I learned to cook at a very early age, always attempting to emulate my mom and dad in the kitchen. My parents love to entertain, and I remember endless dinner parties growing up, always filled with loud laughter, fragrant food and lots and lots of wine. Even when we were young, my parents would often include my sister Sam and me at the table when they hosted dinner parties, and I think we channel our parents’ passion for entertaining as adults. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: December 2014
Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Crystallized Ginger
No Christmas, in my opinion, is complete without a tray of cookies to finish off a fabulous meal. This year, I’m participating in Patience Brewster’s online cookie exchange! If you’re not familiar, Patience Brewster is an artist and designer of handcrafted ornaments. What a fabulous way to share recipes and get in the holiday spirit! I’ve been baking up a storm at Chez Bowman – so far I’ve made 3 or 4 types of cookies (including these – ahem, famous ones), English toffee that I distributed to my coworkers in cute holiday packaging (all Martha Stewart-like), and my favorite holiday culinary tradition, Challah (a Jewish holiday classic, that’s become a staple in my family’s WASPy Christmas breakfast – more to come on that recipe in the coming weeks). Continue reading
Candy Cane Chocolate Bundt Cake #BundtBakers
Sometimes I think there’s nothing better than Christmas time at home with my parents. My mom and dad live in a 19th century, stone town house in Pennsylvania, and every Christmas, with wood fires burning, we hang our stockings and sit by the fireplace laughing, eating and drinking until it’s well into the early morning. My parents go the extra mile when decorating the house for Christmas. Their tree is adorned with antique ornaments, beads, garlands and Christmas lights. Every fireplace mantle is swathed with fir tree branches, and our front door is crowned with a homemade Della Robbia, welcoming all family and friends that come to share the holiday spirit. Continue reading
Bourbon Molasses Cookies with Bourbon Buttercream (a.k.a the “Drunken Debbie”)
Last weekend, my friend Soffia and I competed in the Brooklyn Cookie Takedown, a cookie competition held at the Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn. To compete, all you have to do is bake 250 cookies, and show up to the venue and hand them out. Not too bad, right? Um…yea – easy, except that it’s 250 cookies (think 20 dozen cookies!). These were to be made in my tiny, tiny kitchen that lacks a stand up mixer. That’s right people, everything you’ve seen on this site to date is made with the use of my handy-dandy (pun intended) handheld mixer. Continue reading
Brussels Sprouts Salad with Creamy Caesar Dressing
One of the many amazing things that I love about living in New York City is the endless list of restaurant options. It can be overwhelming for an avid home cook, because while I enjoy staying home and cooking, I also thoroughly enjoy discovering new restaurants and dining out. Often when it comes to choosing between cooking something at home, and going out to eat, I’ll choose the latter. While this significantly depletes my wallet, it contributes heavily to my recipe catalogue. I love sourcing recipes from restaurants that I visit, and whenever I am feeling a lull in creativity in the kitchen, I look to some of my favorite restaurants and dishes for inspiration. Continue reading
Cassie's Kitchen 