Cinnamon-Pecan Buns/Rolls with Butter Frosting

These cinnamon buns/rolls are very special, sweet, gooey and irresistible. You fill the dough with sugary pecans, mixed with cinnamon, butter and cocoa powder, that produces beautiful, buttery layers. These bear no resemblance to anything store-bought.

My favorite - Cut Out Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies #OXOGoodCookies

Christmas Cookies #4: Anise Cookies with Chocolate Chips

"Anise is a favorite sweet spice in Europe, especially in the Scandinavian countries and in Germany. Our modern wedding cake is said to date back to the anise-flavored cakes eaten by the Romans after elaborate meals.

Christmas Cookies #3: Spiced Brown-Sugar Fruit Drops

These delicious cookies are dainty enough for a tea party and yet hearty enough for afternoon snacks. They have a rich, delicately spiced brown-sugar flavor and are filled with pecans, dates, and raisins. If the cookies are not over baked, they have a better flavor and remain soft for a longer period of time.

Coffee Cake with Hazelnut Streusel Topping

These individual coffee cakes are richly flavored but light, so they almost melt in your mouth. There's a crunch on the outside from hazelnut streusel topping and soft interior crumb. The cakes are finished with a dusting of cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and cinnamon, just a hint, so there are all kinds of flavors here. The coffee cakes are best the day they are baked, but they can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and frozen. Defrost frozen cakes at room temperature, and rewarm if desired.

Zucchini Apple Muffins

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Zucchini-Apple Muffins

Note: Before using the zucchini in this recipe, rinse and dry, then cut off the stem end before shredding onto layers of paper towels to absorb some of the excess moisture.

Chocolate - Coffee Christmas Cut-out Cookies

"History does not tell us when, where, or by whom the first cooky was made. However, we credit the Dutch - famous for their honey and nut cookies - with having introduced the name to America, since cookie derives from the Dutch Koekje, meaning "little cakes." The early Dutch settlers brought their family recipes along with them, thereby endowing America with a wide variety of these delicacies.

Onion Marmalade with Fig Balsamic Vinegar served over Chicken Liver Pâté

ONION "Rose Among Roots"from The Spice Cookbook, 1964

Had robert Louis Stevenson been a modern advertising man, and been offered a fee to glorify the onions, he couldn't have done better than in his poem on salad making:

First let the onion flourish there,
Rose among roots, the maiden-fair
Wine-scented and poetic soul
Of the capacious bowl!

Then there was the eighteenth-century clergyman and wit, the Reverend Sydney Smith, who initiated a salad with a bit of minced onion. His rhymed recipe prescribed:

Let onion's atoms lurk within the bowl,
And scarce suspected, animate the whole.

The early nineteenth century seems to have produced a quantity of recipes written in rhyme, or what seemed to have passed for rhyme in those days. There was one recipe for roast stuffed swan which reads, in part, "…an onion, will heighten the flavor in gourmand's opinion."

All cooks agree with this opinion-
No savory dish without an onion.



The onion has been used for so many centuries by so many people throughout the world it is hardly possible to determine its origin. Most likely it was in Asia Minor, the home of so many Old World vegetables. We know that the Egyptians ate onions in great quantities. Even the pyramids seem to be indebted to the onion. For the manpower that built them was fortified with onions, according to history as recorded by Herodotus. He noted that in his time there was an inscription on the Great Pyramid of Cheops saying that 1600 talents of silver had been spent on onions, garlic, and radishes for the workmen in 2900 B.C.



This sweet and tangy condiment is perfect for grilled meats, burgers, sandwiches, pizza or on a crostini as an appetizer. I like to serve it over Chicken Liver Pate with butter, for pate you can find the recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium onions, sliced
• 2 Tbsp  fig balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
• 1 Tbsp thyme, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat; then add the onions, and brown sugar, and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Continue to cook the onions over medium heat for about 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft, translucent, and light brown.  Add the balsamic vinegar and thyme, turn the heat to low, and continue to cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for about 10 more minutes.  When they are done, they will be deep, dark brown and will have absorbed all the vinegar.




Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Use over chicken liver pate with toast.

Quince Cardamom Tapioca Pudding with Homemade Crumbles - Have a Sweet Weekend!

Forgive me for posting a winter dessert today. I was looking for quinces all winter, unable to find them; a couple of days ago finally I got lucky, and here it is.

This recipe comes from many inspirations and memories. I remember one aroma from my childhood when my mother made compote from quince and it was so magically wonderful. I remember eating crepes with quince jam, the best breakfast ever. I never cooked tapioca before so I like to experiment with it and recently I discovered that I love cardamom-)))

This dessert is scrumptious, It takes some time to prepare, and worthwhile every minute of it. I hope you like it as much as I did, save it for next year when quinces are in season or you can make it with pears or peaches, which is certainly going to be  a summer dessert!



Serves 6
Ingredients:
For the poached quinces:

• 3 quinces, peeled, cored and quartered
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom pods
• 5 cloves
• 1/4 cup (50gr) sugar
• 1 tsp allspice berries
• 1/2 lemon

For the vanilla tapioca:

• 2/3 cup large tapioca pearls
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp  ground cardamom

For the crumble:

• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup white oatmeal flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• OR 3/4 cup all purpose flour instead if not baking gluten free
• 1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 1/2 tablespoons almond milk

Directions:

Prepare the cardamom tapioca:
In a medium bowl, soak the tapioca pearls in the water for an hour. Drain and discard the water. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, bring the tapioca, milk, honey and cardamom to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until the tapioca looks translucent. Remove from the heat and place a piece of plastic wrap right on top to prevent a skin from forming as it cools.



Prepare the quinces:
Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover the quinces. Bring the content of the pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, place a lid halfway over the pot and simmer for 40 minutes to an hour, or until the quinces are soft when you poke a knife through them. Mash the quince with syrup and reserve.



Prepare the crumble:
Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your fingertips or a fork until the mixture resembles large beads. Spread the beads on the prepared baking sheet and bake, tossing them every so often as they become golden brown for 20 minutes. Let the crumbles cool.



When ready to serve, spoon the quince mixture into the bottom of each of 6 glasses, dividing it evenly. When the tapioca is completely cool, divide it in between the serving glasses on top of the quince mix. Sprinkle with crumbles, again dividing evenly.

Note: You might have leftover crumbles, you can crumble it up over oatmeal for breakfast or over ice cream.

Sun-dried Tomato and Pistachio Flat Bread

Flat bread is something between a crumbly cracker and a crisp biscuit. Once you have mastered the technique, experiment with ingredients to make both sweet and savory snacks. You may use sunflower seeds, walnuts, spinach or onions. This is a very earthy flat bread, healthy and nutritious.



Ingredients:

• 4-5 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup stone ground, garbanzo bean flour
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 egg and 1 egg white
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pistachios

Note: If you are using not oil-packed tomatoes, you need to make them soft.
In the small bowl, pour the boiling water about 2 cups over the tomatoes. Let stand until the tomatoes are slightly soft, 3-5 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels and chop the tomatoes finely. If using oil-packed tomatoes then you don't need to do this.



Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350F/Coat a large, baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Into a large bowl, sift together the whole wheat flour, garbanzo bean flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and cayenne pepper. Add the egg and egg white and thyme and stir vigorously to combine. The dough will be very stiff at this point. Add the chopped pistachios and chopped tomatoes and work them into the dough.



Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times. Pat and roll into 10-inch disc about 1/4 inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 pieces and place them at least i inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake until dry and lightly browned, 10 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.