As I mentioned before on this blog I once owned a microwave oven that had a Seafood button on it – and the simplicity of that combined with a divine bottled sauce from Trader Joe’s made cooking salmon simple and good. (Okay, so certain family members referred to it as “that microwaved fish Mom makes”…
Dinners
Dinners, Parties
Fourth of July Lasagna
Dinners
A Poet’s Recipe: Shrimp Barka
If you watched Obama’s first inauguration you saw the beautiful Elizabeth Alexander read her inauguration poem, “Praise Song for the Day”, a poem I love so much that I’ve been reading it to my students ever since. (Google it and see for yourself.) Below is not a poem but a recipe from her memoir, The Light…
Dinners
A Movable Feast: the gift of food
Dinners
Chef’s One Pot Chicken
Dinners, Skillet Suppers
A Cozy Shrimp Saganaki Supper for Your Best Friends
The reason this Greek dish is cozy and intended for your best friends is because you place the skillet of shrimp, tomatoes, onions, olives and feta right on the table to serve and then everybody dips their bread in the communal leftover sauce. Delicious (everyone who had it gave it a 5) and very easy,…
Dinners
Dinner Party Chicken with Mushrooms and Artichokes
Dinners
Beatrice’s Brazilian Stew: Warmth for Cold Nights
This is delicious – a fish stew flavored with cilantro, lime, red pepper and garlic that tastes very rich but mainly is just vegetables and fish. My friend Beatrice served it at an elegant little dinner party (with bread and salad), but it also works for a very casual evening with hungry friends helping themselves…
Dinners
Sudden Supper: One Pot Pasta
Dinner Disasters
The Orange Dinner
Dinners
Smoked White Fish with Friends
Dinners
A Guy Dinner: Meat and Potatoes for R’s Birthday
For my husband’s birthday, two days after Christmas, we had another dinner party. A very easy one, with red meat included because that’s what he wanted, and also carrots which he loves and I’d never cooked before. In spite of my oh-my-God-I-don’t-want-to-overcook-this-beef panic and the carrots, it turned into a very simple dinner. Here’s the…
Dinners
Mashed Potatoes That Will Save Your Sanity
I don’t mean to be overly dramatic but it’s true. This recipe can help you avoid going crazy in the kitchen while cooking big holiday dinners. When I prepared my first Thanksgiving dinner years ago, mashing potatoes at the last minute gave me a full blown panic attack. How are you supposed to mash potatoes…
Dinners
Carolyn See’s Perfect Chickens
Dinners
Aunt Susan’s All Day Stew
Dinners
Islesboro Seafood Bake
Dinners
Pasta with Tomatoes, Arugula and Burrata
Dinners
Writer’s Chicken
The other day, in a discussion about this blog, my granddaughter Emma said, “Mom told me that when she was growing up you only knew how to cook five things.” Well, yes, actually this is more or less true. I cooked pasta (but many varieties!), soup (again, many different kinds!),Thanksgiving dinner (surprisingly I’m very good…