Cooking from Scratch
We wanted a nice savory cracker for the coffee/social hour at church this past Sunday. One of us remembered seeing a recipe for Savory Benne (sesame seeds) Wafers in one of Matt Lee’s and Ted Lee’s cookbooks. We weren’t sure which one, and, since we’d only checked them out of the library, we had no way of finding the recipe from the direct source.
One of our favorite places in the entire world is Ireland; specifically, the west of Ireland. It’s a beautiful country full of lovely people, and, as one of us likes to say, “no matter how small, there’s a pub in every town, and every pub has Guinness on draft. Plus you could hitchhike round the country whilst toting a fridge.” And, to wit, we were once in a town that appeared to consist of only a pub/grocery/gas station — that’s one establishment, mind you — and right on the corner of the building was, you guessed it, the familiar sign indicating that they had Guinness. Continue reading “Blue Cheese and Pecan Crackers”
Here’s another item we made up for that late afternoon reception we mentioned yesterday: cheese and pepper crackers. Sounds better as Cacio e Pepe, doesn’t it? More elegant, more refined, as though you’ll be eating a cracker that can stand up to the most finicky crowd. Well, we’re not sure if those attending the reception were the most finicky of eaters, and, in the late afternoon, some might have been hungry enough to eat just about anything; however, we can say that every one of these crackers was eaten, and that many people remarked on having a savory snack in the afternoon.
Continue reading “Cacio e Pepe Crackers”
In the morning, right after we get up, we head out for a walk. We almost always get in a full two-mile walk through our neighborhood, even though it can be quite warm in the summer. Now, however, it’s actually a bit on the brisk side, with most morning temperatures hovering right around 50°F. Yes, we know that might not seem brisk to everyone, but it’s enough to get us to put on a sweatshirt.
With these cooler temperatures, we’ve been leaning towards more warming foods, generally soup, for a lunch repast. And, with soup, sometimes it’s nice to have a few crackers to float on top. So, when we recently had some leftover lentil soup for lunch, we just had to make up a batch of soup crackers to go along.
Continue reading “Cracked Peppercorn and Parmesan Soup Crackers”
We’ll come right out say it up front. Of the crackers that we tried from Ivy Manning’s Crackers & Dips: More than 50 Handmade Snacks, we thought that these were the best. There, we said it. Now, let’s get scratchin’ so you can try them, too, and see if you agree.
Continue reading “Corn Bread Crisps”
Most likely, we will never eat at The French Laundry, nor Ad Hoc. Both are far away from us, and out of our price range. But, thanks to Thomas Keller’s book, Ad Hoc at Home, we can try making something that might be served in one of his restaurants. We’re pretty excited to be trying out his Soup Crackers; we had such a hit with Pappardelle with Mushrooms, and these seemed so simple to make up and perfect to go along with a big bowl of steaming tomato vegetable soup (see tomorrow’s post).
Continue reading “Thomas Keller’s Soup Crackers”
Sorry, but we were so excited to try this recipe that we forgot to take photos while making up the dough. It wasn’t because Graham crackers are so exciting; rather, what you can do with Graham crackers. Think crusts for pies, cheesecakes, tarts, s’mores and so on, and, for the best crusts, you need the best Graham crackers, right?
Continue reading “Graham Crackers”