I broke my cardinal rule this holiday of keeping it simple, keeping it easy. I’d previously posted on this blog about my fabulously easy, simple and delicious buffet for twenty people on Christmas night. And it was until I listened to a foodie family member (a very good cook) tell me how easy her…
Carolyn See is one of my favorite writers. All her novels (The Handyman et al) and her best selling non-fiction book for writers, Making a Literary Life, plus her essays and book reviews, can make me laugh as well as move me to tears, often in the very same paragraph. When I emailed Carolyn and…
We all know red meat isn’t good for us so you won’t find many meat recipes on this blog. If you need to have red meat why fool around? Go grill yourself a steak or go out for a hamburger. (In one of her wonderful Home Cooking books, Laurie Colwin said never cook hamburgers at…
Every Christmas we give a small open house the evening of December 25th for about twenty friends who live close by. Dogs are invited too.The house is lit by candles and with the Christmas decorations up it’s a very pretty party. (If there’s one thing you should splurge on for parties or dinners, or for…
When my niece Elizabeth got married last summer on Islesboro off the coast of Maine, I discovered this recipe in the local paper. It sounded like the perfect dinner party dish – rather elegant and rich, and you could make it ahead of time, even the day before, and then just heat it in the…
When I read Phyllis Theroux’s wonderful memoir The Journal Keeper I became such a fan I got in touch with her. We discovered we had some mutual friends and began writing back and forth. When I got the idea for this blog I asked her for an easy recipe and she sent me “The Best Soup…
I was seven years old and my mother was taking a nap. I’d seen her bake cakes and I thought I’d give it a try and surprise her. I mixed flour and water to the consistency of batter (not realizing that butter, eggs and sugar etc. were involved) and then I turned on the gas…
Two months ago I didn’t even know what burrata was (mozzarella cheese filled with cream), and now it’s part of my favorite pasta dish. I found this recipe online at Williams Sonoma and my first attempt was not a success – it scored 3’s with my friends. But salt (I had forgotten it the…
I had this egg cheese soufflé at a brunch in Palos Verdes a long, very long, time ago, got the recipe (“It’s not a real soufflé you know,” said the hostess) and have been serving it ever since. It’s been so long that my friend Nicki swears she gave it to me, but the fact…
My friend Carol brought this to a dinner a few years ago and ever since it’s been my standard appetizer, especially for larger groups. You can make it a day ahead of time or the morning of your dinner. Don’t be alarmed if you use the canned salmon. It’ll have odd little bits…