Basic Pastry Dough for a double-crust pie Credit: Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl Ingredients: 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes ¼ cup cold vegetable shortening, preferably trans fat-free ½ teaspoon salt 5-7 tablespoons ice water Directions: 1. Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and...
Baking
Chocolate Bundt Cake
This chocolate bundt cake is hands-down our favorite chocolate cake. It is probably our favorite cake of any kind. I'm a particular fan of Bundt cakes anyway. They're so charming. We make this cake often, and it is even better the second day, so it works great to make it the night before you need to...
Almond Cake
One of my family's great food loves is banket. It is an almond Dutch pastry that has long been a staple at our family gatherings. This cake is very reminiscent of banket, but I much prefer this cake because of its smooth, dense texture. I am looking forward to making it again so I can...
Crème Brûlée
When I was a senior in high school, my parents gift to me for my 18th birthday was a week-long trip to New York City. One of our meals in NYC was at The View revolving restaurant right before I saw my first Broadway show. It was also the first time I had Crème brûlée...