Another day, another blizzard in Boston. Twelve to eighteen inches...yawn. Winds like a category 2 hurricane...is that all you've got?  Been there, done that, have the t-shirt. Just don't take my power, please!

If you haven't yet made your pre-blizzard run to the grocery store, pick up four granny smith apples, a package of high quality cheddar cheese (Cabot extra sharp comes pre-grated and it's perfect for this recipe) and four cups of chicken broth. Everything else you need, you almost certainly have in your pantry or refrigerator.

Once the snow starts to fly, you can make your delicious apple cheddar soup. Think of soup that tastes like a giant pot of cheese fondue only with the apples right in the soup! You don't have to go to the trouble of dipping them, just eat them up. Of course, this soup is best served with a fresh loaf of bread, so add that to your pre-blizzard shopping list too.

There is only one tricky part about the soup; one piece of special equipment that can make or break this recipe, and that is an immersion (or "stick") blender. If someone gave you this cool tool and you haven't yet taken it out of the box, go find that box now. Unpack it, click the top and bottom of the blender together, plug it in and you are ready to go. If you are using a regular blender to puree your soup, read the following carefully:

DO NOT FILL THE BLENDER MORE THAN HALFWAY FULL!!!!

I know that all caps may seem harsh, but this is important. We all like to save time, and we all think we are smarter than the instructions in the recipe. We think "my blender's lid won't fly off when I start it, spewing boiling hot soup to the farthest reaches of my kitchen." We think "If I fill it just a little bit more, it will only take two batches." We think, "I know how much my blender can hold."

Don't. Do. It.

When you turn on a blender full of hot soup, the process of pureeing releases a burst of hot steam which will propel the lid of a full (or more than 1/2 full) blender into the stratosphere, immediately followed by the blender's contents. Please, learn from my vast experience in this matter, and either use an immersion blender or fill your blender less than 1/2 full.

Scrubbing  your ceiling of hot, cheesy soup is no way to spend a blizzard. Trust me, I know.

Here is the recipe for Apple Cheddar Soup. Enjoy...and stay warm.

For a short video of a fabulous apple peeler, see my "Cool Tools" post here.

While glazing a torte can in no way be compared to ending Apartheid, I thought that Nelson Mandela's quote was quite apt in this instance.

At a recent class, we were so engaged in making and eating our delicious desserts and dessert sauces, we ran out of time to glaze one of the tortes, a chocolate torte made with almond flour.  So here, in 13 pictures, is how it works.

1.  Start with a fully-baked Queen of Sheeba torte (recipe coming here).

2.  Use your fingers to gently press down the edges of the torte (while it's still in the pan) so it's level across the top.

3.  Remove the outside of the springform pan. See how level it is?  Flip it over and peel off the waxed paper or parchment, and eat the crumbs from the paper.  Delicious!!

4.  Next make your glaze (recipe coming here). It shouldn't be hot, but do you see how liquid it is as it falls from the red spatula?

5.  Pour about 1/4 of the glaze onto your torte.

6 and 7. Use your spatula to spread the glaze all over the torte. It's not meant to look pretty, it just needs to seal in the crumbs. If you need more glaze, use a clean spoon to get it; be careful not to get crumbs in the glaze!  Once it's covered, pop it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the glaze set.

8, 9.  Transfer the torte to a wire rack using a large spatula or cake mover. You may need to re-heat your glaze in the microwave (15-30 seconds on 50% power) to make sure it's still nice and liquid (but not hot)

10. Now pour the glaze on the torte, tilting it carefully so the glaze covers the whole top and drips over the edges. Use a clean spatula to apply glaze to the sides as needed; spoon a bit of glaze onto the spatula and then smooth it over the sides, being careful not to touch the top and top edge.

11  When you are finished, it will look like this! You can't see the slightly imperfect sides, but that's OK - we will cover them with toasted almonds. Transfer your torte to your serving dish, using the same large spatula or cake mover that you used to put it on the rack. Use a slightly damp paper towel to remove any chocolate glaze that becomes smeared on the serving dish.

12.  Apply the toasted almonds. Clearly a job best done with two hands, not one hand while the other tries to take a picture. It took me 8 tries just to get this photo, you should see the others!

13. At last, your masterpiece is complete! Store it at room temperature or slightly cooler; if you place it in the refrigerator, the glaze may discolor upon returning to room temperature. Serve with berries or a fruit sauce.  

A 9" torte serves 12-16, and I'm sure every single one of them will enjoy it.