Good Things by David

The daily ritual of making time for tea is one that is enjoyed by billions of individuals worldwide.  There is something absolutely soothing, centering and meditative about putting the kettle on the stovetop, choosing which teapot and teacups to use for the purpose, and carefully measuring out the tea leaves.  I would feel lost if I didn't have my cup of restorative tea in the afternoons.  For me, it is the perfect pick-me-up beverage. Many cultures around the world consume this beverage throughout the day, and here at home, we are no different.  In the mornings I prefer to have a pot of coffee with my breakfast, but my husband is partial to several cups of tea first thing, each day.  In the afternoons, however, tea is the beverage of choice, and if I'm lucky, I lay out a little something sweet to go with it.   In my opinion, it's a good idea to serve tea in smaller cups, rather than large breakfast cups or mugs, because it minimizes the chances of the last sips

If you're in search of a good white wine to have this spring, look to this Southern Italian white by Le 7 Torri.  Made from the Fiano grapes in Campania and Basilicata, but also in certain areas of Sicily, Fiano di Avellino is an interesting varietal that is worth trying. Its distinctively strong, yellow color hints at the honeyed and flower notes that are evident in this full-bodied wine.  Moreover, there is a slight tropical fruit flavor to the delicious Fiano, which makes it perfect to pair with many seafood and chicken dishes.  Think smoked salmon canapés, poached halibut, or even a nice piece of red snapper.  I'm even going to go so far as to suggest to pair the wine with Ina Garten's Mustard-Roasted Fish Recipe .  That recipe is delicious! Don't forget pasta dishes, such as linguine with clams or even garlic and olive oil pasta.  Tasty!  Enjoy a chilled glass or two of Le 7 Torri this week. Cheers!

Emojis, those ubiquitous symbols that many of us use in our day to day messages to one another via phone, seem to be easily adaptable to cookie designs.  My niece and nephew recently asked me to make them some emoji sugar cookies for a special celebration of theirs, and being the uncle that I am, how could I refuse their request?  Through fits of the giggles and some laughs, they told me not to forget the brown "you know what" emojis.  Yes, you know exactly what I'm referring to! OK, now I'm laughing as I write this, because you have to understand that I wasn't 100% sure I was even going to post these on the blog.  Emojis on Good Things by David?  Well.....why not? Batch after batch of my sugar cookie dough and royal icing recipe were made a day before I began icing the cookies.   FYI:  I love the new grid pattern on Reynold's parchment paper!  It makes cutting so much easier. For the poop emojis, I used a Foose cupcake cookie cutte

For me, Easter evokes some of the best memories from childhood.  Weeks prior to it, probably around Ash Wednesday, mom would make it her duty to blow out eggs and save them for us so that we could dye them a few days prior to Easter.  Using one of those Paas kits from the local Woolworth's, we would set out bowls of boiling vinegar water and drop those food-coloring tablets in them.  Depending on what we wanted our eggs to look like, my brothers and I would give the eggs a quick dunk for light shades or let them steep in the mixture for minutes in order for them to take on a deeper hue. As much as I would like to dye Easter eggs these days, I find it so much more rewarding to color sugar cookies in the shapes of eggs, bunnies and other images, so that I can hand them out to friends, family and neighbors.   Over the years, I have gathered quite a nice collection of Easter cookie cutters, some of which are collectibles and others which are not.  I've even given them