Note: I am well aware it is September. I started this in the beginning of August only to find my life delightfully interrupted by the birth of my fifth grandchild. Meet Mia Jayne Adams! She is definitely a priority so the post is late being finished but the message is still good--as is this Easy Zucchini Tart! What can I say about August? Growing up, it was the month of vacation for my family before the start of the school year in September. We piled into the family car and drove the long road from Connecticut to the barrier beaches of North Carolina, stopping along the way at ...
Main Courses
RED WINE BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS
Beef Short Ribs braised in red wine produce a warming meal full of flavor with a hearty gravy to pour over mashed potatoes or pasta. At this time of year, everyone is focused on turkey and sides and pie. Sometimes we forget the other meals! One of my favorites things to do is make the first meal for when family arrives. If I am lucky it happens on Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving but even if it is Wednesday night it is just as special as Thanksgiving to me. It needs to be a meal that says home. Something warm and hearty. Definitely NOT poultry. And importantly it needs to be ...
FOR THE LOVE OF PIE: TOMATO AND CORN PIE
“You’ve never had a tomato and corn pie?” I said, barely able to keep the amazement out of my voice. “No” said my tomato-loving Southern Husband. How was this possible? I never had a tomato pie before I moved South. However, by now, I have had many and made many more. How did this happen? It needed to be fixed. So, I threw the whole pie at him: fresh tomatoes and corn in a pimento cheese filling. And bacon, just because. The thing I love about tomato and corn pie, you can be as purist as you want or take the easy shortcuts. It’s always good. Start with the pie crust. You can ...
WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS? STUFFED ROUND ZUCCHINI SQUASH!
I picked up my first CSA box (Community Supported Agriculture—it’s a farm share) yesterday from Bush-n-Vine, a nearby farm. It was a good one: early tomatoes, some sweet late strawberries, lettuce, Swiss chard, and these guys. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what they were at first, but it turns out they are round zucchini. Who knew such a thing even existed? And that’s all they are: round zucchini. No unusual flavor, nothing different except the shape, and the shape is so much fun. These little guys were begging to be hollowed out and stuffed. Which is what I did. I ...
MY FOOD CHALLENGE
I went to the grocery store today and it was boring. Same old, same old doesn’t begin to say it. The fruits and vegetable aisle looks so inviting with its bright reds, greens, oranges and yellows. But once you start to walk down the aisle you will notice that there isn’t a lot of variety. Sure you can get carrots five different ways: organic, regular, mini-carrots, unpackaged with greens on, and topped and bagged (5 and 20 pound bags). And there is a small display of “tropical fruits”. But even that suffers from a steady diet of mangoes and passion fruit! To be fair, I am a part of ...
MAHI MAHI IN PICCATA SAUCE
Did you know that there are more than 27,000 varieties of fish of which approximately 12 are sold in American Supermarkets? And at any given time, at least four of those will probably be salmon! You can break the fish down into two basic categories: flat fish (like flounder, sole and halibut) and round fish (think salmon and tuna) Within the categories of shape, you can further break the fish down into flavor. Lean white fish have a delicate flavor and “oily” fish have a richer, more distinct, taste. That’s all you really need to know to get started cooking fish. And one of the ...
CHICKEN AND FIGS: WELCOME BACK TO THE 1980’S
In the 1980's Chicken Marbella was all the rage. Here is a 2022 version, quicker, easier and lighter! It’s 1982. I live in a two-bedroom apartment on the Seine with a view of the Eiffel Tower. At night the Bateaux Mouche (riverboats) light up the ceiling of my bedroom as they pass slowly down the river, wowing the tourists with highlighted Belle Epoque architecture. I shop in the outdoor market on the Rue de Passy, where there is a bakery filled with baguettes and croissants for our morning treats. You would think I would be knee deep in French cooking. And I was, except just then I ...
COOKING ON THE FLY: TOMATO AND ZUCCHINI GALETTE
Tomato and Zucchin Galette in its simplest version: commercial pie crust and a few ingredients from your pantry come together to create a rustic pie rich in the flavors of summer. I’ve been busy. I am not kidding about that. In the space of one month Rick and I are selling a house, buying a house, finishing building a house and renting a house. It wasn’t meant to happen this way. These things were not supposed to all come together at the same time. Because they have, life has been a mad dash to get everything ready. We have been masters at planning: our days are scripted, our ...
THE BEST STRAWBERRY PANCAKE I EVER MADE
What makes a pancake a pancake? Is it how it is cooked? The ingredients? When you eat it? Does it matter? This delicious “pancake” may or may not meet the common definition of a pancake, but it will knock your socks off for its delicious strawberry filled flavor, the slightly crunchy top, and the soft, pillowy interior. As a former Bed & Breakfast owner, I have cooked a lot of breakfasts in my life but it’s been a while since I made a dish that got the reception this one did at our Easter Brunch. And since I told you I would share any recipe I thought worth your time, I could ...
MUSHROOM BOLOGNESE SAUCE — BROWN FOOD TASTES GOOD
Mushrooms, carrots and onions come together in a delicious vegetarian Mushroom Bolognese Sauce which proves the saying that "Brown food tastes good." It just doesn't photograph well! I watch a lot of cooking shows and one of my favorites is “The Worst Cooks In America”. In this show Chef Anne Burrell takes a group of people, who hide their feelings about not being able to cook behind jokes and ridiculous (sometimes outrageous) behavior, and she turns them into decent home chefs. As their cooking gets better, they drop a lot of the façade and become increasing involved in learning a craft. I ...
