Skip the traditional apple altogether and let the Japanese version star in your Thanksgiving Day pie. This time of year it’s no surprise my favorite thing to eat are persimmons. I love crisp, crunchy fuyus and eat them like apples, as soon as I buy them at the farmers market. Some are sweet, some are tangy, and I use them for everything from salads to jam to an addition in my latest stuffing recipe(added to dark rye bread soaked in stout.) Thankful for the vast assortment of persimmo... Read Full Story

Planning your Thanksgiving menu? This year forgo the staid staples and try something new. A rich mushroom tart and tangy cranberry compote are sure to please; just a few more recipes to add to your turkey day favorites. Earthy mushrooms, rich Piave cheese and salty Speck give this tart a lot of flavor. Thanksgiving comes only once a year, giving us a reason to cook lavish meals, splurge on expensive ingredients and eat extravagantly. It presents quite the conundrum, as many a cook(and a chef)... Read Full Story

New ways to celebrate Thanksgiving Planning your Thanksgiving menu? This year forgo the staid staples and try something new. A rich mushroom tart and tangy cranberry compote are sure to please; just a few more recipes to add to your turkey day favorites. Earthy mushrooms, rich Piave cheese and salty Speck give this tart a lot of flavor. Thanksgiving comes only once a year, giving us a reason to cook lavish meals, splurge on expensive ingredients and eat extravagantly. It presents quite the co... Read Full Story

Turn October pumpkins into soup for a chilly November day. This simple recipe adds honey and cumin to roasted pumpkin puree for hearty soup. Top with toasted seeds for an added salty bite. Creamy pumpkin soup with toasted pumpkin seeds Looking around the kitchen for something to cook, October’s pumpkin is sad and lonely, sitting on the kitchen counter. In the true spirit of fall, roast pumpkin soup is the perfect dinner for a chilly November evening. It’s a great supper for o... Read Full Story

Creamy, Roasted Pumpkin Soup Turn October pumpkins into soup for a chilly November day. This simple recipe adds honey and cumin to roasted pumpkin puree for hearty soup. Top with toasted seeds for an added salty bite. Creamy pumpkin soup with toasted pumpkin seeds Looking around the kitchen for something to cook, October’s pumpkin is sad and lonely, sitting on the kitchen counter. In the true spirit of fall, roast pumpkin soup is the perfect dinner for a chilly November evening. It... Read Full Story

Pumpkins, apples, parsnips, oh my! Chilly autumn weather brings a whole new crop of produce to celebrate. Pumpkins at the Santa Monica Farmers Market With the last of the hot, dry days of summer, juicy peaches and floral strawberries came to an end. Fall brings around a whole new group of fruits and vegetables to the farmers markets. Old favorites preserve through the winter months, sharing tables with short-seasoned, lesser known varieties. From apples to persimmons to litchi-like longan... Read Full Story

Farmers Market Fall Splendor Pumpkins, apples, parsnips, oh my! Chilly autumn weather brings a whole new crop of produce to celebrate. Pumpkins at the Santa Monica Farmers Market With the last of the hot, dry days of summer, juicy peaches and floral strawberries came to an end. Fall brings around a whole new group of fruits and vegetables to the farmers markets. Old favorites preserve through the winter months, sharing tables with short-seasoned, lesser known varieties. From apples to per... Read Full Story

Buttery, flaky pie dough enrobes crisp apples to create the perfect slice of pie. Sweet persimmons and rich coffee rum syrup give a twist to this fall classic. Fuyu Persimmons at the Hollywood Farmers Market Nothing says fall like apple pie. This year, try a variation on the classic by adding persimmons. An orange-red, pumpkin-shaped fruit, persimmons are available from October through December. Fuyus are the hard variety, sweet and crunchy like an apple. They can be eaten raw or cooked... Read Full Story

Buttery, flaky pie dough enrobes crisp apples to create the perfect slice of pie. Sweet persimmons and rich coffee rum syrup give a twist to this fall classic.   Fuyu Persimmons at the Hollywood Farmers Market Nothing says fall like apple pie. This year, try a variation on the classic by adding persimmons. An orange-red, pumpkin-shaped fruit, persimmons are available from October through December. Fuyus are the hard variety, sweet and crunchy like an apple. They can be eaten raw or... Read Full Story

Celebrate the haunts and horrors of Halloween in grown-up style. These spicy, pumpkin whoopie cakes, filled with a chocolate stout cream, are frighteningly good. Oatmeal stout lends a rich, earthy undertone to these chocolate filled, pumpkin whoopie pies. Chilly days full of changing, colorful leaves and warm, apple cider speak of the lush hills of the New England countryside. A Pennsylvania Amish tradition, whoopie pies are a favorite all over the Northeastern states, combining fluffy cake... Read Full Story