Ships Ahoy!

Actually, that should be "Shipping Ahoy!" but that's a little clunky, yes?  One of the things I love most about baking, and teaching myself to be a better baker, is sharing what comes out of my oven with friends and family. I get great joy out of surprising someone with a box of hand pies or a bag of cookies or even a loaf of bread. That's one of the reasons I've hosted my birthday tea for the last twenty years or so.  Needless to say,...

Read More

A Visit, Some Pie and A Lot of Lag

You know how things get when someone you haven't seen in way too many years drops you a line on FaceBook to tell you that she and her husband are going to be in town for a wedding and they have about thirty seconds of free time so you need to make a plan to get together...three months before the visit? Oh, and did I mention that all this coordination had to happen between Paris and here (with a stop-over for them in Iceland)? Right.  I've known...

Read More

Of Pies, Contests, and The Will To Not Win

Last month, I did something that I didn't think I'd ever do: entered a pie baking contest. The event, The Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor's Island, holds a "Royal Court of Pie" contest and this year (our second, and last, time attending) I decided to enter. I've said that I'm not very competition-minded with my baking, or anything else for that matter. I bake because I enjoy it. I bake to improve my craft. I bake to make my friends, and the guests...

Read More