Options for non-drinkers at parties can be pretty bleak -- best case scenario is usually cranberry juice, and if you're lucky, some grapefruit juice to mix with it. To my knowledge a bottle of Canada Dry has never generated much excitement. I'm a big proponent of mocktails. Every time I whip up a batch of homemade ginger … [Read more...]
TARTLETTES AVEC PISTACHE ET CARAMEL A LA ANTONIN CAREME
This recipe had a starring role at the Kitchen of the Year in Rockefeller Center this summer! Click for video. For a real mind-blowing read don't miss Cooking for Kings: Antonin Carême, The Life of the First Celebrity Chef by Ian Kelly. It takes you on a mind-blowing journey back in time to the dizzying heights of extraordinary cuisine of the early 19th … [Read more...]
SMITH ISLAND CAKE: 12 LAYER CHCOLATE CAKE RECIPE
Much as we love it, The New York Times food section is not infrequently guilty of intentionally provocative "You'll never believe this...." stories, such as this seemingly improbable Smith Island Cake recipe. Sure, in their quest to track trends and break news from the frontlines of gastronomic innovation they're to bound to … [Read more...]
ESCABECHE: OUR ORIGINAL GOURMET RECIPE
Escabeche was in Mom's repertoire, not too surprising as she was a adventuress in the kitchen, breaking free of the constraints of her traditional Irish-American upbringing. Grandma Marie was the master of conservative cooking. I don't think she really enjoyed it. Golf, bowling, bridge and penny poker were more up her alley and she had the trophies to … [Read more...]
SHRIMP AND SCALLOPS WITH MAYONNAISE VERTE
Now that summer is really, truly here, I find fish dishes highly appealing, like this recipe for shrimp and scallops with green mayonnaise. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy fish year-round, but out on the east end of Long Island come June all things aquatic take over the collective consciousness. I get the rod and reel out a couple of times each … [Read more...]
MACHACA CON HUEVOS — MEXICAN ORIGINAL GOURMET RECIPE
Machaca is a Mexican original gourmet recipe that rarely shows up on menus here in los Estados Unidos. While Menudo (tripe soup) is widely touted as the perfect morning-after cure-all, when I was down in sunny Mexico, doing that show with Super Olga, rough mornings called for Machaca con Huevos. Back in the … [Read more...]
DINGLE PIE (SPICED LAMB PIE)
Heaven knows there's no paucity of sons and daughters or Eire in America and celebrating March 17th is a highlight of our calendar. The spirit of fun and pride is contagious, though oftentimes of borderline taste, e.g. shamrock painted faces, green hair, assorted crimes of fashion and please, that green river in … [Read more...]
BOEUF BOURGUIGNON: UNDER PRESSURE
Growing up we took Mom's cooking for granted. Three squares a day -- hot breakfasts, bagged lunches, afternoon snacks. The whole family sat down to dinner six nights a week, always a complete salad-meat-starch-veg-dessert menu. Saturdays were special with casual fare like "make your own taco night" or homemade pizza, plus we … [Read more...]
SHOCKING PINK PASTA
Between the name and the photo you get the idea. Make no mistake, startling yes, yet indeed delicious. And why not? Your best Parmesan, cream, good chicken broth, a little crunch of bell peppers coating al dente pasta. The earthy sweetness and brilliant color of roasted beets is the not-so-secret ingredient that makes this … [Read more...]
THE LOST VREELAND MEMOS
Legendary Harper's Bazaar editor Diana Vreeland is famous for her "Why Don't You..." suggestions -- surprising, oftentimes outlandish but ever the epitome of haute chic. Not limited to fashion, her sage ideas ranged from child rearing ("wash your children's hair in dead Champagne to keep its gold, as they do in France?), … [Read more...]