• Baked apples
    Baking

    Baked Apples

    With apples in peak season from autumn until the beginning of winter, now is the time for warm apple desserts made with brown sugar and cinnamon, ones that make you want to cozy up at home today and pick more from the orchard tomorrow.  For these baked apples, I top halves generously like a crisp and bake until the middles become tender.  Before they make it to the oven, the cut sides briefly soak up a bit of rum, then the apples are flipped onto their wobbly edges and generously packed with oats, brown sugar, flake coconut, and cinnamon.  The topping stays crunchy, but those rounded edges melt into a…

  • Rum Raspberry Dessert Sauce
    Food

    Rum Raspberry Dessert Sauce

    We are in the midst of a heat wave, and the Fourth of July is almost here, which means many of us will be scooping ice cream, gelato, and other frozen desserts at picnics and barbecues long into the weekend. Velvety chocolate sorbet and rich vanilla bean ice cream and are at their seasonal best when paired with slightly tart berries, so this week I’m serving up a rum raspberry dessert sauce that you can use to top just about any flavor. (I’m looking at you, coconut and blood orange!) The only danger is eating it by the spoonful before your icy treat even nestles into the bottom of the…