deensiebat

Your macaroons look lovely! Now I want to make them again!

I made a batch of macaroons for a care package, topped with ganache and chopped toasted almonds. Like an almond joy, but better.

Any current recommendations on O'Hare-adjacent restaurants? I've got 5 hours around lunchtime next week, and unfortunately it looks like some of the restaurants mentioned on this thread a couple years ago aren't around anymore. I'm meeting up with a friend (who's new to town and doesn't know much), and we want some place where we can plop down, catch up, eat something delicious, and not spend too much time in transit. Ideas?

Kale pizza! Or maybe it's more like kale flatbread. Some garlicky sauteed Red Russian kale, blue cheese, walnuts and onions. Surprisingly good.

Thanks! I baked soft meringues in muffin cups (as I seem to only have one ramekin), then scooped out the centers and packed them with mousse. Deliciousness. Detailed here.

Soft meringue stuffed with chocolate mousse, served in a puddle of creme anglaise. Oh so good.

Oh, I love kedgeree. Healthy breakfast of bran muffins. Not pictured: huevos rancheros complete with guacamole and cheese and such. It's all about balance, no?

Kayb I see your lousy cellphone photo, and raise you with one of my own: gluten-free pierogies, for a celiac friend. Let dietary restrictions keep no one from peasant food!

Just made a batch of these ridiculously delicious cookies: blue cheese and jam savories. Like the best cheez-it ever. Must not eat them all before party...

Covered all of the guests' allergen bases with gluten-free vegan rugelach for Hanukkah:

Try Asian markets -- they usually have it in small bags, and it's dirt cheap.

On the more rustic side: I visited an old friend and her new baby, and made her a batch of homemade granola bars (among many, many other things).

Futzing around with Rosh Hashanah apples-n-honey dessert idea, and came up with this galette. Honey and rosemary in both the frangipane underneath, and the drizzled glaze on top.

Hot weather + frozen watermelon = frozen watermelon daiquiri. Brain freeze ensued.

Some like it heavy. Recipe for the tonic? Here's my take on tonic water, adapted from a great recipe by Jeffrey Morganthaler. This particular batch of cinchona bark was especially potent -- it's nicely bitter on such a hot day, but definitely makes itself heard above the other ingredients. But if you favor the bitter, it's perfect. I've also tried a nicely bracing grapefruit variation.

Beat the heat with a homemade gin & tonic: A bit heavy on the quinine, but man is it nice on a hot day.

Too hot to bake, so I froze some sweet rosewater lassis into popsicles: Yogurt, sugar, milk, and a touch of rosewater and cardamom.

A friend brought a box of lemons from Oakland, and I finally turned the last of them into marmalade:

Got a little garlic-scape happy with this pizza: Scapes, bleu cheese, walnuts, potato.

That's the beauty of home-baking -- you can sneak in ridiculous amounts of poppy seeds. It's super moist and nice and nutty. I'll bet muffins would be great -- it's definitely got a cake-like richness, but it's not too sweet.

Back to basics with poppy seed cake: For some reason I seem to have gone years without poppy seed cake. I forgot how rich and nubby and nice it is.

Celebrating a sunny afternoon with a pineapple mojito:

Simmered up a pot of Acorda, a brothy cilantro-leek-chard-chickpea soup, poured over garlicky bread and topped with a poached egg. It looks kinda like mulch, but it was delicious.

I've been wondering about this too! Limes doubled in price a few months ago at the local Kroger grocery store, from 3/$1 to $.60/each. And when I hit the restaurant supply store (we go through a lot of citrus), the 5-lb bag was over $9, which is about double what I remember. Doesn't look like we've found the definitive cause (Weather issues? National conspiracy?), but it does seem to be a nation-wide trend.

Robirdstx: I second the love of garlic bread! Every time I make it, I wonder why we don't have it more often. I'm fond of the Cook's Illustrated method, where you dry-toast the unpeeled garlic cloves first--seems to do a good job of yielding a strong taste without a harsh bite. Last week we took advantage of the sunny day with an impromptu picnic. I threw together this Israeli couscous salad: Saffron-cooked couscous, leftover cooked wheatberries, cilantro, mint, feta, hazelnuts, canned favas, lemon and olive oil.