Best Desserts 2021

Europe & US Dark Chocolate Lovers Boston – Giulia – Chocolate Panna Cotta Boston – Blackbird – Chocolate Donut Boston – Clear Flour Bakery – Bouchon Boston – LA Burdick – Hot Chocolate NYC – Sant Ambroeus – Hot Chocolate NYC – Mel – Sourdough Chocolate Croissant NYC – Boucherie – Chocolate Mousse Chicago – […]

Roasted Tomato Pasta

Julienne half an eggplant, skin on. Sauté in a pan with olive oil and salt until soft, perhaps 6 minutes. Take some plum tomatoes, mark an X on the bottom, and drop into boiling water for 20 seconds until the skin splits. Remove from water and put into ice bath to stop the cooking. Remove […]

New Coffee Cake

Cake ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter at room temperature 1 ¼ cups/260 grams sugar 2 large eggs 1 ½ cups flour/188 grams 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 ¼ cups/300 grams sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla Streusel ½ cup packed dark brown sugar ¼ cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted ¾ […]

Panna Cotti

Makes 5 16 oz cream 50 g sugar 2.5 sheets of gelatin 1.75 oz 55% Valrhona Equatoriale chocolate 1.75 oz 70% Valrhona Guanaja chocolate Directions Bring sugar and heavy cream to simmer Meanwhile bloom the gelatin using ice water Melt chocolate into heavy cream mixture, remove from heat and stir in gelatin Pass entire mixture […]

Pie Dough

112g flour 7.5g sugar 2g salt 1 stick butter 1/4 cup water (cold from tap) Directions Whisk dry ingredients.  Add butter. Mush with fingers.  Add water.  Roll out dough; ideally it’s ~65 degrees. Roll, fold in 1/4ths.  In fridge for 2 hours.  Back 350 for 60 minutes. 

Apple Crisp

First Bowl 100 grams sugar + additional for sprinkling on fruit 34 grams flour Lemon juice Second Bowl 1 stick melted butter 150 grams of flour 100 grams sugar Directions In a bowl, put 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, juice from two lemons. Mix. In another bowl put one stick of melted butter, 1 […]

Toffee

113 grams almonds roasted and chopped 1 tablespoon water 1/4 cup butter pinch of salt 110 grams white sugar 22 grams brown sugar 70 grams bittersweet chocolate vanilla extract (about a teaspoon) 1/8 teaspoon baking soda Directions Note: before you start, measure out the baking soda and vanilla, so that you can immediately put it […]

Fudge

400 grams sugar 4 tablespoons butter pinch of salt 198 grams marshmallows 5 ounces of evaporated milk (it’s in a can; NOT condensed milk) Directions Heat this mixture to 234 degrees. Stir plenty. Flame should not be too hot or sugar will scorch. Keep stirring especially if you decide to increase the flame to get […]

Pistachio Cake

CAKE 1½ cups unsalted roasted pistachios 1 teaspoon kosher salt ½ cup flour ½ cup ground almonds 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1½ cups sugar 4 large eggs Zest of ½ lemon ½ teaspoon almond extract GLAZE 1 tablespoon lemon juice ½ cup powdered sugar Directions Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9×4-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a food processor, grind the pistachios to a fine crumb. Be careful not to […]

Shell’s Pasteis de Nata

via David Leite DOUGH:  2 cups minus 2 tablespoons flour, plus more for the work surface 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water 2 sticks unsalted butter (8 oz), room temperature CUSTARD:  3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/4 cups milk, divided 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar 1 cinnamon stick 2/3 cup […]

Lemon Squares

beat 1 stick butter + 60 g powdered sugar add 128 g all-purpose flour, 72 g almond flour, and pinch salt  bake for 20 minutes at 350°F  4 large egg yolks (74 grams) 150 g sugar 94 g lemon juice (about 2 1/2 large lemons)  4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened) (2 ounces = 57 grams) […]

Pancakes

3/4 cup milk (180 grams) 2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 grams) 1 cup flour (120 grams) 2 tablespoons sugar (32 grams) 1 tsp baking powder  1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt  1 egg  2 tablespoons butter Sprinkle of cinnamon  Directions Preparation: In a small bowl, stir together milk and vinegar. Allow to sit for […]

Austin2

Dolce Neve (one of the best ice cream places in the country) Uchi (go at Happy Hour for reasonably priced and excellent sushi) la Barbecue (I think this place is better than Franklin Barbecue, but feel free to try both) Turf N Surf Po’ Boy (terrific fish) Waltons Fancy and Staple (go have a golden […]

Investments

A series of financial disclosures, both previous and current holdings, with my thoughts. Updated Nov 3, 2021 Tesla (2010)— First stock I ever bought. Also the most successful. Also the only reason why there’s the list below. [Update: I sold when it hit $419 at 21x ROI. Had I held for another couple years, it […]

The Internet’s Banana Nut Bread

The Internet’s Banana Nut Bread 1 cup (128g) all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 stick of butter OR 100g coconut oil 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar 1/4 cup (50g) white sugar 1 cup (300g) mashed overripe bananas 2 eggs beaten 1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 […]

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies 4 ounces/113 grams unsalted butter at room temperature 3/4 cup (120ml) tahini, well stirred 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar (or half brown, half white) 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 150 grams all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 ¾ cups/230 grams bittersweet chocolate chips Flaky salt, like fleur de sel or Maldon Directions In the bowl of an electric mixer […]

Molasses Cookies

Molasses Cookies 133g coconut oil OR 3/4 cup butter 200 g sugar 1/4 cup (85g) molasses 1 egg (possibly another if dough isn’t coming together) 270g all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon cloves 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ginger Directions Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment. […]

Mom’s Apple Pie

Mom’s Apple Pie 2 1/2 cups (300g) AP flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, cut in chunks and kept very cold the whole time 1/4-1/2 cup ice water Directions Peel, chop up roughly ten apples of varying types. Enough to fill two large Pyrex glass bowls with lids. Put in with […]

Chocolate Cake

Samin’s Chocolate Cake 1 oz Dutch-process cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona 5.25 oz sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 4.6 oz all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoons vanilla extract 50 grams neutral-tasting oil 3/4 cup boiling water 1 large egg at room temperature, lightly whisked Directions Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set a rack in […]

Flan

Mom’s Flan 1/2 cup sugar 3 eggs 14oz can of condensed milk 28 oz of regular milk Directions Put a larger glass Pyrex bowl on the counter. Take about 1/2-2/3 cup of white sugar. Put it in a nonstick pan. With a wooden spoon, and don’t use something else, stir the sugar over the heat. […]

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies 241 grams cake flour 241 grams bread flour 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt 284 grams unsalted butter 284 grams light brown sugar 227 grams granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract 680 grams bittersweet chocolate chopped (at least 60%) […]

Vanilla Ice Cream

Vanilla Ice Cream 1 cup (250ml) whole milk A pinch of salt 3/4 cup (150g) sugar 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 2 cups (500ml) heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) 5 large egg yolks 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Directions Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod […]

Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread Cookies 1 stick butter 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup flour 1/4 cup rice flour 1/8 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon Directions Cream 1 stick of butter with 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Work in 3/4 cup flour with 1/4 cup rice flour, 1/8 […]

Ben Ellman’s Guide to Sourcing Music

  The following is quoted verbatim for posterity, and easy linking. via publicradioNYC Here are a few suggestions: FreeMusicArchive – I have to admit, I was wary about FreeMusicArchive for really silly reasons. My opinion was colored by the countless evenings I spent in middle school searching the rough, honestly pretty crappy sound effects library websites […]