A Baker’s Dozen: Treasured Friendships and Treasured Recipes

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by Dianne Boate

What do baking and letter writing have in common? Passion! Communication! Adventure!

Mary-Frances-Kennedy-FisherTwo of my most revered friendships came about because of letters I wrote. Last year I told you about Rose Levy Beranbaum; today, I would like to share another story about meeting M.F.K. Fisher, and share the recipe she loved most of all the things I made for her. The recipe is called “Starlight Sugar Crisps,” from a 1950s Pillsbury Bakeoff book, a croissant type of pastry laced with vanilla sugar.

Flashing back for a moment, someone lent me The Art Of Eating, an anthology of five books written by M.F.K. Fisher. Her style, sensibilities and wry humor captured me instantly. She made me fall in love with France all over again.

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Eat Like the Stars – Diana Dors

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by Jenny Hammerton

Are you on a diet after the excesses of the holidays?  I sure am.

Gwyneth Paltrow is by no means the first movie star to dish out advice on how to eat healthily, and drop some pounds along the way. Gloria Swanson raged against sugar in all its forms, Greta Garbo was bosom buddies with health-food guru Gaylord Hauser, and famously hearty eater Elizabeth Taylor wrote a legendary diet book called Elizabeth Takes Off in the 1980s.

But when I’m feeling an excess of adipose tissue, it’s Diana Dors who I turn to. Continue reading →