I remember my mother would begin to bake Christmas cookies the day after Thanksgiving. She would fill shoeboxes with tissue paper, then fill the shoeboxes with her assortment of Italian cookies (to fiercely compete with her sisters!). I loved to sneak frozen butterhorns for a snack and she always made plenty!
Butterhorn Cookies
Butterhorn cookies are a timeless holiday classic, rooted in European baking traditions and beloved for their delicate, crescent shape, tender texture and fillings or fruit jam or toasted nuts with sugar.
My family recipe is made with butter, sour cream and egg yolks-lots of yummy fat-so these cookies are tender.
Often finished with a light coating of powdered sugar, butterhorns are understated yet elegant and a staple on any holiday cookie tray.
Making Butterhorn Cookies
Prep Time: 60 min
Cooking Time: 20 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
1 Cup Butter, room temperature
2 Cups AP Flour, sifted
1 Cup Sour cream
1 ea. Egg yolk
Filling
2 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 Cup Walnuts, toasted and peeled (in a clean side towel); chopped
1 Cup Sugar
How to Prepare Butterhorn cookies
Step 1 Making the butterhorn dough
Place the butter, flour and sour cream into the mixing bowl. Using the paddle, blend to a coarse mixture. It will resemble a pie dough, it's important to keep the dough cold but the butter should be very small.
Add the egg yolk, incorporate gently to avoid developing gluten (a chewy dough). Let the dough rest, covered for 30 minutes.
Step 2 Rolling out and cutting
Roll the dough into 4 even balls. Flatten with a rolling pin into a disk and let rest for 10 minutes. If the kitchen is warm, place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
To toast walnuts, place onto a sheet pan, toast and then place into a clean towel. Rub vigorously to loosen the skins. Separate the nuts away from the skin; discard the skin.
While the dough is resting, mix the chopped, toasted walnuts, cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl, reserve.
There are several ways to roll and cut the triangles:
Roll the disk to a 1/8th inch thick circle or 3 inch by 8 inch rectangle; cut into 8 wedges like cutting a pizza pie. You'll need to keep the surface lightly floured to avoid sticking and be sure the dough is cool.
It's not a problem if the edges are a little uneven, when you roll inwards the edges are no longer seen.
When the disks are cut, sprinkle with the sugar-walnut blend.
Roll the disks firmly from the wider, outside of the circle, into the center, making a croissant shape.
Step 3 Baking
Curl slightly and place on a sheet pan with parchment. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon, walnut sugar.
note: I like to double the sheet trays to help avoid the bottom of the butterhorn cookies from getting too brown.
Bake at 350° F for about 20 minutes until nicely browned and tender.
Enjoy
There are countless versions of Potatoes au gratin , many of them heavy with cheese. I prefer a more restrained approach—using little or no cheese—so the flavor of the potatoes remains the focus rather than being masked. Milk produces a lighter, more delicate gratin, while light or heavy cream creates a richer, more structured dish. Both are valid—it simply depends on the desired outcome. One constant, however, is nutmeg. Used sparingly, it acts as a quiet “secret weapon,” adding depth without calling attention to itself. This recipe is inspired by Xavier LeRoux, one of the finest chefs I’ve had the privilege to work with. His method includes an extra step—gently simmering the potatoes in cream before baking—which yields a noticeably superior result. The potatoes begin to release their starch into the cream early, ensuring a more uniform texture and a fully integrated dish from the first bite to the last.
There are plenty of brownie recipes—and then there is the one that lives in memory. This is the only brownie recipe I bake, from Julia Child, whose influence reached far beyond French cuisine and into the home kitchens of passionate bakers like my mother. A devoted admirer, she baked these brownies often—usually for the dessert trolley at my restaurant. We featured a brownie freeze... brownie cubes with homemade vanilla ice cream, warm melted chocolate and freshly whipped cream-amazing! For me, this recipe is more than a classic—it’s a reflection of how great cooking is passed down: through admiration, repetition, and a deep love of craft.
I taught garde manager for many years at the CIA and this is one of my favorite recipes from class. I actually developed this recipe with one of my students, inspired by a recipe he had learned on his externship.
We ate Irish soda bread one day each year—and it was never store-bought. Soda bread wasn’t part of our cultural lineage, but it earned its place through something more universal: respect for tradition. My mother was not an occasional baker— growing up, her baking centered on Italian traditions: special Christmas cookies, the Vigna family birthday cake, and beautifully braided Easter breads that reflected heritage. Later, like many serious home bakers of her generation, she was influenced by Julia Child . That influence expanded her repertoire into classic European pastry—Paris-Brest, pound cakes, even German chocolate cake. The iconic cross cut into the top of the loaf is often said to “let the fairies out,” though in professional kitchens we recognize its functional role: allowing heat to penetrate and the loaf to expand evenly during baking.
Authentic Guacamole, Hospitality, and the Responsibility of Feeding People
I recently volunteered to prepare vegetable paella for a church Bible group potluck. I was very excited to develop a delicious, new paella recipe and spent time preparing fresh vegetable stock with flavors of the Mediterranean. I always prepare vegetable and fish stocks fresh, as I intend to use them. I’m not a fan of bases or frozen stocks but I sometimes add a small amount of quality base to my stocks. A vegetable stock with mirepoix, cabbage, mushrooms makes sense in certain applications, for certain recipes—but why would we use a mushroom or cabbage-forward stock in a paella? It doesn’t make culinary sense. Paella is a Mediterranean dish originating in the Valencia region of Spain as a humble meal cooked on an open fire. I’ve enjoyed wonderful paella meals in Valencia prepared with water-not stock, prepared with rabbit, snails and local beans. While traveling through Spain this spring I researched and sampled many styles of paella… no mushrooms, no carrots, no celery and no cabbage.
I still remember cooking breakfast burritos with my son Daniel, for volunteer workers at church events—simple, hearty, and made to fuel a long day of service. The workers were always so appreciative. Years later, I served a crowd favorite, nicknamed “The Bacon-ator,” a breakfast superstar inspired by the over-the-top spirit of fast-food indulgence. We had a popular food booth at the local country fair, where we cooked hundreds of breakfast burritos each day-stuffed with Mexican cheeses, extra bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, and fresh salsa—nothing pre-made, nothing rushed. Every burrito was warm, fresh, and full of flavor. When food is made with love, even the most straightforward breakfast is memorable.
Chefs often share a bond that transcends politics, religion, and borders. While working in Saudi Arabia with a diverse group of chefs, I experienced this firsthand on my final day. To mark the occasion, they prepared special dishes representing their home countries—a generous feast rooted in tradition and pride. At the center of the table was a beautiful tray of stuffed peppers, zucchini, cabbages, squash, and other vegetables, each prepared with care and respect. As we shared the meal, the chefs beamed with pride, and the room filled with a sense of genuine camaraderie. It was a powerful reminder that food remains one of the most universal languages we have.
I remember a chef teaching me to carefully slice the center seeds from a zucchini and then prepare beautiful dices for a ratatouilli. The seeds and center area get soft and mushy before the outer 'meaty' section of the squash cooks.
Lobster macaroni and cheese is my all time favorite version of Mac and Cheese... I make it by preparing a classic lobster sauce, (flambé and all) and blending it with Béchamel sauce, macaroni and sweet, tender chunks of freshly poached lobster. Macaroni and cheese with pancetta