Beef, chicken and pork seem to have disappeared from my pantry. The market in Sicily is filled with fish, fruit, vegetables and cheese. There are stores that are more similar to American grocery stores where virtually everything is wrapped in plastic including cuts of beef, pork and chiken; but, none of it appeals to me.

The only role an animal has in my diet is to provide milk that is the decorative element that tops  my cappuccino.

Or the liquid that is magically transformed into an extraordinary variety of fresh and aged cheeses.

I remembered hearing about using ricotta to make a cheese burger and so decided to give it a try.  It was quite simple to do. I put the usual burger toppers, lettuce and tomato, under it  added a few olives, and skipped the sesame seed roll and mayo.  Here’s how I did it: … read more

Honey in the morning, honey in the evening. Honey is a staple in my Sicilian kitchen.  I drizzled this light, delicately scented gift from the bees onto rustic breakfast sandwiches.

Assembly was a breeze – toasted crusty ciabatta bread + a layer of marscapone + strawberry slices + honey = sticky fingers and a delicious way to start the day.

For a simple salad to accompany pasta minted carrot salad was a perfect contrast. I put it together before I began to cook the pasta so that the dressing would wilt the carrots a bit. Here’s how I did it: … read more

My mother had a creative approach to language.  In her alphabet, the sequence was – l,m,n,o,p,q, U because “ q is always followed by u”.  She called guacamole Glocca Morra because she knew that Glocca Morra had something to do with Ireland – mashed avocados were green – green was the color of Ireland. Perfect logic!

On New Year’s Day she always served what she called “la Strada” – an Italian specialty that she thought was named in honor of the Federico Fellini film of the same name.   She had the Italian part right but actually it’s called strata because this mock soufflé is made up of layers of bread, cheese, vegetables, and meat. Even though she had the name wrong, the recipe was right and  I think of her whenever I make it.

Cheese Strata is a friendly and flexible recipe.  I modify it depending on the contents of my fridge, the pantry and the preferences of my guests.  It can be a cheese, cheese and vegetable, or a Fellinesque extravaganza. Since it must be put together at least twelve hours before being served, it is the perfect centerpiece for a holiday brunch whether or not it follows a holiday eve of merry making. Here’s how my mother made it:

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Last December, after I had mailed out the final gift boxes of cookies to friends, I realized that I had forgotten to save cookies to serve to Christmas Eve visitors and any of Santa’s helpers who might stop by.

Out of time, frosting and cookie-baking energy, I wondered if the adage, “less is more” was true and then I remembered my breakfast in bed at the Colony Club twenty years earlier.

The Colony Club, established in 1902, was the first social club for women in New York City. It is an elegant and very private club with members whose last names range from Astor to Whitney. I spent a weekend there as the guest of my friend Jean. She was my guide in the culinary world and to the rarified dining of the Colony Club. As we planned my trip to New York, she took me under her wing and insisted that my day begin with “perfect Colony Club cinnamon toast” served on a tray in my bedroom. Perfect cinnamon toast? I had my doubts but Jean was a Manhattan matron with a sophisticated palate who was not to be denied. She ordered my breakfast, it was perfect and I’ve never thought of cinnamon toast in the same way since. Inspired by that memory I decided that Colony Club Cinnamon toast would be perfect Christmas Eve treat. Here’s how I made it: … read more

This time of the year my kitchen is a workshop for making Christmas gifts.

Lemons are sunny, versatile fruit that can be used to create sweet and savory treats. Blueberry lemon marmalade is the first of three lemon gifts from my holiday the kitchen.

I made this marmalade for Jeanine, a baker – friend, who will appreciate this delicately tinted pink topper for her homemade scones. Here’s how I made it: … read more

Lynda came yesterday afternoon so that we could hear Judith Jones speak about her new book in Norwich, Vermont.

Judith Jones was Julia Childs’ editor and she was talking about her new book, The Pleasures of Cooking for One. I enjoyed her earlier book, The Tenth Muse and look forward to learning from her new book.

I was delighted that Lynda spent the night and that we had time to play today before she returned to her home and husband in the Northeast Kingdom. Breakfast this morning was simple, we sat in the sun and had pears and clementines, tea, English muffins, homemade marmalade and fig jam.

I made the English muffins yesterday afternoon while Lynda was traveling on the interstate. Like so many other things, homemade English muffins are so much better when you can pronounce all the ingredients used to make them and count the ingredients on one hand and a finger if you count water.

Here’s how I did it:

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