“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke This simple recipe for Olive Oil and Orange Cake celebrates the turning of the season. While it still feels a lot like winter most days, the buds on the trees have opened, a few sprigs of flowers have emerged next to mounds of melting snow, and the birds that left in late autumn have returned with their old familiar songs. Let’s bake a cake that is much like the end of March, a little bit sweet, a little bit savory.
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I first experienced red wine pasta (yes, this dish is an experience) while in Tuscany. It was on a long drive to escape the rain that we came upon a small osteria, somewhere outside of Chianti. I’m still not entirely sure that it was open. However, we were seated and exchanged pleasantries in Italian. There was no menu. The old woman who greeted us might have also been the cook, I’m not entirely sure. She returned with two plates of the most gorgeous colored spaghetti I had ever seen.
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Today I’m celebrating my part-Irish heritage by sharing my family’s recipe for Irish Cottage Pie. It’s March and for weeks now there’s been a battle of the wills between winter and spring. A few days ago we were graced with warm slow winds, the kind that billows the curtains just enough to carry the scent of the new grass. That evening, the icy and cutting breath of winter returned and dumped 4 inches of snow. The expected forecast for this week is another foot of snow or more… For me that means comfort food.
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A luxuriously decadent, grown-up dessert. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to make a fun and sophisticated treat. Then it happened! Chocolate red wine cupcakes. Oh, yes… These decadent and grown-up chocolate cupcakes are made with a blend of natural and Dutched unsweetened cocoa, hinted with Bordeaux, and swirled with luscious homemade buttercream. You decide if you want to frost them with vanilla or chocolate, I’ll give you the recipes for both. And yes, even the frosting has red wine. No store-bought boxed cake mix here. Just a few pantry ingredients and a couple of minutes is all it takes to make these cupcakes from scratch.
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Oven Baked Ribs in Plum Sauce is a no-fail, fool-proof, simple and easy recipe. The ribs are baked sticky-sweet, savory, and succulent then brushed in a flavorful plum sauce. Baked low and slow, they are melt-in-your-mouth tender.
