Just a quick note to let you know we're updating! If you're not on the list, you can join here. Plus, watch for a shop preview back here on Monday, Tuesday.         Plus, you may have noticed my absence here lately. I miss you guys! How are things? All is good on my end. We've been working on some exciting projects going some exciting places and making plans for the coming year.     A bit of what's happening now: #1: HG has a new home! #2: we're getting ready for the holidays #3: and Michael and I have been doing some really fun work, find some of it, here.   chat soon xo, n         PS: -the Pecan & Chocolate Tart is from our Thanksgiving story for Bon Appétit -the second Michael took at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn -the third is from Bellwoods Brewery -and the fourth is from The Black Hoof -both were shot for our Toronto Navigator Story, also for Bon Appétit     850 park avenue these shoes this piece of fluorite this necklace photos in this post: michael graydon + nikole herriott (that's me!) this scarf is so nice in person this song this lunch pail these caramels look cute this bracelet prop + food styling for the first shot: beverly hyde & rebecca jurkevich  

  I spent a few weeks in Italy recently. It was, as I imagined it would be, glorious. Really and truly.   I ate some of the best food of my life, shopped at some of the most beautiful markets around and spent a good lot of time doing a good lot of nothing with some of the best people I know. I wish I could go back next week.   But since I can't, I thought today I'd talk a little about plums.     Surprisingly, to me at least, we arrived right in the midst of Italy's plum season. The varieties we found were mostly small. Tiny fruit with tiny pits. Jewel red, deep violet and creamy golden yellow. And really, really delicious.     So while back here in chilly Toronto it's not at all the season for plums, for me, it's kinda perfectly timed anyway.     ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹ FOR THE LOVE OF PIE — a series that celebrates the simple things. Today, Nicole & Camille's Plum Tart!   I came to know of Nicole's work via twitter I think. Her drive and passion for photography is unmistakable, memorable even.   I'd known of Camille's work just a little before I think. I remember her collaborations with Karen over at Sunday Suppers, but I'd never worked with her in person. And while I still haven't had the pleasure, I was happy when Nicole suggested they work together.   So then, with no further ado, Nicole and Camille's pretty Plum Tart. Find the recipe and a little more about the two of them below. xo, n     PS: Photos by Nicole Franzen, recipe and food styling by Camille Becerra. Thanks ladies! PPS: If you're celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I think this pie may just be perfect!   WHO? Nicole Franzen & Camille Becerra WHAT? Plum Tart WHERE? Brooklyn, New York     WHY? Plums are one of my favorite summer fruits. A pie seemed like the perfect vessel to hold its juicy ripe decadence. The cornmeal crust recipe is from the Italian baker Carol Field and gives the tart enough structure to hold the saucy plum sauce filling. The balsamic syrup lends a rich finish.    BEST SERVED WITH? Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.   ONE OR TWO THINGS Nicole - gardening, interior design & cooking Camille - hot dogs in the summer and caviar in the winter.     PLUM TART by Camille Becerra CORNMEAL CRUST by Carol Fields 1 ½ stick butter ¾ cup sugar 3 egg yolk 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup yellow cornmeal, fine grind ¾  tsp salt ½ tsp vanilla extract   FILLING 3 pounds plums, seeded and sliced 4 tablespoons flour 4 tablespoons white sugar   BALSAMIC SYRUP ½  cup sugar 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar     METHOD Cream butter and sugar together.  Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing in thoroughly before adding the next. Sift flour, cornmeal and salt together and add to mixture.  Finish with vanilla. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Flour dough generously and roll out in between two pieces of parchment or wax paper. Meanwhile while thats chilling, in a small heavy bottomed saucepan mix sugar with a couple tablespoons of water.  On medium to high heat allow the sugar to melt and caramelize till amber. Remove the caramel from fire and immediately add the vinegar a teaspoon at a time, being very careful with the natural splattering that occurs. As the sugar cools you can add vinegar in a steady stream.  Return to fire and allow to reduce till syrupy. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dust tart shell with cornmeal and roll dough onto it. Toss plums with sugar and flour. Arrange the plums into the dough shell.  Place pie on a cookie sheet in the event the plum juices bubble over.  Bake for 35 minutes, remove from oven and brush over the balsamic syrup. Place in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.  

    I know it's not really the season for corn. That the days of butter and salt and kernels from the cob have passed with summer picnics and popsicles from the store. But I'm making it anyway.   Back in July, The Globe & Mail, Canada's newspaper of record, asked me to work on a story about Herriott Grace. It was meant to be a tale about friendship and food and early fall entertaining. A story about what kind of meal I might like to make and share with friends. It was fun.   Lucky for me, two of my favourite people Tara O'Brady and Michael Graydon agreed to join me in the task and we got to working on the perfect harvest meal, smack in the middle of summer.   The recipe here is one of the five that Tara and I came up with. Well she came up with the recipes really, I more chatted endlessly about the food I love, a passtime that she and I have in common. But Tara really is, the one that made it happen. Thanks, T. It was delicious.     Here's what our menu looked like: SANTA CLAUS MELON AND ARUGULA SALAD BRINED PORK CHOPS WITH CIDER PAN SAUCE AND FRIED CAPERS FRESH CORN SAUTÉ WITH FENNEL AND CORIANDER (find the recipe below) BLANCHED BRUSSELS SPROUT LEAVES WITH TOASTED HAZELNUTS ICE WINE GELÉE WITH PLUMS AND YOGURT MOUSSE (find the recipe here!)  

xo, n         these cupcakes are pretty i shared this photo on instagram, but here it is again. adorable new work in bon appétit magazine (and here) these shorts these pants these shoes this skirt this tote this post in this post: photos: michael graydon styling: nikole herriott food: tara o'brady large and small plates: mjölk egg coddlers (glass jars): herriott grace

We're updating! Watch for new items today at 6pm EDT. xo, n                      

I think today is the perfect day to bid one last farewell to the fondest season of all. A farewell to long summer days and dinners outside. To late night swims and marshmallows by the fire. To fishing trips, summer markets and lazy afternoons. A farewell made up of chocolate chip mint and handmade cones. And drum roll please, our new ice cream cone rollers! xo, n     HANDMADE ICE CREAM CONES 2 (60g) egg whites, room temperature 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (60g) icing sugar 15 grams granulated sugar 1 teaspoon (5g) pure vanilla extract 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (42g) all purpose flour, sifted a pinch of salt 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted unsalted butter for greasing the iron   In a medium bowl whisk together both types of sugar. Add the whites and whip until the mixture is frothy and ribbons begin to appear. Add the vanilla. Whisk in flour and salt and beat until well combined. Stir in the butter. Bake in a prepared and preheated waffle iron made especially for cones until golden. (As a general rule I bake 1 tablespoon of batter for 1 minute and 25 seconds on setting 5, but your machine may have different settings.) Repeat, greasing your iron as you go. Roll each waffle immediamtely after it comes off the machine (small cotton or latex gloves are helpful here). I like to leave a little space at the top of each roller but practice to get a shape you love, I think that's the fun part! You'll notice in these photos that I fold the bottom of my cones, but this is not necessary, it's simply an aesthitic choice. If you'd like them more traditional just skip folding them and pinch the bottoms into a clean point.   + For those looking for a more traditional size we'll be adding a larger roller size to the shop in the next while. And we're updating, watch for new items on Monday September 24th at 6pm EDT. Join the list here.   + Photos: Michael Graydon Styling: Nikole Herriott (that's me!) And the BEAUTIFUL letters: Sarah Foote