Good Things by David

This is the time of year that many of us begin baking and decorating cookies by the dozen for the fall season.  My friend Anthony Picozzi recently created a set of fall cookies in the shapes of leaves, deer, squirrels, acorns and bats, which I had to share here so that you could get inspired.  What I love about this set of cookies by Anthony is that he keeps the designs simple, yet he perfectly captures the all-too-familiar tones that evoke the season's splendor. With a few easy to find cookie cutters, as well as a few collectible Martha by Mail copper cookie cutters, Anthony cut out and baked dozens of sugar cookies, and then began to decorate in earnest.  Using a good royal icing base, he then set about tinting batches of it in brown, taupe, burnt orange, dandelion yellow, black, burgundy and white.  A few sprinkles of sanding sugar here and there on some of the cookies helped give texture, as well as shimmer. Take a look at some cookies baked and iced by...

My friend Chris runs a catering company in Edmonton, Canada, which specializes in seasonal fine dining for special occasions, corporate lunches, dinners, and other events.  I came across his photographs through a social media platform several months ago and began following his posts, because I loved his attention to detail and his use of the freshest ingredients when catering.  It was then that I was guided to his catering website,  Whisk Catering , and began a dialogue with him. It turns out that Chris and I not only share a passion for cooking and baking  la crème de la crème , but we both love to collect fine china, silverware and fine linens.  After kindly agreeing to let me post about his company, I had a small Question & Answer session with him about how he got started and what continues to motivate him. 1.  It's great to see that you began collecting tableware at such a young age.  Tell us a little bit more about what you collect an...

My American yellowware collection gets taken out of storage the first week of September.  I fill my kitchen with these pieces of pottery every single autumn, because I love the warmth that they add to my shelves, counters and table. The months of September, October and November wouldn't be the same without some yellowware to help me bake and cook. I've talked about collecting yellowware before, which you can read about by clicking here .  This is an excerpt from that post: " Yellowware originated in England in the late 18th century and potters skilled in its construction who emigrated to United States began production here in earnest throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and the Ohio river valley in the early 1800s.  By the mid 19th century and well into the early 20th century, yellowware was found in many kitchens throughout New England as a result of its durability and affordability.  Characterized by its distinct, yellow-firing clay taken from ri...

September is a busy month with kids returning to school, parents packing lunches, and everyone planning for the months ahead.  The 23rd of the month marks the end of summer, but that won't stop the fluttering of butterflies & moths, and the droning of the bees on blooms around our gardens.  A few trees and shrubs may start to show a bit of yellow or orange, crimson or brown here in the northeast, yet mother nature will continue to give us warm weather before there is any real chill in the air.   Farmers markets will be brimming with crisp apples for eating, baking and  cooking, and garden centers will have an influx of mums in wonderful autumn colors.   I can't wait to welcome the fall season this month, because it never fails to be beautiful.

The end of August seems like a good time to sit back and review what I've shared and covered here on the blog during the past six months.  I don't do my monthly overviews anymore the way I used to, because it takes quite a bit of time, but I thought that an end-of-summer review would be just the thing before the start of September. Think of this as a small reminder of undertakings you may want to get to in the coming months or in 2016.  Make a note of that cookie project you feel like getting to or of the area in your kitchen that needs reorganizing.  Perhaps you want to start collecting some beautiful jadeite or some Martha by Mail cookie cutters like I do.  Whatever it is that you happen to like or want, go through these favorite posts of mine and get an idea or two, then make them your own. Rather than taking this month by month, in chronological order, I decided to break it up by category and begin with some decorated cookies.  This review is rather l...