Food & Drink

The waffle is a childish thing, an ethereal dream that wins the race more often than it should when eating out. At home, as children, we bought them frozen, popped them in the toaster and soaked them in Log Cabin syrup and butter. I loved them anyway — at least the idea of them. Later as a young adult I bought my first waffle iron, an Art Deco Arvin, at a tag sale and learned that making waffles at home was a very simple task — if you can measure a teaspoon of salt, you can make a waffle from

You’ve no doubt tried one of several close relations of a far, a kind of rustic confection from Brittany that falls somewhere on the continuum of cake, pancake, and custard, sweet and savory. Yorkshire pudding, Dutch baby, clafoutis, popover, crêpe, far Breton – all are simple batters of egg, milk, flour, and butter cooked variously gossamer thin on a stovetop, or in the case of a popover to showcase an ephemeral puff in a ripping hot pan, or as clafoutis at a modest depth to accent its cake and sweet fruit. The batter, which rises and falls in the oven,

A delicious riff on traditional British sticky toffee pudding with prunes in place of dates. Although vegan, the results are far from a compromise. This recipe is plain old good. Lots of freshly grated ginger and generous winter spices make a perfect pairing with a dollop of whipped cream or dairy-free topping. A great holiday recipe that’s easily made, and improves when made a day or two in advance. Notes Muscavado sugar is a dark, rich tasting, unrefined sugar.  You can also use jaggery powder, which I picked up at Raj’s Cash and Carry in Groton. Ingredients ⅔ cup vegetable

Bakeries across Connecticut are taking orders for holiday pastries and cakes to celebrate the season – but the deadlines are fast approaching. CT Examiner talked with a number of bakeries about what’s popular this year and when customers need to preorder for pickup before Christmas.  Dagmar’s Desserts www.dagmarsdesserts.com (860) 661-4661 / 75 Main St., Old Saybrook Accepting orders through Friday, Dec. 17 Stollen is the specialty of Dagmar’s, which is available at the bakery and online. She offers stollen in quark, marzipan, cranberry walnut varieties available in medium and large or family sizes.  “Stollen is wildly popular. Apple strudel is

OLD SAYBROOK — The relaunch of Chef Colt Taylor’s The Essex at a new location on Main Street in Old Saybrook is good news for a town that appears poised to make a significant leap toward becoming a dining destination in the eastern half of the state. Taylor, who also owns Los Charros Cantina in the nearby town of Essex and is planning at least two other restaurants in the area, including an outdoor spot, Smoke on the Water, at Saybrook Point has a way of attracting talent and goodwill as was evident on Thursday night, when a few dozen

One of my favorite things about living in St. Petersburg was walking into the Haymarket, one of the large open-air markets in the city. The abundance and color, honey vendors from Altai bragging loudly, tempting you with sample spoons, piles of melons trucked up from Azerbaijan, dried fruit from Uzbekistan, pickled everything—mushrooms, cabbage, garlic, cucumbers. Best were the tables and overfilled buckets of spices and teas from everywhere. Golden heaps of marigold from Georgia, in petals and powder, tart European barberry, crushed or whole, and blue fenugreek. You are encouraged to taste everything. Much as the Dutch have rice tables,

When you get down to basics, soufflés really are a very straight-forward preparation. A simple béchamel, the addition of savory or sweet ingredients to the base and stiffly-beaten egg whites — and Jacques Pepin subverts even that notion with his Maman’s  Soufflé , which simply beats whole eggs into the mix. The recipes and techniques are endless and a bit overwhelming when trying to choose, and that, ultimately, is a great thing.  Back in 2000, New York Times Food editor, Amanda Hesser, wrote a wonderfully comprehensive article, The Modern Soufflé: Bastion of Strength. She goes into terrific detail demystifying the

It’s been twenty years, at least, since I’ve had a doughnut as good as the cinnamon sugar sourdough at Nana’s Bakery & Pizza in Mystic. Made to order and served still too hot to eat in cinnamon sugar, chocolate, cardamom-Espresso or cacio e pepe, it might be the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning in Connecticut now that the tourist crowds have slackened off.  The 32 Williams St. waterfront location opens at 7 a.m., except on Wednesdays —  I wouldn’t blame you if you left off here and just drove over and tried one. What makes a doughnut that