Copper Pots and Mustard Sauce

Friends, my life has taken a recent turn. Cooking in my kitchen will never be the same again, as long as I live. Thanks to my generous parents and an upcoming wedding, I am the proud new owner of a set of Bourgeat copper pots and pans.

Let me tell you something about copper. It is magical. Even more magical, dare I say, than my beyond-gorgeous blue French oven from Le Creuset. Cooks have been using copper pots for hundreds of years, and the design I enjoy today is from a French company that has been making cookware since the 18th century. The Bourgeat company merged with Matfer, another French exporter of fine cookware. The Matfer-Bourgeat enterprise makes copper in Normandy, then ships their cookware to Houston for distribution to fancy cooks all over America.

That Easter Day With Joy Was Bright...With Fruit Pizza

Fruit tarts come in so many shapes and sizes: mini-tarts in fluted French cups, gelatin-based tarts with thick, yeasty crusts. There are tarts with top crusts, tarts with caramelized toppings, tarts that are sour and tarts that are sweet. This tart that I share today is really a pizza, with a thin, sugar-cookie crust, a layer of sweet, white cream, and patterns of fruit arranged decoratively on top. This pizza can be made in all seasons with fresh fruit, but I prefer spring and summer, when berries and peaches reach their peaks.

One of the things I like most about this fruit pizza is that the fruit on top is so much fun to organize. Fresh fruit is just so pretty. I have made this large tart with combinations of strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, peaches, and raspberries. I love this fruit pizza because I love the colors of the fruit on top, and I love the way that they can be so nicely arrayed and presented. This recipe is truly a presentation piece, but one that absolutely does not compromise taste for the sake of beauty.

Snickerdoodles

These delightful cookies have been in my life as long as I can remember. They are the first cookies I learned to master and I probably baked them solo for the first time when I was about five. Snickerdoodles are part of my earliest memories; they have been present at parties, school socials, bake sales, choir trips, cookouts, Christmas gatherings, and so on. These snickerdoodles are made of absolute magic. I'm still not sure where the recipe came from - heaven, probably.