Nifty Stuff

Nancy’ s NEW BREAD BOOK–It’s Here!

Kneadlessly Simple–Fabulous Fuss-Free No-Knead Breads
The easiest way ever to make delicious yeast breads—the doughs actually knead themselves! Nothing beats a loaf of fresh, warm-from-the-oven yeast bread. Now, using the most up-to-date,innovative methods, Nancy makes home bread baking amazingly easy, reliable, and convenient enough to fit any schedule. Her “kneadlessly simple” recipes minimize complicated steps, eliminate all kneading, and require no special equipment or baking expertise–see the video page for a demo. 
Crusty Bread–YUM! Here’s one of the crusty pot boules from Kneadlessly Simple: It’s featured now in a story in Fine Cooking– click here.

Home bakers are offering praise too. Says Allen Brawer of NY City: “Thank you, thank you, thank you- for Kneadless book. I have spent 2 years trying to get kneadless bread right- original recipe, Cook’s, rose b., hertzberg, many internet sites. Yours is the best. Made pot boule and it was fabulous. No mess, no clean, no knead, great bread. Try it and never purchase bread again.”

Got questions on how this method works? Check out the Kneadlessly Simple FAQ on the Articles page. 
 
Personalized Holiday Gift Cookies

With Easter, Mother’s Day, and spring wedding showers and kinds of other parties, consider making personalized cookies to celebrate the occasion. Here are some simple, edible tokens of affection that were a great hit with my grandchildren. Check out my recipes archives for a good sugar cookie recipe. Tips: Script is easier than printed lettering. Writing with icing is also easier on big cookies. And practice on waxed paper first!

Shooting a TV Show Segment

Here I am in my kitchen during the shooting of a segment that ran on a Food Network show “The Secret Life of…Gingerbread” last December.

The real stars of the segment are those soft and chewy gingerbread boys, which the production crew enjoyed scarfing down once the segment wrapped!The cookies were a Washington, DC favorite sold Sherrill’s diner and bakery.

The recipe is in the cookie chapter of my most recent baking cookbook, The All-American Dessert Book. Check out the Dessert Book page for details and reviews of the book.

 Summertime is Time to Celebrate the Banana Split

The nation’s most famous sundae, the banana split has been on the American scene since 1904. Several years ago I researched its quirky, interesting history for a story published in the National Public Radio “Kitchen Windows” column. To check it out and get the recipes for creating your own banana splits, go to www.npr.org and search on Nancy Baggett.

 
From My Kitchen Window–Bluebirds

There are lots of good reasons to have a big kitchen window–especially if it overlooks a woods. Here, in the dead of the Maryland winter, a pair of bluebirds came to brighten our day. They visited our bird feeder and perched in the trees just beyond the kitchen. This one, the male, is a breathtaking blue and russet. The female’s coloring is similar but more subdued.

Old Kitchen/New Kitchen

Here’s the “before” picture of my kitchen. Notice that in addition to changing the layout and cabinets I enlarged the window to take advantage of the view of the woods. (Now it’s easier to watch the deer eating my hostas!)

Here’s what my kitchen looks like today, after a major renovation. I not only replaced an old stove with a new Thermador, but added two wall ovens (to handle all the baking) on the opposite side of the kitchen. To read about the redo and see more pics, go to the articles page. 

Calling All Chocolate Lovers

Here’s a pic of well-known chocolate maker Michael Recchiuti and me in his San Francisco factory sampling a new spiced chocolate ganache he’s developing. Some of his unusual truffle ganache blends that I like the best–tarragon grapefruit and lavender vanilla. When you go to San Francisco, don’t miss a visit to his stunning chocolate boutique at the Ferry Building.

 Ice Cream Makes a Patriotic Dessert

Did you know that ice cream was one of the founding fathers’ favorite desserts? President and Mrs. Washington served it to Vice President and Mrs. John Adams. James Madison and his wife, Dolley, served it at his inaugural ball. Thomas Jefferson loved ice cream so much he brought a recipe for it back from France, and particularly enjoyed serving guests ice cream encased in hot pastry shells.

The ice cream sundae and other soda fountain desserts are unique to America, arising for the Prohibition era. Opponents of alcohol promoted soda fountains where guests could socialize with chilled carbonated water, then later flavored aerated water and, eventually, refreshing sweets. Sundaes and sodas were just several of the concoctions soda jerks invented that used the bubbly water and various fruit syrups. The term soda jerk came from the jerking action of the water and syrup spigots being operated.

The photos shows my Fourth of July sundaes, which feature homemade strawberry and banana ice creams, and homemade strawberry sauce and marshmallow topping, all from The All-American Dessert Book. The banana ice cream, which was inspired by one from the Inn at Little Washington is now posted on the website. 

 A Graham Cracker Cottage from The All-American Dessert Book

This fun-to-create edible cottage is from the Family Fun” chapter of The All-American Dessert Book. The book contains tips on making a Christmas- or Valentine’s-themed cottage or a harvest or Halloween cottage like the one pictured. The recipe also provides diagrams, a royal frosting recipe, and a color photo of a shimmery “Winter Wonderland” themed cottage. Other recipes in the chapter include Maple Kettle Corn, a yummy, no-cook Faux Fudge, Indoor S’mores, and Brownie Bars-in-Jars.
Nasturtiums-Great for Patios, Great for Kitchens

Raising a Glass to the Arizona Sunset

Called an Arizona Sunset, this beautiful, refreshing cocktail is prepared with orange juice and a brightly-hued specialty food product from Tucson called prickly pear cactus syrup. The syrup is made from the reddish-purple fruits of certain native cacti; the flavor is faintly fruity and goes well with most citrus fruit. The secret to the two-toned look of the drink is in adding the syrup last and not stirring it in. It sinks to the bottom of the glass, then gradually infuses the rest of the juice with its color. For the recipe and details on obtaining (or substituting for) the syrup, see my Recipe Archives.

Queen Anne’s Lace–Cousin of Carrots, Named for A Queen

Where I live Queen Anne’s Lace is always a pleasing sign of summer. The wispy white wildflower adorning America’s roadside is actually a wild carrot introduced from Europe. If you rub the feathery foliage of Queen Anne’s Lace, this member of the parsley family will give off an herbal, “carroty” scent, and if you dig it up, you’ll see that the long, thin root resembles a very spindly carrot. It’s too spindly to bother harvesting for eating, but makes a fine kitchen kitchen centerpiece.