A Complicated History (Honey pistachio rose baklava)

From my first taste as a child, I was absolutely obsessed with baklava. Something about the crispy, honey-and-butter-soaked layers always called out to me, much to the dismay of my mother (who categorically refused to prepare it, saying it was too labor-intensive). This relegated its status to that of a rare holiday treat, which was probably better for my health and certainly in keeping with the dessert's history as something precious and celebratory.

My precious

Asparagus in Ambush (Asparagus-prosciutto twists, lemon béchamel)

Spring is always deserving of celebration. Especially after that cruel trick where winter swept in to freeze the first buds off the trees, it's nice to see everything sprouting up, again. In honor of those sprouts, I wanted to do something with asparagus, one of my favorite spring vegetables. I settled on an adaptation of "asparagus in ambush," an old favorite from the Flying Rhino restaurant in Worcester, Massachusetts. There, asparagus and prosciutto are wrapped in a flour tortilla and drizzled with lobster sherry cream. I made some adjustments, trading crisp twists of puff pastry for the tortilla to make a prettier presentation and swapping out the lobster cream sauce for a lighter, lemony béchamel with a little kick.

Roll for initiative

Nomsense (Maple Bacon Buttermilk Doughnuts)

In a recent imessage chat with my friend Laura, I typographically described something as "nomsensical." Never ones to shy from coining new terminology, we agreed to use it to describe delicious but overwrought and unusual items, like deep fried Mars bars and bacon-crusted doughnuts. Hungry to test our new linguistic creation with a culinary counterpart, I settled on the latter for experimentation. Plump, cakey baked doughnuts are a sweet treat that invite any variety of toppings, but there's some breakfast magic to be found in the fusion of smoky bacon and sweet maple syrup. The resulting flavors amplify each other in a harmony so perfect it's nomsensical.

Nomsensically delicious

Tarted Up (Feta Fig Tart)

I recently found a great tart pan neglected on a store shelf and was immediately tempted to find some way to put it to good use. I dimly recall a savory almond tart I was served at a Medieval banquet (like you do) and wished to continue the unexpectedly umami theme. Since summer is the season for deliciously juicy fresh figs, they seemed a great starting place. The resulting tart is quick, versatile, rustically elegant, and most importantly: easy, easy, easy.

Easier done than said

Friendship is Magic (Apple, Stilton, Walnut Puffs)

Hello, ladies & gents!

I'm excited to kick off another weekend, not that last's was unenjoyable, by any means, but it was something of a whirlwind. We chose to celebrate my birthday by going to visit our friends Laura and Geoff up in Rochester, MA. Laura and I went to high school together and I'm to be her "Man of Honor," as it were, when she and Geoff are married next spring. I can tell you that Laura is an excellent designer, slowly updating their house room-by-room, that she can slap harder than any woman I know, and that when we made hollandaise on Sunday morning, she taught me I could really trust in recipes again, even when Alton Brown makes them sound scary.

Don't let cooking personalities intimidate you