What a cool word, eh? Sbrisolona. It means crumbly. Cake. It is delicious. You have the Italians to thank for this one. A dense thin cake from Mantua made with a surprising number of egg yolks, almond flour and a touch of cinnamon. This cake is totally my speed. It is a really impressive dessert that actually tastes better the next day, making it perfect for the holidays and parties.

This is about as simple as it gets. Buttermilk, raspberries, and sugar. This is one of those times when it really pays to get the very best ingredients possible. For me, that meant a trip to the Green City Market to buy a quart of Blue Marble Family Farm’s Buttermilk, and a pint of organic raspberries.

Friends often ask me where I get my recipes. I have a lot of cookbooks. Some of them I use several times a month, some of them I have only used once or twice. I have a hard time getting rid of them. The books combined with the magazines I subscribe to (Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Cooks Illustrated, and Martha Stewart Living) and the blogs I read (my favorites are linked on the home page) provide me with more recipes than I could ever make. Sometimes this makes me feel anxious and panicky. I recently started a list where I can keep track of the recipes that are waiting for a turn.

I was inspired by a post over at Supper in Stereo to try these Apples Jellies, a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks The Art of Simple Food. Like all of Alice Water’s recipes this one is simple, allows you to utilize local, seasonal ingredients and is delicious. It is a real treat to watch a few pounds of apples slowly turn into squares of candy.

I might not care very much about pumpkin—but cranberries are a different story. I love cranberries and will find as many ways as possible to eat them in the coming months. I will also fill my freezer with them before they go out of season so that I can be eating them throughout the winter and spring. This simple quick bread seemed like a good use of my first bag of fresh cranberries.

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday with a trip to Chicago’s most highly anticipated new restaurant: The Publican. Brought to us by the same folks that own Avec and Blackbird, The Publican is in the west loop on Fulton Market.

If you have looked at the recipe index, you’ll notice that this is the only recipe I have posted so far that belongs in the savory category. What can I say, I’ve got a sweet tooth.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are one of the signature dishes from Baked in Brooklyn. They have quite a following, and this recipe replicates them very well. I brought these to work and they were a big hit, but I have to be honest—these aren’t my favorite (although that hasn’t stopped me from eating them). I think that I like pumpkin things less that I am supposed to. Maybe it’s a texture thing? For the pumpkin fans out there, I think you will really love these.

These are strange days. I find myself baking more than usual. Like everyone else, politics have been on my mind and I feel anxious about the future. Yesterday Bryan’s parents and my mom were over and I baked this apple pie for the occasion.