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Layered Orange Scones

I’ve never layered butter into anything before. There’s just something about croissants, puff pastry, and anything else laminated that scares the crap out of me. But guess what? It’s not that scary with only eight layers (thankfully not eighty). And I’m pretty sure these layered orange scones are the gateway drug into laminating…

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, the process of laminating dough involves folding dough and butter onto itself multiple times, to create the most flaky, buttery confections.

When I found Epicurious’s Ultra-Buttery Irish Scone recipe, with its layers of fluff while scouring the internet, I thought “this is my moment.” Luckily I read the recipe wrong and used twice the amount of butter it called for during the laminating portion. The good news is, the moment these scones came out of the oven they confirmed what I’ve always thought to be true. More butter = more better.

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Big Bad Monster Cookies

One of my 2018 resolutions is to make more cookies. Not healthy cookies or breakfast cookies–but really good cookies. Cookies have never been my specialty because I just don’t like eating them that much. Which means I’ve never been interested in perfecting any cookie…

But when I met Colin almost six years ago, I started to understand the importance of cookies in some people’s lives. My husband LOVES cookies. He says almost once a week, “I’m craving chocolate chip cookies.” And when we were first dating, he was obsessed with a cookie they sold at a local coffee shop. It was a big cookie, with everything in it, including multi-colored M&Ms. So when he brought a bag of random M&Ms home the other night, I was immediately reminded of the coffee shop cookie and decided to create my very own version.

But before I got to making the perfect monster cookie, I knew I needed to do more research. I’ve made a few kinds of cookies over the past few weeks, and Colin has been very happy. I’ve made Magnolia Bakery’s classic peanut butter cookies, Sarah Kieffer’s pan-banging chocolate chip cookies and Martha Stewart’s classic oatmeal lace cookies.

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White Bean, Red Chard and Sausage Soup

During the bomb cyclone of early January this White Bean, Red Chard and Sausage Soup soup got us through the snowy cold. It’s a warming, stick to your ribs, keep-you-full-for-hours kind of winter soup. And if you know me, you know I like soup.

And if you don’t know me–I’ll tell you about my love for soup. It’s my favorite food. There’s something about broth that is SO satisfying. The flavors that can be coaxed from bones, vegetable scraps or even a few onions never cease to amaze me. And when I was a kid, matzoh ball soup from The Mill Basin Deli and Sancocho (a Dominican stew of root vegetables and a variety of meats) were two of my favorite (and very different) meals.

Fast forward to college, a time in my life that is blurry and confusing–the nights I most clearly and fondly remember were nights my roommates and I ordered Asian fusion and watched tv. While others ordered California rolls and sesame chicken, my order always always consisted of two or three soups (wonton! hot and sour! miso! eggdrop!). They still make fun of me ten years later.

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