Dark Chocolate and Almond Sablés from Chocolate for Beginners, by Kate Shaffer Pronounced sah-BLAY, sablés are simply a buttery shortbread cookie named for the town in France where they were created. The following method eliminates the need for rolling the dough. For sandwich cookies (fill with jam! sweet chestnut puree! ganache!), simply cut the dough thinner. Difficulty Level Easy Prep Time 45 minutes plus overnight chilling Yield 28 cookies Storage Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Ingredients 1/3 cup roasted almonds 7 ounces very soft ..read more

I developed the recipe for this sauce with the hardcore pumpkin lover in mind. We all know one (or two): the friend or cousin or sister who extols the virtues of orange food on social media all year long and who might or might not have a secret shrine to winter squash in their closet. No off-the-shelf pumpkin spice product will do for this person. Starbuck's PSL? Pshaw! Child's play.  Made with a healthy dose of actual pumpkin, this sauce will test the validity of any professed P. Spice devotee. Here, I've paired it with Alice Medrich's deep, dark, Best Cocoa Brownies ..read more

Blonde Chocolate Pudding and Rhubarb Parfaits from Chocolate for Beginners The tang of rhubarb is tempered perfectly by sweet, creamy blonde chocolate in this springtime dessert. Difficulty Level Intermediate Prep Time 1 hour, plus overnight 4 hours chilling time Techniques Melting Yield 6 parfaits Storage Store in the refrigerator for 3 days Ingredients 7 ounces blonde chocolate (such as Valrhona Dulcey Blond), or plain white chocolate 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 egg yolks 3 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 cups chopped rhubarb (I cut mine i ..read more

Sometimes you need an easy recipe. And sometimes you need a recipe that will work magic. Most of the time, the magic-working recipes aren't easy, but the effort is almost always worth it. My advice? Work some magic. Your dinner guests deserve it. Chocolate Tart with Fresh Raspberry Curd  Makes one 9-inch tart Ingredients: 4 large egg yolks 1/2 cup raspberry puree (If you don't have raspberry puree on hand, make it by putting 2 pints of fresh raspberries through a juicer, or by blitzing them in a blender. If you use a blender, you'll need to press the puree through a sieve to get the seed ..read more

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From Chocolate for Beginners, by Kate Shaffer This elegant, sophisticatedly-flavored dessert is a show-stopper. Serve these tarts at an autumn dinner party and prepare for the abrupt halt in conversation when your guests take their first bite.  Difficulty Level Easy Prep Time 45 minutes Set Time 3 hours in the refrigerator Techniques Emulsifying Yield 6 4” tarts Storage Store tarts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days. Ingredients 3 Bosc pears 1/2 cup honey 4 sprigs fresh thyme 2 tablespoons pinenuts 1 tablespoon butter Spray oil 4 ounces butter 1/4 cup granulated su ..read more

I know, it's been a while. But I have a really good excuse: It's called Chocolate for Beginners. Have you ever wanted to try your hand at making chocolates at home, but were intimidated by the complicated tomes on chocolate making that seem to be written for some arcane order of erudite culinary magicians, unfettered by work, chores, family, and other things that constitute everyday life? Well, this summer, I wrote a book just for you.   It has simple, detailed instructions on how to make professional quality chocolates and confections, using time-honored methods and pure ingredients. I c ..read more

If you were anywhere near social media yesterday, you might have gotten the impression that everyone you know was cooking gorgeous photo-worthy meals for either Passover or Easter. For my part, I did the laundry and took a 3-hour nap with my cats. And I had popcorn for lunch.  I have nowhere to be today, and am not hosting an epic Easter brunch, but even with cloudy skies and the threat of rain (and maybe because of those things), I'd like to do something a little special. So I'm going to make these scones.  Eaten warm, they are tender, flaky, and redolent with the scent of ..read more

(makes 4 mugs of hot chocolate) 4 cups whole milk (or milk substitute such as almond or soy milk) 6 chai tea bags (I tested this recipe with Twining’s Chai Ultra Spice tea bags) 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 2-4 tablespoons honey Place the milk into a large sauce pan and heat until almost boiling. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags and cover the pan. Allow to steep for 10 minutes.  Removed the tea bags from the milk (give them a good squeeze to get all the liquid out), add the honey to the milk, and heat until almost boiling.  While the milk is heating, place the chop ..read more

A few years ago, I wrote an article for the Portland Press Herald about how my cooking style has had to adjust to my super tiny apartment kitchen. Things that I've had to banish: shelves of cookbooks, stacks of mixing bowls, and unnecessary appliances. I think I'm proud to say that I've managed to sustain my kitchen space diet for almost four years now. It's a testament to what we will sacrifice for affordable rent on the Hill!  But then, this past Christmas, my brothers-in-law gifted me a ridiculously large credit at LeRoux Kitchen, and I broke. Among the beautiful things I bought t ..read more