Flaherty Wines

Chestnuts are pretty popular in Chile. They are always available in the supermarkets in the fall and winter, though quite frankly I’m not sure how ordinary households prepare them. I have purchased the fresh nuts on several occasions, and each time I think, never again. They are just so hard to peel! Luckily for this [...]

Not only is it summer in Chile, but Ben had his tonsils out in late January. That adds up to a lot of ice cream in the Flaherty household over the past few weeks. This combination of chocolate and raspberry was Ben’s idea. We have (literally) kilos of fresh raspberries right now, but frozen would [...]

I love cooking with herbs, and lavender is one of my favorites to use in desserts. For instance, lavender shortbread is elegant alongside summer fruit for a light dessert. Another, richer option is to infuse cream with lavender to make ice cream or custard. Adding a few slices of ginger to the infusion helps to [...]

The boys and I have been on a quest for the perfect coconut ice cream. We tried recipes from Ben and Jerry (too sweet, too much base), David Liebovitz (toasting the coconut was interesting, but it didn’t give us the rich coconut flavor we were after), and Chanterelle/Kate Zuckerman (just weird with the sour cream). [...]

One thing that took some getting used to is celebrating Christmas in summer. It just isn’t the same–and for years I would get homesick in June, when I wanted to see Christmas lights to brighten the oncoming winter. We’ve gotten used to celebrating despite the weather, but our family traditions are, well, a little untraditional.  [...]