It's been a while, hi! How are things? I'm happy to be back here, happy to be talking cherries and pie.   I think cherries are sorta summer's comfort food. Up there with a cob of corn and a cone of ice cream. Perfect in a pie or between layers of a chocolate cake. Perfect from the passenger seat of a car.     As kids we'd wait all year for cherries. I remember the stacked Okanagan Valley crates lining the edges of roadside stands. The kinda places we'd pull over the car on our way to the cabin. All to eat cherries as a snack and spit the pits onto the passing road. It feels like yesterday.     But here I am rambling on about cherries and childhood, when I should be introducing Yossy and her Sweet Cherry Pie. In my books, Yossy's a bit of an authority on pies, her blog APT2 Baking Co is just one of those places that'll make you feel like baking. One of those places on the internet that's worth coming back to.     And with that,  FOR THE LOVE OF PIE — a series that celebrates the simple things with Yossy Arefi and her Sweet Cherry Pie. xo, N     WHO? Yossy Arefi WHAT? Sweet Cherry Pie WHERE? I'm from Seattle, live in Brooklyn, and love to eat pie anywhere. Preferably outside.     WHY? Summertime is pie season and there's nothing better than tucking the season's finest fruit into a buttery, flaky crust. Tart cherries work best for pie, but they are around for such a short time (and are hard to find in some places) so I've used sweet cherries with a generous amount of lemon juice here which does the job just fine. BEST SERVED WITH? A scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream enriched with creme fraîche. ONE OR TWO THINGS? Magical summers in the Pacific Northwest. Campari and soda with lots of ice.     [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:16]   photos: yossy arefi

  For me, there's something about the perfect golden of pan-fried chicken. Something about the crisp of the skin and tender dark meat that makes up the leg. Something about the way it glistens when it's just done. And there's something about a chicken pot pie too.   And so when I asked Alice to take part in my for the love of pie series and she and Maria set on the path to make just that, I was instantly smitten.   I love how it turned out. Like so many of the photos Alice takes these days, and as I'm learning, much of Maria's food, I wish I were in the room when it was happening.   And with that, I give you FOR THE LOVE OF PIE — a series that celebrates the simple things, With Alice Gao + María del Mar Sacasa and their Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Topping. xo, N   WHO: Alice Gao and María del Mar Sacasa   WHAT: Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Topping   WHERE: New York, NY   WHY: Alice My earliest memories of chicken pot pie are from the frozen aisle at the supermarket. For me, they were always a huge treat because our normal dinner fare was Chinese food. I still consider them an indulgent treat nowadays. Maria’s version with a biscuit top makes them feel more accessible. Maria My mother makes the most luscious chicken pot pie: a double, flaky, cream cheese-laced crust with a velvet cream sauced filling full of poached chicken, mushrooms, carrots, and her special “sazón,” as we say – a gift for cooking deliciously. The pie was made mostly on special occasions, and leftovers were often fought over. For many years, I made that very same pot pie, but as I became a more confident cook, I started changing things here and there, making a version of the dish that I hope will be as beloved as my mother’s. This recipe is constantly in flux. While I most commonly make this pie during the cold months for its hearty nature, I do like to root around farmers’ markets and use whatever I find there to make a year-round dish—we need a hearty, comforting meal, regardless of the weather, no? This version contains ramps, those ephemeral gifts of spring, as well as emerald green fresh peas. For a more rustic backbone, the chicken is browned in a skillet, and the vegetables sautéed in the same pan to make sure all the brown bits rendered are not wasted. The topping is cheddar biscuits, that are perfect for sopping up the sauce.   BEST SERVED WITH: A herb salad and a chilled glass of white wine.   ONE OR TWO THINGS: Alice The cool side of a pillow in summer. Long shadows.   Maria I love the smell of a new book and of an old one. A long lunch that stretches out into dinner. The sound of wind in palm trees.   Ramps are wild onions available briefly during the spring. The small bulbs have slender pink stalks fade into green at the top. Their flavour is unmistakably sharp. Green garlic is garlic that has been harvested young, prior to the cloves maturing. It is similar in appearance to scallions, but has much more assertive flavour. Should you not be able to find ramps or green garlic, substitute with 3 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped. Using warm milk will help it incorporate into the butter and flour mixture (roux) more easily. For easy assembly, prepare the biscuit dough up to 1 day in advance and store it, tightly wrapped in plastic, in refrigerator. When chicken filling is about 15 minutes away from being done, bake the biscuits. Serves 6.   [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:14]   Photos: Alice Gao Food: María del Mar Sacasa

  Rhubarb first arrives from greenhouses here. The leaves are an awkward yellow and the stems are a thin, brilliant pink. It's too cold to be grown outside then, but even still it brings with it the feeling of spring.     In Chez Panisse Fruit, Alice Waters writes that, rhubarb is the vegtable bridge between tree fruits of winter and summer, and I've always liked that. I love the idea that it's a vegetable that carries us to the glory of spring.       We made rhubarb the topic of our day a couple months ago now. It was once winter had ended but spring had yet to really begin. When the days were still short, but starting to get longer. When the winter light still lingered but the bright of spring was just peeking in. When I was longing to throw away my woollen socks.     See you soon. xo, N       PS: This tart is a bit of a doozy by way of steps, but it's worth it. It's not hard perse, just a little labour intense. You can make the dough and the rhubarb a day ahead, you could even bake the crust a day ahead if you wanted, just be sure to store it in a airtight container. The crust is a traditional Pâte Sucrée from Michel Roux, the Panna Cotta is from David Lebowitz and the rhubarb is a slight adaptation from MSL. And you can find a rectangle tart pan here. Please also note, you will likely find you have leftovers of each component of this recipe. The rhubarb if there is any left, is great for snacking on, but won't keep well for more than a day or so. The remaining tart dough can be well wrapped and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week (it freezes well too). And the panna cotta should be set in a small ramekin or dish and served within a couple days.         tara's danishes this photo this bakery in montreal these violet caramels are delicious, find them here the feeling of summer this beach towel (via) this necklace photos: michael graydon + nikole herriott       [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:11]

If you're anything like me, you've dreamt you dream of packing up and moving to the French countryside. Dream about the markets, the pâtisseries and the boulangeries. About the kitchens, the butter and the copper pots.   If you're anything like Mimi Thorisson, the talent behind Manger you've done exactly that.   I love her site for a bunch of reasons. But mostly because it reminds me that childhood dreams can do come true, that there's magic in the details and that doing what you love, with who you love leads to great things. xo, N   ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹ FOR THE LOVE OF PIE — a series that celebrates the simple things. Today, Mimi Thorisson and her Potato Pie with Comté Cheese and Lardons.   WHO:  Mimi Thorisson WHAT: Potato Pie with Comté Cheese and Lardons WHERE: Médoc, France WHY: When I was 19, I often went on Saturdays to a small 'salon de thé' near the Bon Marché store in Paris with my mother. After a little shopping session, we always looked forward to a casual meal there - potato pie with salad. Ever since it closed down, I've thought fondly of that delicious potato pie, so I recreated it. It has become a family favourite, and for some reason I only make it on a Saturdays.     BEST SERVED WITH: A mâche salad, for a late lunch on a Saturday!   ONE OR TWO THINGS: I was an only child with a dream – to have a great big family with lots of dogs. I love adventure, taking chances and cooking huge meals for family and friends.       [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:13]       PHOTOS: Oddur Thorisson

There's a small part of me that's always imagined I'd be a beekeeper someday. It was a wide-eyed sort of dream, mind you. The type that forms when you're little, before you know what something is really all about. Before you realize that honey takes a truck load of bees and penchant for sticky.     My childhood friend George always had bees though. And that convinced me I wanted them too. That and the stories he told of them.     He was some years older then me, more a friend of my parents than a friend of mine. But he was ever-present throughout my childhood.     Looking back now, it could have been the tins he brought the honey in, that I liked so much. They were that antique-sort-of-beautiful variety. You know the ones I mean. The kind that a six year old who really liked pretty things, might just have been into.     It's of course possible that my memory embellishes the pretty they actually were. But I remember that violet honey that came inside and I remember the magic it all was to my little kid self.     And as it turns out, honeycomb mixed with cream and eggs and sugar and frozen together makes for its own bit of magic too. xo, N     these paws (via) this pot this book this video these sandals this swimsuit this hotel (via) currently reading currently watching cocktail cures photos: michael graydon and me             [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:8]