Chocolate almond crackle

High off my success at making hazelnut brittle with my trusty new candy thermometer, I decided to try my hand at chocolate almond crackle. This recipe had a few things going for it: It was in a cookbook called "No Time to Cook," it was written by the amazing Donna Hay, and it was only a paragraph long. I'd already made some entrees from this cookbook that turned out well and so I was feeling confident.

Julia Child's Reine de Saba

I was moved to make the Reine de Saba (Queen of Sheba aka chocolate and almond cake) after watching "Julie & Julia" during which Julie makes this simple, but chic, cake for company.
After a pregnancy-long drought of chocolate, I am getting back on the cocoa bandwagon.
I know, I know, I have been neglecting my blog readers. The truth is that over the past six weeks, our household has grappled with my infant cutting three teeth, getting over a feverish virus, three ear infections, and countless sleepless nights. I've lost a bit of my joie de vivre, it's true.
So you will forgive me for not being in the mood to bake.
I made this cake on Mother's Day for dessert following a late luncheon with my mother and mother-in-law. It was probably not the best choice for that morning, as my son was cranky (we would later find out he had an ear infection), and this took longer than I would have liked.

Cookbook review: Giada at Home

Years ago, when I first laid eyes on Giada Di Laurentiis, I was prepared to hate her guts. The cleavage-baring, toothy beauty who peppered her commentary with rolling Italian words was obviously the Food Network's blatant response to the industry of food porn.

But then I tried one of her recipes, and another, and another, and they all came out perfectly and won accolades from my family. I started reading about her life and found she had studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. And she grudgingly won my respect.

These days, I am often turning to Giada's recipes for dinner at my house. I have made her sauteed spinach with red onion recipe so many times I don't even need to check the recipe anymore. So when my copy of "Giada at Home" (Clarkson Potter) arrived in the mail, I was estatico (ecstatic).