lobster rolls

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For many Americans, Monday’s Labor Day holiday marks the unofficial end of summer. Don’t let these last carefree days quietly slip away without a proper send-off. Celebrate with a backyard party or a picnic at the beach or park. Keep it casual, yet festive by serving lobster rolls with corn on the cob, potato chips, and brownies for dessert. Doesn’t that sound like a perfect feast to mark the end of a fun-filled summer?

Lobster Rolls (sandwiches filled with sweet and succulent lobster meat) are most popular in the New England states — especially Maine, Connecticut and Eastern Long Island.  There are two ‘schools of thought’ when it comes to serving lobster rolls: warm or cold . . . In Connecticut, lobster rolls are served warm, with just a drizzle of butter.  In Maine and in Long Island, mayonnaise is either spread on the inside of the bread or mixed with the lobster by itself and in some cases with diced celery and herbs.

french-style zucchini olive cake

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I was looking for a new recipe to try using the last of my homegrown zucchini, and I found this from one of my favorite food blogs, The Kitchn.  It is actually a recipe for a cake salé, the French term for a savory cake, using kalamata olives, grated zucchini, and tangy goat cheese.  Many French households have their favorite variation which is often served at picnics, potlucks, and parties, where it is usually served as an appetizer with a glass of wine or Champagne. Continue reading →

plum and peach galette

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A galette is a French round, flat cake made made with pastry or yeast dough and topped with either a savory or sweet filling, such as fruit, jam, nuts, meat and cheese. It is quicker and simpler to make than a pie or tart.  Its deliberately free-formed shape eliminates the need for a pie tin or tart pan. A galette only requires a bottom layer of dough, so there’s no crimping or latticework, often done to finish pies. The dough is simply rolled out, the filling placed in the center, and the excess pastry pulled toward the middle to hold everything in.  It’s meant to be rustic and irregularly shaped, not at all fussy nor fancy.

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red currant and poppy seed cake

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A month ago, I would have passed on making this cake. It wasn’t because this recipe, from Aran Goyoaga of the breathtakingly beautiful blog Canelle et Vanille, didn’t sound delicious.  On the contrary, her recipe have always been so tempting, but I’ve never attempted any of them.  Why, you ask?  Well, I’m a little embarrassed to say!  Continue reading →

hatch chiles and chorizo bake

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Hatch chile season is here!  These green chiles were named after the Hatch Valley, in New Mexico, where they are exclusively grown.  The region, located along the Rio Grande River, provides the perfect growing conditions for cultivating these flavorful chiles: hot summer days and cool nights, ample water for irrigation, and mineral-rich soil. They are only harvested once a year, in late July to early August, and the season last for just six weeks. Continue reading →

momofuku milk bar’s corn cookies

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I have been lucky to visit New York City on a regular basis and my fondness for “The Big Apple” has been well-documented on this blog (here, here, and here).  Every time I go, I am armed with a long list of restaurants, and I eat often in order to check off as many as I can.  Undoubtedly, new restaurants get added to the list; however, there are a few places that won’t get crossed off no matter how many times I go.

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individual peach upside down cakes

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Individual Peach Upside Down Cakes

With the abundance of sweet, juicy peaches, it is the perfect time to make these darling little cakes. They not only look good, they taste peachy keen, too. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)  In fact, they’re so good that I’ve baked them twice over the past 4 days. They’re also quick and simple to make, with a “couch to mouth” time of 45 minutes, including five minutes of cooling time. Not bad for a somewhat fancy-looking dessert. Top it with some French Vanilla ice cream, and you’ll be in for an unforgettable summer treat.  I promise!

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Bob’s Red Mill Polenta and Hazelnut Flour Giveaway Winners!

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Thanks so much to all of you who entered my second giveaway and for talking about your favorite polenta and hazelnut recipes in the comments section! You’ve given me inspiration for some new dishes to add to my repertoire.  I love soft polenta with an over easy egg on top for breakfast, but I never would have thought of having it with fresh fruit like Sharyn from The Kale Chronicles does. Emily’s grilled polenta with black bean and corn salsa sounds like a wonderfully light and colorful appetizer.  CakebyKat’s molten cake with hazelnut filling sounds divine as does macarons made with hazelnut instead of almond flour.  Tt, polenta as crust for a quiche?  Yes, please! Continue reading →

strawberry, mango, and kiwi ice pops

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healthy and refreshing strawberry, mango, and kiwi ice pops

Summer’s starting to wind down, but there’s still plenty of sunshine and warm weather.  Here’s a kid-friendly ice pop to beat the heat!

To take advantage of the fresh fruits of summer, make this triple-layer Ice Pop with Strawberry, Mango, and Kiwi. Try it yourself as is or substitute your own favorite fruit but be sure to pick seasonal fruit at their peak of flavor to minimize the amount of added sugar. Limited only by your imagination . . . kids & adults alike will be giddy with anticipation for our popsicles!

To read the rest of the article and to get the recipe for these colorful popsicles, click the link to follow me over to A Lucky Life blog.

strawberry, mango, and kiwi ice pops

© Daisy’s World. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Daisy’s World with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

boozy ice pops: strawberry margarita

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The origin of the Margarita is not precisely known. Of the various accounts of its creation, most are centered in Mexico around the 1940’s, and most claim to have named the drink in honor of women named Margarita.  However, the more likely scenario, and the one I favor (for obvious reasons) is that the Margarita evolved from the Daisy, a popular cocktail in the United States during the pre-Prohibition era.  The Daisy is made from a base spirit such as brandy, whisky, or gin (think brandy Daisy, gin Daisy, etc), citrus juice, and a flavored sweetener.  It is not hard to imagine a Daisy made with tequila and Margarita is the Spanish word for daisy.  Regardless of its origin, the Margarita is arguably one of the world’s most popular cocktails.

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boozy ice pops: the bellini

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One of the simple pleasures of the summer is the abundance of stone fruits: cherries, nectarines, apricots, plums, and peaches. Out of them all, the fuzzy-skinned peaches are my favorite.  In fact, when I got the idea to make spiked ice pops, the first thing that came to mind was how good a frozen bellini would be, especially with sweet and juicy peaches in season.
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boozy ice pops: midori sour

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I fondly remember the days when my brothers and I used to chase down the ice cream truck, with our money tightly wadded up in our hands, to get our afternoon popsicles.  I always got an Orange Big Stick, and I would hurry up and eat mine pretty fast because I hated when it started to melt and drip down, making my hand sticky.  To this day, I don’t know which I hated more – the brain freeze resulting from eating my popsicle too fast or having a streak of sticky orange-flavored syrup running down my arm.

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hazelnut frangipane and nutella-dark chocolate ganache tart and another giveaway

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Hazelnut Frangipane and Nutella Chocolate Ganache Tart

I can’t believe that it’s been over three months since I’ve baked anything with chocolate.  How could I have let that happen? To remedy this dire situation, I adapted my Fig, Almond Frangipane, and Orange Tart to make this nutty tart. I recently received a complimentary bag of hazelnut flour from Bob’s Red Mill to try out, so I took this opportunity to use it in both the crust and the frangipane.  Continue reading →

Bob’s Red Mill Giveaway Winners!

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Thanks so much to all of you who entered my very first giveaway!  The three winners listed above will each receive a bag of Fine Ground Cornmeal from Bob’s Red Mill.

I will be notifying the winners via email this morning, so please check your inbox!  I need to collect your contact information, including your phone number to forward to Bob’s Red Mill. Continue reading →

creamy herbed polenta with mushroom ragout

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We tend to associate comfort food with winter but this creamy bowl of polenta is also good on a summer evening.  Simple and comforting, it is like sunshine in a bowl.  It is luscious without being heavy and satisfying without being overly rich.  Well-made polenta, with plenty of butter and parmesan cheese, is delicious by itself.  Topped with an earthy mushroom ragout, it’s even better. I served this polenta alongside Grilled Lamb Chops marinated in olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and thyme and a green salad with a simple meyer lemon and olive oil vinaigrette.  The whole combination was hearty, yet still fitting for supper on a warm summer evening. Continue reading →