I had the pleasure from learning how to make challah from former Bouchon Bakery chef Nick Bonamico. He is now creating amazing things at Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco. Way back when I was producing Facebook Lives (remember those?) at Williams Sonoma, we invited Chef Nick to demonstrate a round challah, one of the bakery’s bread offerings during Rosh Hashanah.
A traditional apple tarte tatin has apple wedges in a pan of caramel, covered with dough on top. I was inspired to make this thousand layer version after seeing it at a patisserie in Paris. Sadly, it’s no longer offered so, this recipe is my way of honoring that creation.
This no-bake ice cream tart is my take on the amazing PB&J ice cream pie that was served at San Francisco’s Tartine Manufactory when it first opened in 2016. I posted it once and again and another time just in ice cream form. My love for Concord grapes came from eating this particular dessert. Sadly, a year or two later, they stopped making the pie. I still have such a fond food memory of it, so I decided to make my own and I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.
This is my family’s Thanksgiving dessert, apple crumb pie. We unanimously love apple. I use a mix of baking apples to get different flavors in the pie. Granny Smith, Macintosh, Cortland, Braeburn and Jonagold are all good varieties to use. I chose a crumb top because it adds great texture, plus it’s less fussy than decorating the top of a pie. Normally, I’d challenge myself to do a fancy pie design, but my family and I cook the entire Thanksgiving meal from scratch which is so tiring but worth it, and there are just some things we need to keep simple. I blend up the oats until they’re finely ground, because the pieces of oats makes it to much like granola for me.
