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These snacks are shaped like little golden bags of money that signifies wealth, hence their name.

Introduction

These snacks are shaped like little golden bags of money that signifies wealth, hence their name. The shell, a simple spring roll wrapper, is stuffed with a vegetarian mix and deep-fried. Thai people are extremely superstitious about how we name our food. We try to give a positive or lucky name to anything we eat on special occasions. Golden bags are often served at festivals and parties—especially the ones I throw!

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These celebration cookies, referred to as “PPCs,” belong to my husband’s family

Introduction

These celebration cookies, referred to as “PPCs,” belong to my husband’s family. His late maternal grandmother, the famous Grandma Margaret, was an exceptional baker, and Pink Party Cookies were one of her most coveted treats—an impossibly short, blond cookie sandwiching a pastel-pink cream filling. The cookie has no leavener, and there should be almost no discernable color on them when baked. I hope this recipe does right by Margaret, who left behind recipe notecards and lots of oral instructions. If the dough feels too soft or smushy when you are rolling it into balls, chill it for 10 minutes to firm it back up.

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This roast is cooked down with trinity mirepoix as well as tomatoes, red wine, and plenty of herbs.

Introduction

Italians were recruited to work in the South after slavery was outlawed; ships would depart from Southern Italy three times a month for New Orleans, bringing immigrants over to work. Just as Italian immigrants had a big influence on New Orleans cuisine (the lower French Quarter was once known as Little Palermo), they’ve equally inspired food in southern Mississippi, including this roast. It’s cooked down with trinity mirepoix as well as tomatoes, red wine, and plenty of herbs, such as oregano, basil, and thyme. But the real signature addition is piquant pepperoncini, which add a welcome hit of acid to an otherwise deeply savory dish.

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The warm, earthy notes of cardamom complement summer’s best plums in this simple and irresistible cake recipe.

Introduction

The warm, earthy notes of cardamom complement summer’s best plums in this simple and irresistible cake recipe. Plum and cardamom are a match made in heaven, so if you haven’t experienced this combination before, it’s time that you try it out. Any variety of plum can be used for this recipe—whatever your local store has at the height of stone fruit season will work beautifully.

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This yellow buttermilk cake is impossibly moist and has a beautiful vanilla bean flavor.

Introduction

I can still vividly recall my mom serving yellow buttermilk cake at our family birthday dinners during the late 1970s and early 1980s—complete with the glass rectangular baking pan, smothered in what I imagine was Duncan Hines chocolate frosting and topped with randomly tossed silver dragées. This yellow buttermilk cake is impossibly moist and has a beautiful vanilla bean flavor that pairs wonderfully with the cake’s buttery texture (try this cake warm out of the oven with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar—a cakey dream). Pair these layers with anything from sweet frostings and fillings to the darkest of chocolate.

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Many of our bakery regulars drop by first thing in the morning to grab a coffee and a muffin.

Introduction

Many of our bakery regulars drop by first thing in the morning to grab a coffee and a muffin. It is the perfect portable morning pick- me-up, and we love showing off whatever local fruit happens to be in season. At home, this is our favourite “clean out the fridge” muffin recipe. We often bake these muffins to use up any fruit that has somehow been forgotten and is about to be past its prime. Everyone loves these muffins because they are a delicious treat for adults and kids alike (great for lunch boxes!) and the recipe is simple enough to make with any little helper. If you are lucky, your helper will get a taste for baking, and it will not be long before you get to sit back and enjoy the spoils. We have used raspberries as shown in the photo, but really any fruit will work. Leave berries whole or cut them in half if they are very large; cut larger fruits into half-inch cubes. Peeling the fruit is optional.

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This salad is full of flavourful Mediterranean ingredients like bitter radicchio, tart plums, crunchy walnuts, and creamy yogurt.

Introduction

This salad is full of flavourful Mediterranean ingredients like bitter radicchio, tart plums, crunchy walnuts, and creamy yogurt. We really do not eat enough bitter vegetables because our palettes tend to be overly used to salty and sweet foods. Bitter greens such as radicchio and rapini stimulate digestion and are a wonderful balm for someone who craves sweets. Mint adds another layer of flavour to this special salad and helps to soothe the gut.

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Ma'amoul is a quintessential holiday cookie that is enjoyed for Eid, Christmas, and Easter.

Introduction

Ma'amoul is a quintessential holiday cookie that is enjoyed for Eid, Christmas, and Easter. In its traditional form, it is made by pressing semolina cookie dough into circular molds and filling them with nut or date paste.

In our kitchen, when the holiday season rolled around, beautiful wooden molds, traditionally used for these cookies, would surface. My sisters and I would make these labor-intensive cookies with gusto. But my mother, ever efficient, often made a Fig Newton–form of cookie bar, rolling out two layers of dough to sandwich the date filling. For years, I thought this was her own invention but, it turns out, this is another form of ma’amoul called med, which literally translates to “spread.” 

The yeast in this recipe gives a little spring to the dough. As the dough rests, it becomes easier to handle and flavors develop more fully.

This recipe is my own rendition of a traditional date filling. Espresso adds depth to the date flavor, but if you are sensitive to caffeine, you can either omit it or substitute decaf espresso. The procedure here calls for soaking the dates to soften them. If your dates are already gooey and soft, you can skip this step.

I also offer an ashta cream filling variation, what many call the queen of ashta desserts in Lebanon. It is a softer, more cake-like version of the bar, since it’s drenched in syrup, and equally divine.
 

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This mango and coconut yogurt cake with German buttercream is the perfect sweet and fruity dessert for any occasion.