, just wow. You sure know how to give a girl performance anxiety! I mean, how do I top a wedding cake? Am I going to have to mill my own flour? (Do you “mill” flour? Should getting the lexicon right be the first step?) Should I buy a cow so I can get the milk for free (oh, how I crack myself up…) and make butter and yogurt and mm, creme fraiche? How will a simple salad keep you interested now?

Recipe

project wedding cake: ta-da!

[Previous Project Wedding Cake episodes: An Introduction, Mango Curd, The Cake is Baked and Swiss Buttercream]

Oh, I’m sorry. Were you looking for me? Was I supposed to tell you something? It’s just that I left this wedding at 5 p.m. on a Sunday so exhausted, I’m pretty sure I stormed home in my 3-inch gold heels, promptly fell asleep on the sofa and didn’t wake up until 8 this morning.

Recipe

project wedding cake: swiss buttercream

[Previous Project Wedding Cake episodes: An Introduction, Mango Curd, The Cake is Baked]

Oh, hi. Are you still out there? Oh, right, it’s the middle of a holiday weekend and you’re probably a) at the beach, b) sleeping on a hammock in a backyard or c) taking one of those media breaks the kids are so into these days. And believe it or not, I had a few days off too.

Recipe

project wedding cake: the cake is baked

[Previous Project Wedding Cake episodes: An Introduction, Mango Curd]

That’s right, folks. The. Cake. Is. Baked. I mean, sure, it’s not filled. Heck, I haven’t even tracked down Indian or Philippine mangoes yet, bought the chocolate for the ganache filling or successfully tackled Swiss Buttercream, but we’ve got time for all that–FOUR WHOLE DAYS in fact. Pshaw, it should be nothing at all.