Reader Robert wants to know what the practical difference is between bright and shiny metal baking pans and dark-colored nonstick versions (other than the fact that one is nonstick of course). The main difference, Robert, is that dark colors absorb more heat. That’s as true of pans as it is of clothes, even in the lightless environment of an oven. It’s why a tent of shiny aluminum foil does such a great job of preventing excess browning in a hot oven. It reflects heat energy.

A dark pan does the reverse and that’s not usually a good thing. Dark pans can not only create excess browning on edges, they can contribute to the premature hardening of surface crusts, and that can hold in rising or crust expansion. This is not to say that nonstick can’t be a good thing, however tart and pie crusts are very buttery to begin with. As a result they tend not to have a problem releasing from pans, so in that case the nonstick surface is really unnecessary. Properly prepared, just about any pan can be made to perform like a non-stick pan, so my feeling is that in general you should prefer the lighter finishes. They’re more versatile, cheaper and you never have to worry about the coating wearing off. Thanks for the excellent question. Robert!

Bostock has two major things going for it. First, it’s head-slappingly easy. Second, it can be riffed upon endlessly. All you really need is the frangipane and the brioche. And while you can go full-bore and make your own brioche, but store-bought makes an already easy pastry even easier. I confess really like to use brioche hamburger bun tops. The round shape makes for a good presentation, plus bun tops are nice and thick, which is what this preparation needs.

Component-wise you can really go crazy. You can spike your syrup with spirits or extracts, or infuse it with citrus, vanilla, herbs, rose petals, whatever your little heart desires. You can swap out the jam for some other spread: preserves of any kind, Nutella, apple or pumpkin butter. Lastly, you can sprinkle on a little of just about anything with the almonds: bits of fruit, berries, maybe some edible flowers. And who’s stopping you from dusting on a bit of spice with that powdered sugar? Nobody, that’s who.

The word sounds like a breed of beef cattle, but it’s actually a delightful little piece of DIY pastry just right for a minimalist kitchen of the kind we’re currently occupying. Pronounce the word “BO-stuck”, but you can also call it brioche aux amandes if that sounds more appetizing.

I think it does.

Börek. Bierock. Pirog. Pieróg. Is it just me or do all those words for a small hand pie — in Turkish, German, Russian, and Polish respectively — bear a striking resemblance to one another? Experts have claimed for some time they are not related, though there is some new scholarship that links böreks to bierocks I understand. If that’s the case, and as Poland and Germany are right next to one another, and indeed share so much common history, might not pierogis also be related to böreks?

Doesn’t seem too wacky of an idea, at least for this armchair food historian.

Another lesson that life’s mysterious, coincidental turnings follow you wherever you go. Via an odd chain of events we were invited to help a family here in St. Louis with their annual Christmas tradition: pierogi making. Seems their German-Polish Oma is 100 years old this year, and at long last just a bit too tired to make them. How do you say no to that?

Oma had her (mother’s) recipe committed to memory. Without her handy we had to put together our own (with many nods to family tradition, obviously). The end result was great. Recipe and photos up shortly!