Laura Rebecca's Kitchen

Yep, more jam. There were some brilliantly ripe raspberries for sale at the local farmers’ market and I couldn’t pass them up. I had to make jam before I realized this but jam has twice the amount of sugar as it does fruit. Seriously: don’t think you’re eating preserved fruit with a dusting sprinkling of […]

Lemon Sugar Cookies that were rolled and patted before baking. These cookies, from the Hay Day Country Market Cookbook and made for the WCC, are very good: buttery with a bright citrus flavor. The bottoms are bit crisp – a gentle crunch – with the insides featuring a softer and chewier texture. Having said that, […]

Fresh-picked berries, waiting to be smashed. Filling the mason jars with cooked jam. Fresh berries and sugar macerating before getting turned into freezer jam. When children attack. The fruits of our labor.(Look! Carolyn has a Bon Jovi album — on tape!)

Last fall, Carolyn and I compiled and edited a charity cookbook. We asked parish members to submit their favorite recipes, had the Sunday School kids draw illustrations, pulled it all together in Publisher, printed and assembled it in-house, and sold it for $3 a pop. When we started, we weren’t really sure if A) anyone […]

AliCat over at Something So Clever made this and gave it a thumbs up, so I thought I’d give it a try. It’s very good – a light, summery meal. And so very easy to make. (I didn’t add any basil because I forgot to buy some; it was still delicious.) Giada De Laurentiis’ Lemon […]

The color here is off; the pie really has an off white color. The lime juice isn’t strong enough to change the color and there are no eggs to add a yellow tint. Food coloring could easily give the pie more of a lime hue. Somewhere, I’d read that “real” key lime pie is not […]

After finding Key limes at the local grocery store, I decided to make a Key lime pie for Easter dinner. Since we’re in NYC for Easter, I made the pie in an unfamiliar kitchen (my parents’). I say this because making this gave me more trouble than it should have. I’m attributing most of that […]

My attempt at food styling & photography. I love potlucks, if for no other reason than they give me an excuse to try out recipes. (The massive quantities of food don’t hurt either. Of course, for every well-made Italian Wedding Soup, there’s a hot dog helper being forced down unsuspecting throats. ) For today’s lunch, […]

“A Butter icing is like a favorite cotton dress…simple and easy to put on…cooked white frosting like a perky street ensemble…and the extra touches of tinted coconut, toasted nuts, or allegretti are the gay accessories that make a costume ‘special.’ Your family will enjoy your ‘dressed-up’ cakes the more because they look so pretty.” – […]

Continuing with the Magnolia Bakery kick, I’m going to make these this weekend for a breakfast fundraiser. They look pretty damn good. I’ll let you know how they turn out (and how much money they raise). Read the recipe and results in Part II. Tags: baking, cooking, temperature, Magnolia Bakery, recipe