food . . . friendship . . . inspiration
You better like pumpkin or you’re in big trouble. Pumpkin is everywhere! Cereal, cookies, cakes, breads, muffins, breakfast treats, ice-cream, Oreos — It’s the flavor of the year! Maybe even the flavor of the century! It seems like there’s been a pumpkin explosion in the aisles of every grocery store, from Whole Foods to Stop & Shop to Shoprite to Acme.
With a reprieve from the summer heat, I welcome the fall season with open arms. It’s apple picking season! For some reason, I never get tired of walking through the apple orchards with my kids, finding trees chock-full apples is like looking for the next clue in a scavenger hunt.
Sometimes something from the past deserves a reinvention for a new time. Take this vintage cone sieve with wood masher which finishes your tomato sauce better than any sieve with a hand crank. I used it this afternoon to get the most puree out of the remaining seeds and skins which were leftover from my blanched tomatoes which has been seeded and skinned.
These two bite Gefilte fish appetizers are the perfect way to serve this classic food at your Passover dinner. Served with a tangy horseradish sauce, you might not even have any leftovers!
I scored a first edition 1950 copy of a Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook at an estate sale last Friday and I am having a hard time containing my excitement. I think this beautiful red binder is going to alter my life in some way (not sure yet how) and that’s why I love estate sales so much. You never know what you’ll find and how your life will be affected by someone else who lived before you.
Reminiscent of old fashioned jelly filled donuts, cake flour makes these muffins light and airy. The cranberry sauce is a tart surprise with every bite of these sweet treats. They are a terrific way to use up your leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving.
These fresh salmon cakes served with Chipotle Lime mayonnaise are packed with spices, peppers and scallions which give them plenty of zing. Trust me, they will hit just the spot. Plus they freeze exceptionally well and can be pulled out for individual meals throughout the busy work days. Make them dinner sized or two bite sized and serve as a party appetizer.
A layer of buttered pecans, Dulce de Leche and dark chocolate set in heart shape molds are topped with just a hint of sea salt for a sophisticated take on the classic chocolate caramel turtle.
I am determined to make him the best care packages, filled with homemade treats to share with roommates and floor mates. It is with each loaf of chocolate chip banana bread, dozen of cookies and batch of granola which will continue to connect me to my far away son.
Upon my return from the Algarve, I’ve felt myself in a race against time. As the farms abound with my favorite ingredients — corn, zucchini, beets and tomatoes — I’m hustling to create as much as I can. Needless to say, my freezer is stuffed with farm fresh everything, from gazpacho and blueberry muffins to…
As I assembled a platter of fresh figs, sliced goat cheese, Algarve honey and chopped mint, breezes wafted through the open window blanketing and infusing my dish with mysterious flavors. Sadly, that air, which magically waves it’s flavor wand on my food, cannot be bottled and brought back to the states like the Piri Piri oil which I was able to carry home. (What I’m trying to say is that food just tastes better there!) But I will share this dish with you, knowing that the taste will certainly please your palate, but to me it’s missing something. One ingredient which makes it sensational and cannot be replaced — the Algarve air.
Upon my return from vacation, I was greeted by an overgrown garden with one extraordinarily large, on steroids-like, zucchini. I wasn’t functioning too well the first day feeling the jet lag pretty strongly and having already had a few mishaps in the kitchen like nicking my finger on the mandoline, I waited until day two at home to put this massive zucchini to use. And what better way than to make 12 mini loaves of two kinds of zucchini bread?
When I think about my vacation kitchen, far away across the Atlantic Ocean, I think not just of the foods I’ve made for more than two decades with and for my family, but what it is that I will make that’s new this year. My vacation kitchen is in the Algarve region of Portugal, surrounded by fig, orange and olive trees and wild herbs like sage and rosemary. Just inhaling the air is tantalizing and inspirational.
I’ve hired a caterer for my son’s graduation party and it’s me. Whether it’s with a friend or solo, I’ve been cooking and freezing for the last few weeks getting ready for his high school graduation party.
Seven Spoons By, Tara O'Brady Maybe it was the cover of this delightful and delectable new book which lured me at first glance. Perhaps it was the freshly sliced figs which caught my attention and brought me back to lazy days filled with figs ...
Flour + Water By, Thomas McNaughton Finally a book from San Franciso's very popular restaurant Flour + Water. And it comes just in time for some cool weather cooking and in my house that means lots of pasta! This new cookbook inspires home ...
French Roots By, Jean-Pierre Moulle & Denise Lurton Moulle This lovely new cookbook captures the country lives of a couple defined and enriched by local and regional food. The book eloquently merges the old French rural way of cooking with the ...