dessert

A Cheesecake for the Conscientious Glutton

January 17, 2013

January may not be the best time to post a new cake recipe, especially with all those new year’s resolutions to “eat healthier” and “lose weight.” However, deprivation is anything BUT what this site is about. Detoxes and crazy wheatgrass diets have never helped me achieve those goals in the long run. Aside from the obvious: exercise regularly and eat balanced meals, the best strategy I keep for myself is: glutton prevention. It may sound funny, but I can eat a lot. I always get my money’s worth at a buffet, and have at one point out eaten 99% of the people I know (adolescent boys included). When I was 16 that was ok, but today not so much.

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Tarte Tatin and a New Year

January 2, 2013

The start of a new year always feels like a pause between everything that happened in the past to all that lays ahead in the future. There are regrets in what could have been but also hope for what can and will be. Usually I spend a lot of time suspended in this moment trying to neatly timeline my life in chronological order, but life is anything but neat and (chrono)logical. Everything is intertwined, looping together from ahead, below, up, and behind. So instead of trying to unravel what will forever be tangled, I am deciding to focus on today, whatever knots it may hold from the past, present, or future.

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Dessert First: Green Tea Layer Cake and Ginger Brownies

April 3, 2010

When it comes to dinner parties, I like to make dessert first. In general, baking takes more time and careful precision than cooking. So, before the kitchen becomes loud with banging pots and chopping knives, I like to have dessert completed. The great thing about cakes is that it can be started a day in advance. Usually, cake layers taste better the next day because the flavors are given time to rest and settle. While baking is done the day before, I always frost and assemble my cakes in the morning of the day of the party. I think frosting always tastes best the day it’s made.

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Doughnut Plant

March 4, 2010

Please welcome guest writer Michelle who is a fellow foodie, phenomenal writer, and my one and only sister. She is JDP’s special correspondent to the New York food scene!

New York is a gastronomical hub of deliciousness mixed with obnoxiously trendy restaurants serving mediocre food. A challenge of mine this year is not to pigeon-hole myself by visiting the same familiar eateries I know, and instead, to seek out hidden, or in this case, not-so-hidden gems.

Doughnut Plant is somewhat of a celebrity with glowing reviews by self-proclaimed doughnut fanatics on Yelp. Plus, it was not only “challenged” by Bobby Flay on Throwdown, but Doughnut Plant won. So, this past weekend, I trekked down to the Lower East Side to check out this local favorite.

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Strawberry Tart with Pastry Cream

February 23, 2010

Finally, the last of the birthday pie desserts is this strawberry tart. It is probably my favorite amongst the three (pumpkin-pecan and peanut butter mousse). The flavors are simple, clean, and familiar but in a surprising and dazzling way. Contrary to what it seems, it’s a no fuss dessert. The tart shell and pastry cream can be made ahead of time, then assembled a few hours before eating. It’s great for dinner parties and casual family dinners. I’ve made this tart a few times since the birthday party and it’s been a hit with everyone.

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dessert

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