As a small holiday gift, here is a recipe from my cookbook. It appears in the mignardise chapter, which collects sweet little bites to serve at the end of a meal — instead of, or alongside, dessert, and perfect with coffee or tea.
These treats-on-a-stick begin with an easy homemade hazelnut marzipan: grind toasted hazelnuts with confectioner’s sugar and a touch of honey, shape the paste into small balls, then dip them in chocolate. They’re fun to assemble and make a charming finish to a festive menu. They’re also handy to nibble while decorating, wrapping gifts, or curled up with a warm drink and a good book. The recipe follows below.
While you’re in a giving mood, please consider bidding on items offered by food bloggers worldwide for our Menu for Hope fundraiser. You can bid in someone’s name to give a thoughtful present that also supports a good cause — and the winning bidder will receive the item in January. Read on for more details about the campaign and the prizes I’m contributing.
Last year I suggested a number of holiday-worthy recipes from the archives. To those I now add the following favorites:
Savory:
~ Cheese thins,
~ Green pea cilantro spread,
~ Jerusalem artichoke soup with bacon,
~ Champagne and saffron mussels,
~ Lamb and orange khoresh (Persian stew),
~ Gratin dauphinois (potato gratin),
~ Spaghetti squash gratin with walnuts,
~ Brussels sprouts with onions and squash seeds,
~ Saffron-roasted cauliflower.
Sweet:
~ Raspberry dacquoise,
~ Green tea and red bean cake roll,
~ Maple pecan ice cream,
~ Vanilla-poached quince.
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