Aleksandra Crapanzano

A James Beard-winning writer and dessert columnist for The Wall Street Journal shares the secrets of Parisian home baking and provides recipes for simple yogurt cakes, bûches de Noël, nut tortes, yuzu madeleines, and rum-soaked babas. When we think of French desserts, we tend to imagine ornate creations and confections. Perhaps we envision a tarte Tatin, but rarely a homemade cake, whipped up on a weeknight with little fuss. But that is exactly...

Once considered a culinary wasteland, Los Angeles is now one of the most exciting food cities in the world. Like the multi-faceted, sprawling city itself, the food of Los Angeles is utterly its own, an amalgam of international influence, disposable income, glamour, competition, immigrant vitality, health consciousness, purity, and beach-loving, laid back, hip, unrestrained creativity. With 100 recipes pulled from the city's best restaurants but retooled...