fruit

  • Apple pie

    Sometimes you get old recipes right the first time: you decipher the flowery language, you make the right substitutions, you determine the correct proportions. And sometimes, well, you don’t. This is a story of when I got it wrong. We… Continue reading

  • Spiced, stewed pears

    Thank you for all your wonderful comments on our news! It can be scary to put big announcements out into this void of the internet, so it meant a lot to read your good wishes. We’re knee-deep in fall over… Continue reading

  • Blueberry picking (and muffins)

    It’s been two weeks since we returned from vacation in Canada, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Even though I’ve since joined my parents for a weekend in upstate New York. Even though Josh and I have entertained and… Continue reading

  • Spring cleaning

    It’s getting to that point where things just feel blah. It’s officially spring but not quite warm, the kids are either bonkers or asleep at school, and the crust for my first-ever tart puffs up like a balloon. Even food… Continue reading

  • Short cake, with blueberry topping

    Over the long weekend, my sister Lissa came to visit, and one afternoon we drove down to New Haven, CT, to visit our old college. We toured the British Art Gallery and I found time to wander around Yale’s campus… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to serve plum pudding

    We had a relatively quiet Christmas here in Ohio, seeing family and telling funny stories and going for long, snowy walks and eating good food. As per tradition, we served plum pudding for dessert on Christmas night, along with a… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to steam plum pudding

    On Saturday we talked about how to make your own plum pudding, the most classic of British holiday desserts. (Yes, I am still wondering where the plums are in the recipe.) Today we’ll discuss the cooking process, which is a… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to make plum pudding

    This time of year, my family is all about tradition. Previously I wrote about the Brunswick stew we’ve kept from my mom’s side of the family, though I tested out a Williamsburg variation of the recipe. That’s still on the… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: Mulled wine

    It’s getting to be that time when I start glancing at the calendar to see how many days are left. Not before Christmas (though that’s another kind of concern) but before the premiere. Yes, you know. The U.S. premiere of… Continue reading

  • Candied orange peel (with chocolate)

    Thanksgiving is over. The turkey’s been roasted and eaten (or perhaps you tried a duck?), the festive harvest plates have been washed and put away for another year. And now everything in America is telling us it’s time for the… Continue reading