Saturday is the last day of summer and we can break out thoughts of sweaters, and pumpkins and pie! One of my earliest memories is of the orchard near our town where my mother bought MacIntosh apples by the bushel. They were stored in the garage where their sweet scent greeted us on every trip. (The smell of an apple today sends me right back there.) Fresh apple cider was drunk by the gallon and extra stored in a large freezer in the basement. We ate applesauce and baked apples and, of course, there was pie. My mother’s pies were piled high with large pieces of apple which sank down ...
SALTIMBOCCA A LA MAISIE!
Just this past week my sister-in-law sent me an article about Grandmothers. Did you know that Human females are among the only animals on the planet who live for an extended period of time after their ability to reproduce has ended? And for this, humanity has reason to be hugely grateful to them. It seems that grandmothers, and their freedom to care for their daughters when their daughters become mothers, are in many ways responsible for the higher evolution of the human species. The gift of holding one’s tiny grandchild and sharing in the love of a family in the making needs to be ...
BLACKBERRY AND FIG LATE HARVEST QUICK BREAD
Before I get started with this recipe, two quick announcements: I will be returning to posting once a week for now but will go back to twice a week when we hit the holiday season in November. And Be sure and check out the details of my culinary trip to Tuscany next spring. I would love for you to join me! You can read about it here: Culinary trip to Tuscany On to my Quick Bread: Today is Labor Day: along with Memorial Day, it is one of Summer’s bookends. But while today is 85 degrees and sunny, I can see the end of the season in the soft golden light and hear it in the ...
JOIN ME IN DISCOVERING THE CULINARY TREASURES OF TUSCANY
I started my life overseas in Paris many years ago and, from the beginning, food and cooking was my way of exploring and learning about a country. This served me well as I moved back and forth across continents from France to Hong Kong to England and Singapore, stopping in many other places along the way. But while I have visited (and loved Italy) I never had a chance to really get to explore their wonderfully rich and varied cuisine as much as I would like to. So I am really excited about joining up with Access Culinary Trips and leading a small group (no more than 12 people) to the ...
FIG, GRAPE AND GOAT CHEESE TART WITH HONEY AND THYME
I moved to Paris in 1981. It was a time when people held dinner parties. We used the Limoges china we had received as a wedding present and pulled out the good silver. We had formal dining rooms, not kitchen/great rooms, and people dressed up. And that was just in New York City! The French elevated this to a whole other level. In Paris, every dinner would be four courses: the appetizer (entrée in French which makes so much more sense as a name for the first course, or entry, than for the main), the main course, the cheese course, and finally dessert. We learned at our first ...
SALAD: A MANIFESTO
How many times have you heard it said that “women have issues with food”? I am calling baloney on that one. Women do not have issues with food. They have issues with a culture that implies (and sometimes outright states) that you need to be thin to be loved. I am telling you right now, as someone who has maintained her weight within five pounds for her entire adult life, that it’s not how you look in that dress that makes his eyes shine, it’s you in that dress that he is seeing. And if he doesn’t love you, you could be Marilyn Monroe and he won’t notice. Eat well because you like the ...
THE PINK BRUNCH, PART 2: LOBSTER MAC AND CHEESE
I’ve never been a big fan of Lobster Mac and Cheese, mostly because I would rather just eat the lobster. On the other hand, I have never understood the absolutism of the “no cheese in a seafood dish” rule. I’ve watch Padma and Tom go nuts about this on Top Chef and it always seems like they have prejudged the dish based on the cheese and seafood combination. I have had many good dishes all around the world which pair the two successfully. So, if you are going to pair seafood with cheese, lobster mac and cheese would seem like a good way to go. When Abby suggested this dish for the baby ...
THE PINK BRUNCH, PART 1: WHOLE POACHED SALMON WITH LIME CILANTRO SAUCE
Emily is having a baby. My first granddaughter! And to celebrate, her sister, Abby, and I threw her a shower. Abby did the décor and I was in charge of the food of course. Emily is not the type to go for an overly “baby girl” themed party so we played down the pink in the décor. Instead we chose a woodland theme and I am so glad we did. Abby created a lovely centerpiece with flowers, birch bark vases and little moss animals. We draped the fireplace with a camellia leaf garland and spread some more flowers around the room. I know I signed on for the food but I couldn’t do ...
GAD ZUCCHS! PART THREE: CRANBERRY ZUCCHINI COOKIES
These are exciting times around here! My house is coming together before my eyes. I went to Chicago for five days and when I came back, the exterior was being painted, the bathroom tile was being installed, the built-in bookshelves were in place in the library and the fireplace mantel in the front parlour had been built. Now that I am back I need to make some choices. Yesterday was one of those days I really enjoy when building a house. I went to a reclaimed wood shop where I picked out a beautiful cedar plank to polish and use as a floating mantel over the ...
SUMMER FRESH TOMATO BASIL SAUCE
Here in Asheville people like to talk about living in the now but that’s pretty hard to do when merchants are always rushing the next season at us. It is the middle of summer and the food magazines at the check-out line are pushing cozy fall dishes. Meanwhile the reality is that your basil plants are getting leggy and woody and going to flower. Your two (or three) tomato plants have decided to ripen all of the tomatoes on the vine at the same time. And if your CSA basket holds one more onion you will have no place left in the bin to store them. Feels like the height of the growing season ...
