Subject: Dessert Recipes

• Delhi-cious

  Ashiana offers more than the same old dal

  April 1, 1999

• Mom's Christmas Fudge

  My mother is known for many things, but chief among them is her famous Christmas fudge.  Each year, lucky friends and family make out with a tin or two.  And until my grandfather passed away last year, she would always make an enormous gift basket for him each year at Christmas, filled with several different kinds of the sweet, creamy, toothsome confection. The fudge isn't coveted so much because the recipe is some great secret.  Instead, it's the sheer amount of effort and

  December 19, 2008

• Chess Pie: A Southern Tradition

  Chess pie is one of those forgotten vestiges of old Southern culture, like RC Colas and Moon Pies, that hasn't yet been snapped up by nouveau foodies and made trendy again, as has been done with greens, grits and pork fat. It's all for the best, really.  Chess pie isn't supposed to be trendy.  It's supposed to remind you of your grandmother's house, the warmth and the soft smell of pie crust in the oven, of afternoons spent talking with family and without a TV or other distractio

  December 29, 2008

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Redux

  Few American culinary inventions have been experimented on, analyzed, tested, and dissected more than the humble chocolate chip cookie. Myriad variations in recipe, presentation and technique have been exhaustively documented. As a home cook I tend to be a traditionalist. So I call for a return to the recipe that started it all: the original Toll House Inn recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

  January 2, 2009

• Back to Wok

  October 17, 1996

• Crash Course at Ristorante Cavour

  August 7, 2008

• Illegal Immigrants in the Restaurant Industry

  December 20, 2007

• Mixing It Up

  March 10, 2005

• A Tale of Two Moles

  To make from scratch or use a paste -- that is the question

  March 13, 2003

• The Anti-Marthas

  Two Austin cooks defy the queen of domesticity

  January 2, 2003

• Thanks for Nothing

  The Chronicle's annual parade of prepackaged Thanksgiving recipes needs to be canned

  November 25, 1999

• Benjy's Chocolate Cake Recipe

  Photo by richhumofairThe huge, fudgy, pecan-studded glory that is Benjy's chocolate cake is a Houston tradition. And Benjy Levit, whose second restaurant opened this year on Washington Avenue, can actually say that his cake is "just like Mom's," because, well, it is his mom's. She actually does bake every chocolate cake served at both Benjy's - that's about eight cakes a day, he says.

  June 16, 2009

• Bringing Home the Gold at the Kolache Olympics

  Photos by Jason Tinder Peppermint bark kolacheThe press conference room at Reliant Stadium was filled with a distinct aroma as the judges entered. It wasn't the scent of sweaty Texans players or their coaches' cologne; it was the sweet, doughy smell of kolaches. Plantain kolaches, Hawaiian chicken kolaches, teriyaki steak kolaches, sloppy joe kolaches... Dozens upon dozens of hot kolaches sat in trays, waiting for their moment in the spotlight. The Kolache Factory held its annual Kolache

  July 15, 2009

• Recipe: Michael Cordua's Alfajor Recipe

  ​The alfajor -- a kind of cookie sandwich -- is an entirely different cookie depending on where you find it. In Spain, it could be a Christmas cookie of honey, almonds and spices. In South America, it's filled with dulce de leche or jam and covered in chocolate, powdered sugar or, in the case of the alfajor de nieve, meringue. In every country, it's a genius way to eat two cookies for the guilt of one. Michael Cordua shares the recipe for his version, after the jump.

  August 26, 2009

• Ruggles' Triple Delight Jumbo Cookies

  ​The decorate-a-cookie-for-free option available to little kids at Ruggles Bakery has always made us jealous. Luckily, now we can make our own. These chewy, toffee, chocolate, coconut cookies are one of the special Dessert of the Day selections that come around from time to time. They're big enough to share - and as adults, we know how to. The recipe, after the jump.

  October 2, 2009

• An Ode to Sugar -- But Watch Out for That Nasty Oil and Fat!

  Photos by Margaret Downing​A new cookbook called The Worry-Free Bakery arrived in Eating...Our Words' inbox the other day. It both promoted the worth of sweet desserts, and promised recipes that were fat free. Author Kumiko Ibaraki, a former public health nurse who left nursing to go to culinary school, later founding a culinary school of her own, has re-made a bunch of popular recipes to lower their fat. Sugar, that's a-ok in Ibaraki's book. In fact, as she puts it: "Most peop

  October 8, 2009

• Master P

  Fabio​Plinio Sandalio is the pastry chef at Textile Restaurant on 22nd in the Heights. He invited me into his kitchen for a short interview about all things Plinio. Eating Our Words: What would you say your signature dessert is that screams "Plinio Sandalio made this"? Plinio Sandalio: I don't know if this is the right answer, but any dessert with a meat product. EOW: You are trained in sweet as well as savory (obviously). How did you get so dynamic in your recipes? PS: No one e

  October 19, 2009

• Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

  ​This week I baked vegan cinnamon rolls. Before I started the project, I envisioned myself exhausted at 2 a.m. with my arms and forehead coated in flour, waiting for dough to rise for the second time before baking. I had never baked with yeast before and was anxious about an I Love Lucy-style dough-monster disaster. Lucky for me, the cinnamon rolls were in the oven by ten, and my apartment smelled like the Keebler elves' tree house. Baking with yeast turned out to be an awesome experience.

  October 21, 2009

• Thanksgiving Recipe: Cranberry Yogurt Ice Cream

  This isn't cranberry yogurt ice cream. But this is how we imagine it should be served.​Whenever I buy fresh cranberries to make cranberry sauce, I end up with too many of them. They aren't cheap, and they usually go to waste in my refrigerator. If you have ever popped a fresh cranberry in your mouth, you know why nobody eats them raw. If you have an ice cream freezer, you can use this dessert recipe to make ice cream with some of the extra cranberries. You can also vary the recipe to us

  November 20, 2009