Christine writes, “I’m looking for the recipe for the Amazing Peanut Butter Pie that Marla used in her peanut butter class. I have lost mine.” On a snow day, this dessert can be made with pantry items. Pastry chef Marla Scissors (who passed away from ALS in 2008) demonstrated many wonderful dessert recipes in her […]

At 5 degrees outside (and a balmy 59 degrees in my bedroom), I long for soup. Rather than venture outside, I’m using the vegetables I have on hand (butternut squash in the drawer, broccoli in the fridge, peas in the freezer, or canned tomatoes in the pantry). This generic soup recipe illustrates the seven steps to superior […]

The worst part about New Year’s Day is the resolutions. People go on diets. They stop eating food that tastes good and try to eat food that tastes bad (so that they won’t eat too much of it). They say no when I offer tastes of delicious food. Every morsel of food that you put […]

I know, you think for New Year’s Eve that the combination should be lobster and champagne, but grapefruit pairs beautifully with lobster. In fact, lobster in grapefruit beurre blanc is Chef Bernard Pilon’s favorite dish (don’t miss his all-scallop class on January 23). By request, here is a fabulous menu for tomorrow night: rich and […]

Pull out all the stops for New Year’s Eve with this very elegant lamb dish. Saddle of lamb is the whole loin (which comes from the back of the lamb) — in other words, lamb loin chops that have not been cut up. In beef, this cut is the T-bone or porterhouse steak. Boning the whole loin […]

An elegant dish to serve for the holidays is duck. Since duck parts are not readily available, I have to buy whole ducks and bone them, which is actually an advantage, because one duck can make four dishes. Make duck stock (and then soup) with the bones. Make duck liver pate with the liver. Make duck confit with the […]

The number-one job for a blender is crushing ice to make smoothies, milkshakes, and other frozen concoctions. But most blenders cannot handle ice. And most kitchen electrics offer no more than a one-year warranty. Then there is the Vita-Mix, an extraordinary machine with a seven-year warranty. The two-horsepower motor can easily handle ice everyday. The […]

Are you a planner or are you a last-minute cook? Planners like slow-cookers because they know at breakfast what they are going to eat for tonight’s dinner. They probably also know what they are going to eat a week from tonight. I am not a planner. At 6 pm, I still don’t know what I […]

“Why would you use such a baby flame when I have a plumber’s torch in the garage?” “Because I don’t want to crack the antique crystal bowl with the blowtorch!” Leave the plumbing tools in the bathroom and put a culinary torch in your favorite cook’s stocking. It’s easy to handle, the flame is just the right […]

The turkey has landed! This 22-pound bird roasted for 3 hours (first hour at 400 degrees, then the next 2 hours at 325 degrees) to an internal temperature in the breast meat of 155 degrees. In answer to the yearly questions: No, I don’t brine (brining is only necessary if the bird is going to […]