Zabar's Blog

Recipe for Every-Day Chocolate Cake

from Sweet Little Cakes from Mrs. Zabar’s Bakeshop by Tracey Zabar
Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

Here is a delightful little cake from Sweet Little Cakes from Mrs. Zabar’s Bakeshop, my latest cookbook. It is small, yummy, and easy to make. If you are baking for a crowd, triple the recipe and use three pans. This, dear readers, is sadly my last blog posting. I thank you for your devoted loyalty and lovely comments over these last six years. Please buy the book (and more copies for holiday gifts!). Love, Tracey

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Recipe excerpted with permission from Rizzoli Publications

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Recipe for Aniseed-flambéed sea bream

from The Complete Book of French Cooking by Hubert Delorme and Vincent Boué, photography by Clay McLachlan, foreword by Paul Bocuse

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This beautiful book is filled with recipes to expand your cooking repertoire. There are technique instructions for sauces, soups, stocks and cakes, illustrated with step-by-step photographs. Next on my list: lime and honey duck fillets on a bed of zucchini; a Provençal vegetable tian; lemon meringue tartlets; and tutti-frutti waffles, dripping with fruit. And of course, the classic French onion soup.

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Recipe excerpted with permission from Flammarion/Rizzoli Publishing

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Recipe for S'mores Bars from Cake & Loaf Gatherings

by Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This cookbook is overflowing with sweet things to bake, and a few savory ones too. I started with this gooey, yummy s’mores bars recipe, then the black and white coffee cake. Next on my list: a fresh vegetable pizza, peach custard pie, walnut snowball cookies, gingersnaps, and tiramisu jars. Sweet.

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Recipe excerpted with permission from Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher.

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Recipe for scones from Deliciously Vintage Baking & Desserts

by Victoria Glass, photographs by Isobel Wield

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This sweet little book has wonderful desserts for you to bake. Start with these simple scones, and then try the Louise cake, filled with jam and topped with a thick cloud of coconut meringue. There is a sticky toffee pudding; something described as “bamboozlingly delicious” (banoffee pie); and snickerdoodles. The photographs are lovely and the treats yummy.

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Recipe excerpted with permission from Deliciously Vintage Baking & Desserts: 60 Nostalgic Recipes that Will Make You Feel Like a Kid Again by Victoria Glass, Ryland Peters & Small. Photographs by Isobel Wield © Ryland Peters & Small, 2014, 2023

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Peppered Pan-Roasted Olives

from Cheese Boards to Share Deck: 50 Cards for Stunning Boards & Platters to Style at Home by Thalassa Skinner

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This boxed set of cards has dozens of beautiful photographs of food to place on boards. Delight your guests with these cheese selections and some yummy roasted olives. Next on my list: lovely boards with cow, goat, buffalo, and sheep's milk cheese; a picnic with figs, honey, and blood oranges, and of course cheese; and a recipe for homemade pickles. And then a flatbread with tomatoes; and some nectarine and Serrano pepper paste.

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Recipe for Peppered Pan Roasted Olives excerpted with permission from Cheese Boards to Share Deck: 50 Cards for Stunning Boards & Platters to Style at Home by Thalassa Skinner, Photography by Erin Kunkel © Ryland Peters & Small

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Recipe for Fried Rice Balls

from The Eternal City: Recipes and Stories from Rome by Maria Pasquale

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

Any day in Rome, you can eat pizza three meals a day. Or I can. Add a slice of crostata di marmellata, a tart with jam, or a different one with sour cherries and ricotta, later in the afternoon. There are recipes for these delights in the book, and plenty more. Try making these delightful fried rice balls. Next on my list: grilled lamb cutlets; gnocchi with tomatoes and red mullet; broccoli and potato smash; and zeppole. This beautiful book is almost as good as a trip to the eternal city. Then, go there, wander around, and try some pizza and gelato everywhere you go. 

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Recipe excerpted with permission from The Eternal City: Recipes and Stories from Rome Maria Pasquale (Smith Street Books)

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Recipe for Sugar Cream Pie from Iowa

from 50 Pies, 50 States by Stacey Mei Yan Fong, photographs by Alanna Hale, illustrations by Shelby Warwood
Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This book is full of wonderful pie recipes and stories. Travel around the country in your own kitchen. Start baking this sweet, creamy pie. Next on my list: Heirloom tomato and cheese pie with herbed crust from Arkansas; sour cream and raisin pie from Iowa; shoofly pie from Pennsylvania; and Maine’s blueberry pie with Moxie. Yes, the soda pop (or as we call it in New England, tonic).

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Recipe excerpted with permission from 50 Pies, 50 States (Voracious/Little Brown)

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Recipe for Chilled Watermelon Soup

from Vegan Cooking for Two by America's Test Kitchen

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This cookbook is full of great recipes for little dishes. Try this refreshing summer watermelon soup first. I expanded my recipe repertoire with a grilled vegetable and orzo salad with lemon and basil. There are lots of recipes using fresh ingredients, and tips and clever charts about cooking with grains and spices. Next on my list: stir-fried noodles with mushrooms, snow peas and bell peppers; and yummy-looking fig streusel bars.

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Recipe excerpted with permission from Vegan Cooking for Two by America's Test Kitchen

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Recipe for Double-Chocolate Banana Bread

from Everyday Bread (America's Test Kitchen)

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

Torn between baking a banana bread and chocolate cake? Fret no more. This combination of two beloved desserts is a winner. Next on my list: Manchego and chorizo muffins; pesto pizza; and rye bread.

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Recipe excerpted with permission from Everyday Bread (America's Test Kitchen)

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Recipe for Tosca Cake

from Norwegian Baking Through the Seasons by Nevada Berg

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This book shows you lots of enticing baked goods from Norway. Try the yummy Tosca Cake, which is actually Swedish. The recipe directs you to use a clever technique, where you bake it for 20 minutes, pour the glaze on top of the hot cake, and bake some more. Next on my list: pretzels, horns with herby pea pesto, and another cake, called the world’s best!

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Recipe excerpted with permission from Norwegian Baking Through the Seasons by Nevada Berg (Prestel)

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