Aoife (pronounced EE-fah, I believe) writes in from the Emerald Isle with this about hot cross buns: Been a reader for a while now and loved your debunking of the hot cross bun myths. As to the latest recipe you posted, I’m not sure I’ve ever had a hot cross bun where the cross was […]
READ ONMexico Bob chimes in with this highly dubious assertion: By now I thought everybody knew that hot cross buns originated in Mexico where they are called “pan de muertos”. Except that “bread of the dead” is a Day of the Dead thing, is it not? And aren’t those shapes on the top supposed to be […]
READ ONPagans and pagan symbolism are just the thin end of the wedge when it comes to hot cross bun buffoonery. There are all kinds of other made-up stories that have found currency over the years. Let’s see…there’s the one about the medieval monks who put crosses on their bread to ward off evil spirits. There’s […]
READ ONI had network problems all day today, and only just now got them sorted out. It’s been many hours of switching things on and off, and listening to muzak with a cordless phone pressed to my ear. Tomorrow, I trust, will be a better day.
READ ONMy post about Warren Brown and the Food Network from last week attracted the attention of some publicists for the Maryland Home & Garden Show, where it seems Mr. Brown will be appearing this coming Saturday. Amazing, this blogging medium, isn’t it? You do it in your living room, but you never know who might […]
READ ONIf you haven’t seen or heard about it yet, go read the essay over at Policy Review entitled Is Food the New Sex? by Mary Eberstadt. It’s long, you’ll need to dedicate a full half hour to it, but it’s well worth the time for all those who’ve ever wondered how people nowadays have become […]
READ ONIndeed yes (to answer a great many more questions that came my way this weekend). The general rule of thumb, as I wrote before, is to combine all the dry ingredients plus the sugar at the outset, add the softened fat, then about 50-75% of the liquid, whatever it takes to make a smooth batter. […]
READ ONThe response to my fortnight-long cake-a-thon has been tremendous. I have so many people asking me for cake decorating tips, I can’t possibly answer them all — mostly because I’m a very poor cake decorator. I’d refer those who are more interested in cake decorating resources to head to PastryWiz to see what they might […]
READ ONThe patriotism, you mean? Oh, no. The fondant. I should have rolled it a good deal thinner before I cut out my stars and stripes. Oh well, little Josephine was delighted by her flag cake just the same. She put in the request and daddy delivered…more or less. I’m glad she didn’t ask where the […]
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