Monthly Archives: July 2020

To enjoy making light Strawberry desserts all winter long, make raw Strawberry Purée at the peak of their harvest. It's so easy and so incredibly convenient to have frozen airtight freezer bags lined up in the freezer. One way to use Strawberry Purée is in our easy Strawberry Yogurt Mousse.

After years of trying different recipes and never being really satisfied, I finally created the perfect mocha cake recipe for my taste buds. I use all-purpose flour since I don’t usually have cake flour on hand. I prayed that the finished cakes tasted as good as the raw batter. I think it does. It even comes out of the cake pans easily without using parchment paper.

The Mocha Cake recipe is wonderful when Strawberries are in season too. Then, I forsake the Mocha frosting and Strawberry Topping. Once the cakes are at room temperature, slice each cake into two layers so that there are four layers. Wash, dry and slice freshly harvested Strawberries and sprinkle them with fine sugar and a splash of raspberry liqueur. After about an hour, spoon the Strawberries over the bottom layer and top with a 1/2 inch layer of whipped cream sweetened with brown sugar and vanilla paste. Assemble the remaining layers of the cake, spreading each with the macerated Strawberries and whipped cream. Top the final cake layer and cake sides with an ample frosting of whipped cream. Decorate the top with whole strawberries. Slice with a serrated bread knife. (Sometimes I freeze one of the cakes and make just a two-layer cake, saving the second cake for another time. Such restraint.)

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone is the only center in the world dedicated to continuing education and career development in the food, wine, health and hospitality fields. The CIA's West Coast campus, in the heart of Napa Valley, is housed in an historic, 1888 stone winery complete with teaching kitchens, a cooking demonstration auditorium, terraced kitchen gardens and the exquisite Wine Spectator Greystone restaurant. For courses, special events and visitor information, visit or call them at www.ciachef.edu or (707) 967-1100. Once the mysteries of making a soufflé are revealed, soufflés will become a part of your weekly repertoire. The base of this soufflé, the béchamel sauce, can be made two days in advance and kept refrigerated.

Our Spiced Carrot Cake with Creamy Mascarpone Frosting makes dessert feel like a birthday party any day of the year. The diced crystallized ginger and nutmeg give the cake a rich, complex flavor and the mascarpone frosting is so delicious that you will want to eat it by the spoonful (but do try to save it for the cake). It will be everyone’s favorite!

A casual, cheerful restaurant adorned with local artwork, The Burning Tree is acclaimed for its fresh vegetables and herbs, much of which is grown in their own garden. Imagine squash ravioli with rosemary cream or prosciutto-wrapped sea scallops accompanying this fresh, zesty and healthy cabbage slaw. By her own report, Chef Allison is on a bit of a cabbage kick these days. This recipe is really good and easy to prepare. For reservations from mid-June to Columbus Day, call (207) 288-9331.

When friends surprised us with a drop-by visit one scorching late summer afternoon, I whipped up these bites to have with drinks on our terrace. Inspired by Shelburne Farms's Watermelon, Tomato and Feta Salad, I did my own version of classic cantelope wrapped in prosciutto. It worked.