Over the transom came a recipe which I just had to try…because the first ingredient was a pound of butter. Reading further, the recipe instructs cooking the mushrooms for 6-8 hours in the said pound of butter. Wow. I did it and these mushrooms are indescribable. They are no mere fungi, but caramelized and intensely flavored. Want […]

On a snowy Sunday, the best thing to cook and eat in front of a blazing fire is caramelized popcorn. Cracker Jack was invented in 1871 and a customer gave it the slogan, “the more you eat, the more you want.” It’s true, you cannot stop eating salty-sweet popcorn. It is very worthwhile to pop […]

The most popular day of the year for a party is the first Saturday in December. Here are a few tips for successfully hosting a cocktail party: 1. Small, pre-cut morsels of easy-to-eat food are more popular than a hunk of cheese or meat that require the guests to cut and then place on a cracker. Great appetizers do not […]

Today we roasted our turkey in the Big Green Egg — a charcoal-fired ceramic oven that is big, green, and egg-shaped. I stuffed the turkey, placed it on a v-rack in an 18-inch round aluminum cake pan, which fit perfectly in the Egg. The inside temperature of the Egg is moderated by opening or closing […]

“Where’s the microwave? This chicken isn’t done!” I went over to help the lady who presented me with a beautiful chicken thigh — tender and succulent meat oozing with juice. There was the faintest trace of pink at the bone. Sigh. So many people are so scared of the horrors of undercooked chicken that they insist […]

It’s 6 pm and I’ve done nothing about dinner. My husband has a one-word answer: risotto. Twenty minutes later, dinner is served. Really. Risotto is our favorite fast-and-easy dinner. Sometimes we even serve it to guests, but it seems too simple. What’s the best aspect of risotto? Creaminess. It’s so creamy that I have serve it in a […]

I am not fickle over fickles; I absolutely love my new-found treat: a pickled fig. The fig season is just ending, but run to make these delectables. Why? Fickles are delicious on a roasted beet-poached egg salad or as a condiment with lamb, pork, or chicken or with any gooey cheese. I’m sure they would be fabulous […]

A longtime customer called to say, “It’s green tomato season and I can’t find your gratin of green tomato recipe. I love that dish and I really want to make it. Where is it?” Green tomatoes are not the first tomatoes of the season, but the last. The tomato plants have pooped out and the […]

Do we eat like this every night? I hope not. Tonight the kitchen gods fought me. We lit the charcoal … and thirty minutes later realized that the fire did not catch. I defrosted a wonderful dish … and discovered that freezing had destroyed the texture and made it inedible. In desparation to put some […]

In cooking class the other night, a student asked, “What should I wrap cheese in?” Being a smart-aleck, I responded, “cheesecloth!” “Will cheesecloth keep the cheese fresh for a longer time?” I don’t keep cheese in my refrigerator for a long time; I recommend buying and using it, not self-aging in your refrigerator. Use it […]