I love to craft just as much as I love to cook. (The large number of non-edible projects in Cookie Swap should have tipped you off!) There’s something very satisfying about shaping nothing into something with my own two hands. Plus, a handmade invitation, party favor, or gift is the truest expression of the heart. Make something special for your next party or event, and guests will know you genuinely care. Below is a collection of my latest crafting projects, classified by project type (invitation, place card, or menu; gift or favor; décor; or technique tip) and the holiday or occasion for which they’re best suited. Just click on the link for photo(s) and detailed how-to instructions!

Invitation, Place Card, or Menu
French Bistro Menu, All occasions
Postcard Place Card, All occasions

Gift or Favor
Love Letters, Valentine’s Day
Love Letters Redux, Valentine’s Day

Décor
Cotton Candy Cupid Clouds, Valentine’s Day

Technique Tips
Beadwork, All occasions (COMING SOON!)
Marbling, All occasions
Stenciling, All occasions
Wafer Papering, All occasions

I started cooking alongside my mother I-won’t-say-how-many years ago. I guess those habits learned at any early age are hard to break, as I’m still dreaming up recipes at a rapid pace. Be sure to check back here often for the latest additions, both savory and sweet, to my file. And don’t be daunted by the length of any recipe. I like to fully script out all steps, so that every recipe is do-able, even for novice cooks and bakers!

Sweet:
Cinnamon Heart Marshmallows (with Lemon Peep & Bunny Variation)
Raspberry-Truffle Brownie Bars
Royal Icing with Consistency Adjustments
Flourless Chocolate-Guinness Stout Cake
Cinnamon-Walnut Crescent Cookies
PB&J Sandwich Cookies
Rhubarb-Strawberry Granita Parfait
White Chocolate-Basil Panna Cotta
Lemon Pavlova
Maine Blueberry Pancakes 

Savory:
Pancetta-Sage Mac ‘n Cheese
Guinness Braised Beef
Hard-boiled Quail Eggs with Curry Mayo
Cheddar-Chive Pinwheel Biscuits
Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Most visitors to Vacationland busy themselves with swimming or hiking or sailing. And me? Well, truth be told: as much as I subscribe to the virtues of physical fitness, my favorite summer pastime remains on the extreme energy-conserving end of the spectrum. Luxuriating over a pancake breakfast is the best way I know to start (and sometimes end) a vacation day. Taste my faithful recipe, chock full of Maine’s finest berries, and I’m sure you’ll hesitate before changing from bathrobe to swimsuit.

Yield: About four 6- to 7-inch pancakes

Prep Talk: I like to make the batter immediately before cooking so the berries have no time to get mushy and/or bleed into the batter. I’m also a firm believer in cooking pancakes á la minute. After all, there’s nothing better than a fresh-from-the-griddle hot pancake to melt the requisite slab of butter on top.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (scooped into the measuring cups; then leveled)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly and finely grated nutmeg, or more to taste (do not use bottled ground nutmeg, as it can often be bitter)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly and finely grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Maine blueberries (the best blueberry around!)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, for greasing the pan

Method:

1 | In a large bowl, stir together the first six ingredients, taking care to break apart any clumps of orange zest.

2 | In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla extract.

To the uninitiated, pickles can be off-putting. Any food that vies for blue ribbons at the state fair automatically implies a certain level of complexity. Couple this award-winning potential with the lore of champions relinquishing titles over softness, cloudiness, or God forbid, spoilage, and the intimidation factor is enough to cause seasoned cooks to gasp at the sight of a Mason jar. Immediate gratification determines the winner for me, which is why I often opt for simple refrigerator pickles like these dill spears. They don’t require lengthy fermentation or any fussy boiling protocol; plus, the pickles will end up greener and crisper for having avoided the sterilizing bath. Note: This recipe hails from my James Beard-nominated column for Sauce magazine.

Yield: About nine 1-pint jars

Prep Talk: Because the jars do not undergo processing in boiling water, they must be stored in the refrigerator at all times. For best eating, allow the flavors to meld about 3 weeks.

Ingredients:

• About 12 pickling cucumbers (5 to 6 ounces each), ends trimmed (I like Bush Pickle and Carolina varieties.)
• 3 cups pearl onions (about 3, 6-ounce bags), blanched and skins removed
• 5 tablespoons pickling or Kosher salt, divided
• About 2 trays ice cubes
• About 18 sprigs fresh dill (each about 5 inches long, 2 per jar)
• About 18 whole cloves garlic (2 per jar), peeled
• 4 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 4 1/2 cups water

Method:

1 | To fit the cucumbers in pint-size jars, cut them in half cross-wise; then quarter each half lengthwise. (For full-size dill spears, simply quarter the trimmed cucumbers, without cutting them in half first. And, use quart-size jars to allow adequate room.)

By the mid-1920s, Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova had become such a superstar that one ardent chef-admirer created the world’s most airy dessert and named it after her. (Some say the chef was inspired by the dancer’s fluffy tutu worn during her 1926 tour.) A feathery mattress of meringue, laid with whipped cream, berries, and often kiwi fruit, Pavlova is a rare combination that is at once crunchy and soft, sweet and tart. This tantalizing dance of texture and flavor can be choreographed in 30 minutes or less, making it all the more wonderful. And, if served without the cream, it is one of few truly delicious no-fat desserts around. My version is less ballet and more zesty jig, made lively with lemon juice in the meringue and lemon curd folded into the whipped cream. Note: This recipe hails from my James Beard-nominated column for Sauce magazine.

Yield: One 10-inch diameter Pavlova, about 6 servings

Prep Talk: The meringue shell can be made ahead, but since it is mostly sugar and sugar is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air), it is best stored at room temperature in an airtight container. If the meringue should still get tacky, re-dry in a low oven before serving.

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• Pinch table salt
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 1 teaspoon strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup lemon curd (your own or high quality store-bought; I like Stonewall Kitchen brand, because it is very thick.)
• 4 to 6 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered (about 1 to 1 1/3 cups)
• 4 to 6 ounces fresh raspberries (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 to 6 ounces fresh blackberries (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)

Method:

1 | Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 400ºF. Trace a 7- to 8-inch diameter circle onto a piece of parchment paper. Turn the paper over and secure the edges to the backside of a 10 x 15-inch cookie sheet by placing a dab of butter or shortening in each corner.

Pretty soon basil will be flooding farmers’ markets, overstuffing fridges . . . and launching most home cooks into pesto overdrive. Sure, you can freeze the zesty green stuff, but why not turn the herb into a dish that’s really fresh?! Here, I’ve infused panna cotta with basil and orange zest to give a mint-like lift to the Italian classic. Sound odd? Perhaps. But once you try it, I think you’ll suddenly find basil in extremely short supply! Note: This recipe hails from my James Beard-nominated column for Sauce magazine.

Yield: About five 1/2- to 3/4-cup servings

Prep Talk: Make the panna cotta about 4 to 5 hours before serving to allow it adequate time to chill and set up in the fridge.
 
Ingredients:

• 3 tablepoons cold water
• 1 3/4 teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin (less than 1 package)
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup sweet basil leaves (about half 2/3-ounce package, stems removed), torn
• Zest of 1/2 orange, cut into long strips with a channel zester or paring knife
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon finely minced orange zest
• 6 ounces premium white chocolate, finely chopped and melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh strawberry purée, lightly sweetened

Method:

1 | Clean and dry five 8- to 10-ounce wine or martini glasses. Set aside. Pour the cold water into a small bowl that fits a double boiler. Sprinkle the gelatin onto the water and let the mixture sit, without stirring, 5 to 10 minutes until the gelatin has absorbed all of the liquid. (Fight all impulses to stir. You will only create lumps of gelatin that will never completely dissolve.) Set the bowl over simmering water in the double boiler to melt the gelatin. Remove the double boiler from the heat, but leave the melted gelatin over the warm water while you complete Step 2. (You want the gelatin to remain liquid.)

2 | Combine the cream, milk, basil leaves, and orange zest in a non-reactive saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring the mixture to the scalding point. (That is, get it so hot that a skin forms on top, but do not boil it.) Remove from the heat and let the basil and orange zest steep in the cream about 30 minutes.

After all, how often does one get to enjoy baby rhubarb stalks and the full blush of beach roses at the same time? Or inhale sweet lilacs along with salty gusts from passing bait trucks? Yes, it seemed that even the lobstermen, the best prognosticators of the changing tides, had been caught off guard. Thrust into a sudden race to drop their traps, they buzzed by our house on Memorial Day at a pace typically reserved for prime fishing time.

A handful of ingredients. Check! A minimum of kneading. Check! Plus, a pretty pinwheel pattern on top. Check! Yes, indeed, these one-bowl biscuits meet every prerequisite for fun, no-fuss picnic food! At my recent Memorial Day celebration, I dunked them in saffron-butter along with steamed lobster and mussels, but they’re equally good at sopping up your favorite BBQ sauce.

Historical Note: I’ve carried around this basic biscuit recipe (sans pinwheel additions) on a tattered notecard since I left home and started my own kitchen some 25 years ago. I’m not sure of the recipe’s exact origins, but I think it hails from my mom’s red-checked old faithful aka “The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.”

Yield: About 10 biscuits

Prep Talk: These biscuits mix in 10 minutes or less, so there’s no reason to make them far in advance. In fact, you shouldn’t; they’re truly their best served piping hot from the oven.
 
Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 5/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• About 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• Snipped fresh chives, to taste (I use about 1/3 of a 2/3-ounce package.)

1 | Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2 | Mix the dough. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well. Work the shortening into the dry ingredients with a fork or, better yet, with clean hands.(I dare say, there’s no better way to get familiar with baking than to roll up your sleeves and get your hands in the ingredients.) Reduce the shortening to the size of small peas. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and add the milk all at once. Mix just until the dry ingredients are uniformly moistened.