The Wisdom of Pumpkin, Sage, and Browned Butter Cake

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Fresh sage adds a flavor profile twist to this pumpkin bread.

Fresh sage adds a flavor profile twist to this pumpkin bread.

 

When it comes to sage, I immediately think of Thanksgiving stuffing or browned butter sauces for tender raviolis.

But cake?

Not at all.

Until I spied Martha Stewart’s recipe for “Pumpkin, Sage, and Browned Butter Cake.”

It’s not a new recipe. In fact, it appears in her 2013 book, “Martha Stewart’s Cakes” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy when it was first published.

The cookbook is stored in a prominent place on my bookshelf, because I find myself reaching for it again and again. The 150-plus recipes — for everything from Bundts to cheesecakes to cakes with fruit to layer cakes — are unfussy. They’re cakes you don’t have to think twice about attempting.

I had bookmarked this one long ago, but just never found time to try it. Until now.

It’s a simple pumpkin loaf cake that’s just so right at this time of year.

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Open Bon Appetit Box to Discover French Goodies

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French delicacies delivered right to your door from Bon Appetit Box.

French delicacies delivered right to your door from Bon Appetit Box.

 

They say good things come in small packages.

Zoe Capdevila and Bertrand Corp want you to know that so do tasty French treats that can be delivered to your front door (or to friends and family).

The couple, who both grew up in the South of France and are now based in Alameda, CA, started Bon Appetit Box nearly a year ago after studying business in Paris, and working in the Paris offices of Pepsi, Unilever, and L’Oreal.

The delivery service lets you choose a single or subscription service for their curated boxes full of authentic French-made foods. Each box is $75, though, there is a discount if you order a four- or six-month subscription.

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Trokay — A Fine-Dining Surprise in Truckee

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Kauai shrimp sizzling away on searingly hot granite at Trokay.

Kauai shrimp sizzling away on searingly hot granite at Trokay.

 

TRUCKEE, CA — In my youth, trips to Lake Tahoe didn’t involve sophisticated fare. Instead, it was all about burgers, pastas and Mexican food — hearty and inexpensive eats that filled you up after a hard day on the slopes.

But truth be told, it was also because those simple dishes were all that could be found then.

Not anymore.

Imagine my delight to find Trokay in Truckee, a fine-dining establishment versed in molecular gastronomy and true attention to detail that would be right at home in San Francisco or New York.

In fact, owners John and Nyna Weatherson are from New York. She was the head cheesemonger of the landmark Murray’s Cheese in the West Village. He is a Culinary Institute of America graduate, who was the top-ranked student in his class, and went on to be chef de partie at Restaurant Daniel.

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S’Mores and More at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe

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Warm up with a gourmet s'more at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe.

Warm up with a gourmet s’more at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe.

 

TRUCKEE, CA — After a four-hour drive, what better way to stretch the legs (and arms)  than by making and devouring a gourmet s’more?

That’s just what my husband and I did after dropping off our bags in our room at The Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe, where I was invited to be a guest for its Epicurean Weekend two weeks ago.

We made it to the resort just in time, too, for its daily, early-evening “Marshmology” event on the terrace, which is not to be missed. After all, who can pass up house-made marshmallows in flavors such as caramel apple, orange, and pumpkin spice?

Marshmalogists are on hand to help you thread your chosen marshmallow on a long steel skewer, which you then hold over the nearby fire pit until it’s as gooey and charred as you like. Then, your Marshmalogist will help you squish the toasty marshmallow in between graham crackers and a piece of chocolate. Press down and take a sweet, messy bite. If that doesn’t make you feel like everything’s right in the world, nothing will.

Your friendly marshmalogist.

Your friendly marshmalogist.

Where all the action happens.

Where all the action happens.

The finished product. Oh, yes!

The finished product. Oh, yes!

Epicurean Weekend, the first weekend in October, is a slower time for the resort. It’s not yet winter, when the slopes are packed with skiers and snow-boarders (snow, notwithstanding). And it’s past summer, when hoards of mountain bikers aren’t careening down the barren slopes of next-door Northstar, though there were still a fair number that weekend.

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Prepare to Drool Over Food 52’s Cream Cheese Cookies

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Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, these cookies are deceptively rich and chewy.

Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, these cookies are deceptively rich and chewy.

 

Cream cheese.

Just say those two words and I immediately perk up.

So creamy, thick, and oh-so-spreadable. It’s tangy, yet still mild enough to smear on just about anything in need of a little decadence.

So, when I spied the recipe for “Cream Cheese Cookies,” it gave me the perfect excuse to buy a brick.

It’s one of 60 recipes you’ll find in the new “Food52 Baking” (Ten Speed Press). It’s, of course, by the editors of Food52, the online cooking resource, and kitchen and home shop, founded by Amanda Hesser, formerly of the New York Times, and Merrill Stubbs in 2009.

Food52Baking

All the recipes have been curated by Hesser and Stubbs, who have culled home-spun favorites, the types of baked goods that don’t require special equipment or days to make. They are the types of treats you don’t have to talk yourself into making, and ones that you are sure to make again and again. Think “Yogurt Biscuits,” “Honey Pecan Cake,” and “Nectarine Slump.” For good measure, there are a couple of savories, too, such as “Black Pepper Popovers with Chives and Parmesan” and “Basil Onion Cornbread.”

Stubbs writes in the book that her mother got this cookie recipe at a Tupperware party in the 1970s.

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