Sugar & Spice by Celeste

Fig season is short but glorious, so I try to take advantage of it every chance I can get my hands on some.  I've got 2 pints sitting in my fridge right now, and I'm trying to decide the perfect use for them...maybe this fresh Fig & Walnut Bread , or perhaps these Fig & Walnut Cookies ?  So far this summer, I've made another batch of this Addictive Cinnamon-Fig Jam , and also this deliciously scrumptious Fig Cake from Dorie Greenspan.   The great things about this cake are the additions of a small amount of yellow cornmeal to the cake batter, the ruby port wine sauce and the process of infusing the fresh figs with said ruby port sauce prior to scattering them across the top of the cake.  All of these elements produce a satisfying cake with a unique taste that's not super sweet and perfect for any fig lover in your life! Dorie named this cake "A Fig Cake for Fall", and autumn is right around the corner...My fav...

  I learned to really appreciate the wonderfulness of simple cooking, made with the freshest, in-season ingredients during our trip to Europe back in 2009.  There, we dined on the most exquisite food, but you know what?  It wasn't particularly fancy or pretentious food that comes to mind...It was simple, down-to-earth dishes packed with flavor from what was in season at the time.  To me, that's the best way to cook.  Period. This was most noticeable to us in Italy, where amazing toppings were carefully layered onto the pizzas, with thinner crusts than us Americans are used to, which really allowed the toppings to shine.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Earlier today, I came across an article written by the great Jacques Pepin, in which he recalled some of his favorite memories of Julia Child, one of which involved this simple, flavorful cooking technique.  Here's an excerpt from that article, where Jacques recalls a dinn...

Julia Child has been such a huge inspiration to so many people, myself included.  Tomorrow (8/15) is a big day for Julia fans around the world...It marks what would have been her 100th birthday!  In celebration of such a talented, fantastic and all-around amazing chef and person, I'd like to post a collection of some of my favorite Julia recipes for you to peruse.  Maybe one of them will even inspire you to get into the kitchen in honor of the great Julia.  ;) The Julia quote in my blog header above has become sort of my mantra...It rings so true and can apply to just about anything that you love.  What are you passionate about? "Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it." Happy 100th Birthday, Julia! I'm thinking a big slice of her delicious Reine de Saba cake (linked below) and one of my favorite movies - Julie & Julia - would be the perfect way to celebrate.  :) Chicken Breasts with Mushroo...

There's something so humble and unassuming about a fruity, simple cobbler.  They're not fussy, pretentious or complicated.   By contrast, cobblers seem to always be comforting, delicious and crave-worthy. In this recipe, fresh fruit of the season is baked just until bubbly, and then biscuit dough is dropped by spoon-fulls over the top.  With a second trip into the oven, the dough bakes up into delicious ly tender biscuits that are pretty much guaranteed to produce "Oohs!" and "Ahhs!" as you take it out of the oven. Yum. The biscuits cut through the sweet tartness of the fruit and really make this dish something special.  It is the perfect way to take advantage of some of late summer's yummy fruits that are stocking the farmers' markets. So, go grab some fruit and get into the kitchen.  This cobbler has your name written all over it. Bon Appetit, my friends!  :) Blackberry Peach Cobbler Adapted from:  Gourmet , September 200...