Maybe you have seen them sitting in the glass case at a Mexican Panaderia, a sweet roll, with a sugar crust, that is often brightly colored. If you’re anything like me, you may have been turned off by the neon hues, and ordered something else. Well, I didn’t know what I was missing. I should have said, “One concha, please!” My mornings would have been a lot brighter.

Conchas are named for their resemblance to a conch shell, and for those of you who have yet to try them, they are a soft, sweetened roll that is topped with a crumbly, flaky, sugar-based shell. Take one bite, and bits of the sugar shell come off, gently spilling down your shirt– what a delicious mess to eat! The roll is very similar in taste to brioche bread, and it is made rich with the addition of evaporated milk in the dough.

I made mine on a Sunday afternoon, with this recipe, (which incidentally did not call for any food coloring). I altered the recipe only slightly by adding some fresh lemon zest to the dough to brighten the flavor, and cutting back on the cinnamon (I think cinnamon can get overpowering). They were great; I shared some with friends, and they reheated wonderfully the next morning to have with a bowl of cafe au lait.

It seems hard to believe that I have been on the East Coast for going on four years, with over one third of that time in New England, yet I had never gone apple picking. It just seemed almost too quaint for me; I buy my apples from the farmer’s market or the grocery store, thank you very much! Well, I will admit when I am wrong. I went to pick apples, and I loved it!

Over the weekend, I went with some friends to an orchard in Glastonbury, CT, not knowing what to expect. Would I have to climb ladders to pick some measly apples; what would the varieties be; and just how large was an apple orchard anyway? All of my questions were answered– and apple picking did not disappoint! Rows of trees were so heavy with fruit, the branches were bending to the ground, simply begging you to pluck an apple from the tree. Varieties that I have never heard of, ones for baking, others for sauce, and more still, for eating out of hand, each more tempting and delicious than the other. And the orchard was acres and acres of apples and pears, some not even ready to be picked. But it made no difference, there was more than enough to choose from. Each apple tasted more apple-y than any apple I have eaten before; they were fragrant, crisp, tart, and scrumptious.

I picked and picked, grabbing an apple off of a tree, and crunching away as I walked through the grounds. I must have eaten at least four apples that day alone, not to mention some hot-from-the-oil apple fritters and an ethereal apple cider donut. I went home with over 12 pounds of apples and pears, and have already canned a batch of brandied apple rings, and I have plans for cranberry-apple butter. Now I can say with confidence– bring on the apples.

Well, autumn is definitely arriving. I can almost see the pots percolating on the stove, and smell the braising meats in the oven. Yes, I can tolerate having the oven on for more than a few moments, and to me this means the baking of bread will resume. In order to christen the process, I baked up a batch of Batter Dinner Rolls from an out-of-print cookbook called The Complete Bread Cookbook.

Very similar to a Parker House Roll, the batter was loose and pliable, while the inclusion of milk made the rolls taste rich and homey. With the house smelling warm and yeasty, I’d say they were an excellent way to say goodbye to the summer and to usher in the fall.

Live Maine lobsters!

Growing up in California, eating lobster has a bit of stuffy reputation. The only restaurants that serve them are the starched white napkin sort. Served with mini forks and pokers, sometimes you are given a grown-up bib with which to eat them. But in the summers in New England, it seems you can’t drive more than a few miles without running into a seafood shack that sells lobster of all sorts– in a roll, sumptuously stewed in a bisque, steamed, or grilled. This is definitely one of the perks of living here.

We have been in Connecticut for over a year now, but I had never cooked my own lobsters. Well, that all changed this weekend. I picked up at a passel of snapping, spiky-shelled crustaceans, steamed them off in a bit of salted water, and served them up with wedges of lemon and drawn butter. It couldn’t have been easier, or more delicious!

Would you like to see a little bit of my kitchen? I am always curious to catch a glimpse of other people’s homes. The New Haven Register did a piece on me and the book, complete with a photograph of yours truly kicking it in the kitchen. (And yes, that’s an electric stove!)

The article is related to the reading I will be giving this Wednesday, September 9, at 6 PM at the New Haven Public Library. If you are nearby, come down; I would love to meet you!

But it tasted kind of awful. Recently I picked up Donna Hay’s Simple Essentials Fruit, and as I was glancing through the pictures (because they really are the best part of her books) a Plum and Chocolate Clafoutis bounced off the page at me. It looked delicious, and made me think why hadn’t I thought of that? Well, I will tell you why– it’s gross! How could something so simple, with well-loved ingredients come out so wrong? So here is picture of my failed, too-dense, overly chocolaty, flat, mess of a dessert. Oh well, you win some, and clearly, you lose some.

I bore the extra heat in the kitchen to roast these carrots. They were so small, and so sweet, they were simply crying out to be roasted. Olive oil, salt and pepper, and a bit a of ground cumin was all that they required to make one outstanding side dish.

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? In recovery from California, and one too many meals eaten out, this is what I made– tabbouleh-esque salad. Bulgar wheat, an English cucumber, shaved red onion, and a mess of parsley tossed with some nut oil and a good squeeze of lime juice. Delightfully boring and perfectly delicious.

Hello Everyone,

I will be spending a few weeks in California this summer; I can already feel the (dry) sun on my back! While there, I will be giving two readings. On Thursday, July 30, I will be reading at Village Books in the Pacific Palisades, at 7:30 pm, and the following week I will be reading on Thursday, August 6, at Book Passage in the Ferry Building of San Francisco at 6:00 pm. I would love to meet any and all of my California readers. Come on down!

Hope you’re having a wonderful summer,
Adrienne

Why is it that picnic food, i.e. summer food, in this country is so often drowning in a quagmire of mayo? Two mainstays of these white-washed foods are coleslaw, and potato salad, two delicious foods in their own right. Who doesn’t love a potato, and how can you object to mounds of feathery chopped cabbage? But whenever I spot these down-home delicacies at a picnic, they are baking in the sun, getting that lovely yellowish, leathery skin on top. Aesthetically it leaves a bit to be desired, and immediately gets me thinking about airborne bacteria. E-coli anyone?

I found a way around this problem by making a German-style potato salad, tossed in a Dijon vinaigrette with crumbled bacon; but coleslaw remained intractable. It had been years since I had enjoyed more than a bite or two of the stuff, and all of the mayonnaise alternatives seemed a little plain. But then I found Alice’s recipe, you know, Alice Waters, and all became right in my culinary world. Maybe it is because I am a California girl at heart, or maybe it is just Ms. Waters’s sensibility– but this coleslaw was perfect for me and my mayo-hating ways.

Made with flavors from the Southwest– red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeno, the recipe reads like a dictum of assertive tastes. But combined, and left to meld and mellow, each flavor plays beautifully off of the next, developing into a crunchy, warmly spicy, coleslaw. There are not enough positive adjectives to describe this slaw– it has converted me! Thank you Alice.

Alice Waters’s Coleslaw
from New York Times Magazine

serves 8-12

1 medium green cabbage, about 3 pounds
1/2 small red onion, cut in half through the stem, sliced thinly
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded, and minced
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
3-4 tablespoons lime juice
3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt
pepper
large pinch of sugar

Quarter the cabbage and core. Cut each quarter crosswise in half, then finely shred. Place the cabbage in a very large bowl or pot. You should have about 5 1/2 quarts. Add the onion, cilantro, and jalapeno; toss to mix. Sprinkle with oil, lime juice, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and sugar. Toss to coat.

Let the slaw sit for 1 hour, tossing occasionally. Drain. Taste and adjust seasoning. Wait at least another hour before serving at room temperature.

* I just used cilantro leaves from one large bunch, and I didn’t have any red wine vinegar, so I substituted white wine vinegar, and it was still delicious.