The Perfect Pantry®

Swedish soda bread recipe

Don't you love a recipe with a pedigree? I do. This Swedish soda bread recipe came to me from my friend Bev, who first tasted a version of it at an opening reception at the Providence Art Club. Bev asked Joan, the artist, for the recipe; Joan had made it as Irish soda bread, with caraway seeds instead of cardamom, and shortening instead of butter. When I sampled Bev's Swedish adaptation, it seemed more like cake, so I baked mine in one of the Bundt pans I collect but seldom use. (I can't explain my fascination with Bundt pans. I just love them.) Bev made hers in a round cake pan. Serve the soda bread warm, with a pat of sweet butter and a cup of tea, when friends stop by for a mid-afternoon visit.

Gingerbread waffles recipe

Our grandson loves chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, but I've never been one to go sweet early in the morning. I'd rather have these gingerbread waffles for dessert, but my husband Ted loved them as an afternoon snack, with butter and maple syrup. In other words, don't let me tell you when to eat waffles. Almost every ingredient in these waffles comes right from the pantry. I swapped white whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour in the original recipe, and upped the amount of powdered ginger because I love it. Though somewhat more dense thanks to the whole grain flour, these waffles still have the cake-like quality of gingerbread and, topped with ginger ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt, would make a great dessert for kids or grown-ups. If you're having a party, cook a batch of waffles ahead, and refrigerate or freeze them; then, to serve, simply pop them in the toaster. One waffle per person will be perfect at the end of the meal. Our grandson might just manage two for breakfast.

Recipe for breakfast quesadilla with smoked salmon and brie

My maternal grandma, the one who taught me to make brisket and applesauce, lived the last years of her life in the Cardozo Hotel in Miami Beach, long before Gloria Estefan bought it, long before nightclubs, long before South Beach became... well, South Beach. In those days, the area was a magnet for snowbirds from New York, many of Eastern European background, who would come to Florida for the winter. A few blocks from the Cardozo, Wolfie's Delicatessen catered to the New Yorkers. The restaurant, which closed a decade ago, was kosher-style, not kosher, so while my grandmother didn't eat there, the rest of our family did. One of my favorite Wolfie's dishes, scrambled eggs with lox and onions, inspired this quesadilla with smoked salmon and brie, plus scallions and a little bit of creamed cheese. A cultural mash-up, somewhat like Miami itself, this is really a creamy and slightly salty frittata cloaked in a cheese quesadilla. Serve it with or without the tortilla and brie wrapping; it's perfect for brunch or a weekend lunch.

Chocolate chocolate chip waffles recipe

Chelsea, Alex and I dubbed these waffle brownies when we took our first bites during Wafflepalooza, and I promise that when you taste these chocolate chocolate chip waffles, you'll understand. I'm a coffee-with-waffles girl, as a rule, but these waffles beg for a glass of cold milk, just like the very best brownies. For all the chocolate chips and cocoa powder, the waffles aren't as dense as you'd expect. In fact, they're almost fluffy. In our house, these are "special occasion" breakfast waffles, the kind my husband Ted might make on Christmas morning. They also make a fine (and fun) dessert, with a drizzle of raspberry sauce on top. You can make them ahead, freeze in a single layer on a sheet pan, then pack into ziploc bags; to serve, simply pop them in the toaster.