From the category archives:

Culinary School

Twisted Cookies ~ With Rolled-In Sugar

Thumbnail image for Twisted Cookies ~ With Rolled-In Sugar February 25, 2012

My Mom and I made Twisted Cookies for the first time in 1959 from a recipe printed on the inside of a cake yeast wrapper. My Mom made bread from scratch, without a recipe, and this tricky and unique recipe using yeast was right up her alley. When I left home and married, this recipe […]

119 comments Read the full article →

Gingerbread with Apple Cider Sabayon

Thumbnail image for Gingerbread with Apple Cider Sabayon December 4, 2011

Warm Gingerbread, scented with molasses, ginger, cinnamon and cloves, with sweet cold Cider Sabayon gracefully flowing down its side, was what I made for our Thanksgiving dessert this year. It was a not-too-heavy, but lovely end to our feast. Our groaning board held the traditional turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, plus my […]

4 comments Read the full article →

Orange Marmalade and Almond Crostate from The Mozza Cookbook

Thumbnail image for Orange Marmalade and Almond Crostate from The Mozza Cookbook October 18, 2011

The last time I was at my book store, I was so delighted to discover Nancy Silverton’s fabulous new creation, The Mozza Cookbook, was now on the shelf.  When I paged through it, I found that there were recipes for each of the dishes my friend Michele and I had eaten at Osteria Mozza a […]

7 comments Read the full article →

Tomatillo Albondigas Soup & Two Tomatillo Tales

Thumbnail image for Tomatillo Albondigas Soup & Two Tomatillo Tales August 8, 2011

Tale One One afternoon last week my doorbell rang, which was a surprise, because I wasn’t expecting anyone. I opened the door and there stood a beautiful young woman with a toddler clinging to her knee, holding a huge platter piled with fresh vegetables. “Hi,” she said, “I’m your next door neighbor and I have […]

14 comments Read the full article →

Mini Lemon Tartlets & A Culinary School Banquet

Thumbnail image for Mini Lemon Tartlets & A Culinary School Banquet October 15, 2010

By the end of March 1995 I had completed eight out of ten quarter classes required to receive my Certificate in Professional Cooking and my Certificate for Pastry and Baking at UCLA. I had also completed the nine month 185 hour internship for Cooking at Campanile and another 150 hours internship at another restaurant for […]

15 comments Read the full article →

Twirly Lemon Cookies and My First Chef’s Coat

Thumbnail image for Twirly Lemon Cookies and My First Chef’s Coat August 23, 2010

If you have read about me, you know that in 1991 I decided to go to culinary school at UCLA. I had this bone-deep intense longing to learn how to do all the techniques I was reading about in food magazines. I wanted to learn to make sauces and to understand pastry and baking. I […]

27 comments Read the full article →