Playing With My Food ~
A journal about food, thought, travel, and life; by Chef & Raconteur Chaz French.

Auspicious Beginnings

On the first of January 2009 I found myself searching an external hard drive trying to find a photo, at first I couldn’t find the folder and was starting to panic, after a bit of digging I found the folder but not the photo… While searching through this folder I found another, one that had […]

Brown Butter Carrot Spice Cake

Yeah that’s a mouthful, imagine if I had included “With Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Buttercream” but I’m saving that for a separate post because it’s so damn tasty it deserves its own damn write up! So carrot cake, people either love it or hate it, I’m in love with it, but it has to be […]

Pistachio & Chorizo Cake

Recently David Lebovitz posted a version of this recipe that he adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini. I have to say this is an excellent savory snack cake, perfect for afternoon nibbles, cocktail parties and picnics. I made it for a day with the family and put it out with cheeses and meats for everyone to […]

Hearty, Healthy, Wholesome, Whole Wheat 3 ways

I recently acquired a copy of The Breads of France which I’d long ago added to my wishlist, but never received. Cut forward a few years I’ve completely forgotten about this book and one day my coworker Mimi brings in some books that she was getting rid of and this was one of them, it […]

Loaf Style Brioche Bread

This recipe is adapted from The Mixer Bible which is a great ‘go to’ if you have a stand mixer, in fact, it’s a must have. NOTE: This recipe includes 3 rises that total 7 hours, start this early in the day if you want it for dinner. Brioche: Ingredients: 1 package active dry yeast […]

Focaccia with Caramelized Onions

As evidenced by yesterday’s fictional post, I’ve got some time on my hands and what better way to spend that extra time than with some of my favorite cookbooks. The recipe I used comes from The Mixer Bible and is one of my favorite breads to make. And if you don’t like onions, there are […]

Berry Scones

AND EVEN MORE CARBS!!!!! Gah!!!! I had a steak for dinner and some walnuts as a snack, I love this easy version of scones, they almost as good as the authentic recipe I posted last week, but these are far easier and take much less time. Remember frozen berries are your friend in this recipe. […]

This Chocolate Chip Scone Has A Secret

Scones, so light, so flaky, so delicious, any time of day. I learned the basic recipe used here when I took a six Saturday baking course at The French Culinary institute in NYC. I’ve played with the recipe in order to come up with this version. Tweet

Jazzy Chazzie’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies, they’re good for you, really! So is chocolate, here I meld them together. This recipe takes another turn later on, this is the ‘basic goodness’ version the ‘amazing added antioxidant version’ will be posted at a later date. Tweet