Rachel Laudan

All this discussion of ensaimadas (links to previous postings here and here) and I realize that I’ve never really explained what they are. Ensaimadas are a pastry associated chiefly with Mallorca and to a lesser extent with Minorca, two Mediterranean islands to the south of Spain with very interesting histories. Pastries called ensaimadas also crop [...]

Back to ensaimadas. I’m fainnly getting around to posting a translation of Pedro Ballester’s recipe for Minorcan ensaimadas. It was first published in 1923.  It is therefore probably one of the first published recipes.  Recipes for breads, always in the realm of professionals, are relatively scarce.  I’m translating it  because the book is not widely [...]

Well, the afternoon of the 4th July seems like a good time to post about horchata de chufa. It would make a perfect drink to go along with a picnic on the 4th, even though it has no American credentials whatsoever. Or perhaps you’d better stick to iced tea or lemonade or beer. My first [...]