Chris Nordquist
Last Valentine’s Day David gave me a waffle iron. Ordinarily, I don’t think small appliances make good romantic gifts, but David knows that one of the fastest ways to my heart is through a good hot breakfast. Julia feels the same way. At two, she regularly eats more breakfast than either of us, and “Waffles?” […]
We’re finally done. 63 dozen cookies in all. We baked all weekend (Julia helped), packed the boxes on Sunday night, and they shipped out Monday. This annual ritual’s a little crazy –particularly with a two year-old’s hands in the flour– but it’s lots of fun too, and it’s nice to give a gift we’ve made […]
‘Tis the season to find quick, delicious and special little snacks for Holiday entertaining. Here’s one. One of the best things about living just off 10th Avenue in New York City is our proximity to Tia Pol, a tiny, cozy, crowded and wonderful restaurant specializing in tapas and wines of Spain. If I’m in the […]
Julia’s been on tour — last weekend in New Orleans with David to see his family and this week in Tacoma to see mine. We’re all having a ball. Here’s a repost of a Holiday favorite, a traditional Norwegian Christmas cake that I make for family and friends during the Holidays. It looks like something […]
I’ve found that with entertaining, and especially with Holiday entertaining, the difference between feeling like a charming host and feeling like a galley slave can come down to a little organization. Planning ahead, cooking ahead and keeping menus simple and familiar can save your wits (and save everyone else from a cranky host). When we’ve […]
To me, this tastes (and smells) like the Holidays. Poaching pears in spiced red wine turns the Holiday tradition of hot mulled wine into a light and flavorful dessert. They’re delicious just on their own, or you can add whipped cream, ice cream, shortbread or a slice of pound cake for a more substantial treat. […]
It’s a little crazy, but it’s become a tradition. Every year in mid-December (or sometimes a bit later) David and I run a cookie-baking marathon and then pack up hundreds of Holiday cookies to send to friends and family all over the country. Last year I also started decorating the plain tins that we buy […]
“I can do it!” Julia said (with surprising force) when I tried to cut a scone or two myself out of the soft spongy dough. She was into it. Maybe it was because the dough was easy to handle, or because the cutters were small enough to fit her two year-old hand. Or maybe it […]
Thanksgiving’s just a week away, we’ll have a houseful, and it’s time to get my act together. It’s not the turkey dinner that trips me up, it’s all the other meals for the extra long holiday weekend that I often find myself scrambling to prepare. Well, not this year. I’m doing my peripheral Thanksgiving menu […]
We had some memorable meals on our recent trip to Tokyo, but one dish stands out in my mind for its exquisite simplicity: a seasonal dessert composed of slices of Fuyu persimmon sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. I love each of them — the tender flesh and gentle, honey-like sweetness of the Fuyu persimmon and the […]
