A NATIVE of Fort Wayne who grew up enjoying her mother’s perfect pies and hand-rolled noodles, Alison Keefer has grown her Gallery Pastry Shop from a wholesale bakery to a dessert-themed restaurant group with four locations. But simplicity has always been the hallmark of Keefer’s approach, no better exemplified than in these crisp, buttery cookies. Because the ingredient list is short, be sure to go for quality butter. And watch that the cookies don’t brown too much around the edges. If your oven heats unevenly, rotate the pans halfway through baking. Baking times will vary depending on the th ..read more

AFTER SELLING his popular Ristorante Roma in Carmel in 2020, restaurateur Lucio Romani, who hails from the seaside town of Ladispoli west of Rome, opened a gelateria on Main Street with wife, Christine Jourdan. When the pandemic hit, the couple converted the frozen sweets shop to a bakery and dinner takeout. Romani handled the pastas and pizza, and Jourdan focused on the baking, with many of the recipes from Romani’s region of Italy, such as his mother’s crispy wine cookies. Any wine (even red) can be used in this recipe, but Romani recommends a semi-sweet white such as Chablis. Romani’s mothe ..read more

The Woodlawn Sling If you can’t find poblano liqueur, you can substitute another chile-flavored spirit or make your own by placing 2–3 medium poblanos, roughly chopped, in a jar with a 2-inch piece of orange zest. Add anywhere from one teaspoon to 1/4 cup granulated sugar to taste. Pour 2 cups of vodka into the jar. Let steep in a cool, dark place for at least three hours or up to 3 days. Strain. You may need to adjust the amount of simple syrup to achieve the desired sweetness of the drink. Jon Rangel’s Woodlawn Sling Makes one cocktail Ingredients: 3/4 ounce 18th Street gin (or gin of your ..read more

As co-owner with her husband of Futuro and Grump’s Slice Stop, Sarah St. Aubin has easy access to pizza in nearly every form. But she gets her sweets fix by recreating this two-day family recipe. The result is a sturdy old-fashioned dessert that satisfies a cake craving. Butter may be substituted for the vegetable shortening in this recipe, though for the fluffiest cake, St. Aubin recommends not tinkering with her grandmother’s original formula. Grandmother’s Poppyseed Cake Makes one 10-inch Bundt cake Ingredients: 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) poppyseeds 1 cup milk 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspo ..read more

As the co-owner of Muncie’s vegan cafe, Sea Salt & Cinnamon, Amanda Reninger does a lot of experimentation with ingredients, tinkering with the proportions of various nondairy milks and flours to conjure palatable flavors and textures. She really nailed it with this vegan-friendly recipe for chocolate chip cookies that come out of the oven as dense as scones and packed with sweet flavor.  Chocolate Chip Cookies Makes 12 cookies   Ingredients: 1/4 cup almond milk 1/3 cup canola oil  2 teaspoons vanilla  1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tabl ..read more

THIS EASY, SWEET beer bread recipe from Kismetic Beer Company (@kismeticbeerco) owner Nicole Oesch can be adapted by substituting up to a cup of whole-wheat or rye flour for the all-purpose flour. For a richer caramel flavor, use dark brown sugar in place of the brown sugar. Feel free to add up to one cup of toasted walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, or dried fruits. Lighter beers will work, but a darker beer gives this bread its true character.  Beer Bread Makes one loaf Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup bro ..read more

TO APPROXIMATE  the flavor of Henderson’s Bollygood soda, you can crack a few cumin seeds and muddle a couple of basil leaves in the serving glass. To mimic the lime in the gin, add an extra squeeze of lime with the cocktail ingredients in addition to the lime garnish. Bollygood Mule Makes one cocktail Ingredients: 2 ounces Tom Bullock’s Old Tom Gin (or other gin) 3 ounces Bollygood sparkling lime basil cumin soda (or other lemon-lime soda or ginger ale) Lime wedge Cracked ice Directions: Fill a glass or a metal mug with ice. Add gin and soda. Stir. Garnish with lime wedge and serve ..read more

Egg baguette Traditional pâté for banh mi sandwiches is made with from dried pork liver and can be found in Vietnamese or Asian markets. Feel free to substitute country pâté from a good butcher shop. Get the freshest eggs possible, as they’re the star of this egg baguette recipe from Ricky Phan. Quick Egg Baguette      Serves Two Ingredients: One fresh baguette 2 teaspoons vegetable oil Four eggs, preferably local farm eggs Salt and pepper, to taste 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste 1/2 of an English cucumber, cut into long matchsticks 4 ounces spreadable pâté or ..read more

Chef Dean Sample has worked in some of Indy’s top fine-dining kitchens, including Oakleys Bistro, Meridian Restaurant & Bar, and Northside Social. That wasn’t always the plan, though. “When I went to culinary school, I wanted to open up a country kind of restaurant that served the food I grew up eating,” says Sample, who hails from the small Morgan County town of Paragon. “My grandma taught me how to make a lot of things,” he says. “It’s kind of funny. Growing up, I was interested in eating and not necessarily in cooking. But as a family, we always sat in the kitchen, so I watched everythi ..read more

An orthopedic surgeon with a love for good food, Tim Williams has sat down with some of Indy’s top chefs for his Back of House Productions video series. When he craves something solid and home-cooked, he makes a big pot of beef stew (which he pairs with a rustic loaf of chef Mark Bittman’s No Knead Bread). Williams shares his beef stew recipe with us. His secret ingredient? A few globs of yeasty, salty Marmite. “I was born in the UK, so I am familiar with the flavor of Marmite, even though I don’t enjoy it on bread like the Brits do,” he says. “I added it on a whim once because I thought the y ..read more