Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan with a rubber spatula.īake until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the chocolate (and pecans if using). Then add the flour mixture, stirring with the wooden spoon until well combined. When the butter mixture is cool, use a wooden spoon to beat in the eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. (If you want to ensure attractive squares, line the pan with foil or parchment, leaving overhangs, so you can easily lift out the bars.) Heat the brown sugar and butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter melts. We should all aspire to something so worthy.įrom The Silver Palate Good Times CookbookĢ T instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 T hot waterġ c semisweet chocolate chips (or equivalent volume of chopped bittersweet chocolate)

The New York Times remembered Sheila with a headline stating she “awakened taste buds.” She certainly did for me. Note: In writing this piece, I discovered that Sheila Lukins passed away in 2009. These are food storybooks you’ll want to curl up with again and again. Trust me when I tell you these are much more than simple cookbooks. Sheila Lukins photo by Nancy Siesel/The New York TimesBoth original Silver Palate cookbooks are available on Amazon. And I love it, to this day, when they join me in the kitchen as I leaf through my dog-eared and stained copies of both Good Times and the original The Silver Palate Cookbook, coaching me on how to make something wonderful. I never met Julee or Sheila, but I feel like I have. It also introduced me to a homey, intimate way of writing about food. Authors Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins blew open not only my palate, but all my ideas about food and what was possible for the home cook. It’s a glorious book: Organized seasonally and lavishly illustrated with line drawings, it’s full of quotes, tips and hints, all delivered in a fabulously chatty, New York insider tone. When setting up my first apartment kitchen shortly after college, I treated myself to The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. Like when you buy your very first cookbook.

Many such moments are memorable, some forgettable (or regrettable) and a few, well, they just fill you with an inner glow. There’s a first time for everything, we all know that.

The silver palate cookbook