My Madison Bistro

When my brother and I were little, we referred to the sugar cookies my mom would make around the holidays as “Cookie Dough Cookies.” We understood that all cookies came from dough, but none of those other cookie doughs were quite as special. This particular dough had to be made the day before and chilled overnight, allowing us to sneak little bites any time we passed the refrigerator. I probably drank more glasses of milk during that time than any other, simply as an excuse to open the refrigerator. Because these cookies were associated with the holidays, and because we prized this particular dough above all others, the cookies were aptly named Cookie Dough Cookies.

I made those cookies in college a few times, inviting friends over for decorating parties. We always seemd to have a kitchen layout that favored it, but then as an adult, I moved into a small condo that simply didn’t allow for any kind of kitchen or dining table. Instead, I had a breakfast bar that’s too high to do any prep work on, and I had little counter space. I then aquired a kitten who loved to follow me around, and particularly loved running across the counters. Not wanting a trail of floured footprints around the house, I abstained from making my favorite holiday cookies. I didn’t want to give up making sugar cookies completely, so when I came by this recipe that didn’t involve rolling out the dough, I had to try it.

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Tags: cookies

After being sick for a week and consuming a diet of chicken soup and toast, I feared I wouldn’t have anything to post. And then I thought of the soup itself. It’s such a simple recipe, and you can take advantage of convenience items like rotisserie chicken and chicken stock when you really have no energy to cook and wash extra dishes.

I learned a few lessons from this past bout of sickness. Lesson One: no matter how lazy I feel, go to the second store to pick up the rotisserie chicken (I chose to buy and poach chicken breasts instead…not much extra work under ordinary circumstances, but when ill, I practically needed a nap after this step). Lesson Two: Do NOT try to do math in my head when my head feels like it will explode at any moment. Use a calculator, or else I will keep adding 32 and 14 and getting 64. And then I will realize my mistake and decide to just add water to rectify the chicken stock shortage, resulting in a soup with no flavor.

Ah, well. When made correctly, this soup delivers comfort in a bowl.

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Tags: chicken, comfort food

This was the first loaf of bread I baked when I started my 30 Day Challenge. Because I had planned on making a BLT, I wanted a bread that was both tasty and hearty, something that would stick with me to keep me satisfied.

At first I really liked it. It had the honey wheat flavor that you’d expect, but then I noticed it left a bit of an aftertaste. Now, I’ve had my whole wheat flour for awhile now, and because of a major lack of space in my refrigerator…well, the flour has been in the pantry. All summer. The strange aftertaste could very well be my own fault for not storing the flour properly.

Even so, I did really enjoy this bread toasted in the morning, topped with a little butter and some jam. The bread has enough heft to deliver a satisfying breakfast that will keep you going for hours.

This is a very simple bread to make, so if you haven’t mustered up the courage to tackle a yeast bread, I’d encourage you to try this one.

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Tags: bread

My obesession with French food reignited when I was asked to make the fruit tartelettes for a family party several years ago. It was the six month anniversary of my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding, a wedding that took place at the Beaches Resort in balmy Jamaica. We all had such a wonderful time that we started planning a reunion party before we had even left the resort.

For that original party, and each subsequent annual party, we’ve recreated our favorite foods and drinks, in an effort to relive the experience. It’s a fantastic way to keep a vacation alive, and it’s an event we look forward to every year.

Amazingly, when I started my search for tartelette recipes (our favorite dessert from the resort), I had not yet heard of the Barefoot Contessa. But lo and behold, there was her book about easy French food staring me in the eye from a table in Barnes & Noble. While I followed her recipe to great success that first year, I’ve experimented and made so many changes since then that I truly claim this dessert as my own.

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Tags: Barefoot Contessa, fruit, pastry cream, tarts