Recipe: Ortine's Mediterranean Platter

I have been busy testing recipes for a big, exciting project (one that we're going to share more of with you later this week!). While making spicy-sweet popcorn and pan-fried potstickers, I've been thinking about appetizers and their role in a meal. An appetizer is often my favorite part of a meal — here's why.

These spongettes are exactly the kind of dessert I am craving right now. They're cool and creamy with a whisper of lemon in each spoonful. They're also a hoot to serve a dinner parties as guests discover how the soft pudding layer gives way to tender sponge cake beneath. Topped with a handful of berries or a dollop of whipped cream, these little treats make the ultimate springtime dessert. More

For me -- and for many Southerners, I presume -- Easter is the first real mark of spring. We dress our houses and tables (and even ourselves) to impress, pulling out all the stops from the freshest flowers to the fanciest flatware. We join together to celebrate a time of joy, renewal, and life. And then we eat! Here's a look back at my own Easter weekend celebration, with a recipe for a classic Southern ham, warm and glossy with a mustard glaze.

Q: I've got endless party recipes for foods to have out on tables when people arrive, but can you or your readers recommend recipes that can be made in advance of a party, then heated or cooked in an oven mid-way through a party? 

Q: I found your terrific recipe for Fruit Crumble. We will be baking a variety of fruit crisps and crumbles for 200 people for a wedding and had planned on using aluminum pans — the flimsy kind — for this task. Are we wrong to use these pans? From bake to serve, will be about 6 hours. Thanks!

Sent by Peg

Any excuse to eat dessert in the middle of the afternoon, right? But a wedding shower makes a little pre-dinner dessert action even more justifiable! This particular spread of lovely bite-sized treats is easy to put together and still feels classy and elegant — important details if you happen to be the one organizing the shower.

Have you ever become so totally obsessed with an ingredient or recipe it completely takes over your life? Because that is exactly what happened when I recently sampled an ethereal Chocolate Hazelnut Torte at a local Atlanta restaurant. That particular sweet and nutty flavor combination is always a favorite, but it was the crispy, creamy wafer crust that had me at hello.

Some days you want a dessert that goes all out. Some days you want — scratch that, need — a rainbow sprinkle cake in your life. And The Cake Blog has an easy-to-follow tutorial to make it happen.

I'm a sucker for an unfussy cake, the kind of cake that you can whip up in an hour or less without any extra trips to the grocery store, one that is special enough to serve to guests, but homey enough to not need a special occasion at all. This fragrant lemon cake — scattered with juicy blueberries and dolloped with soft lemon cream — is the perfect unfussy cake, just the thing to bring to a last-minute spring dinner party or to snack on with afternoon tea.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Goldilocks jumped down Alice's rabbit hole? Well it might look a little something like my quest for amazing homemade churros. It took some experimenting, you see. The first round of churros? Good but not great. The second batch? Still not quite. Third time? Well you know what they say — third time's the charm!