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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Halloween is a holiday when imagination runs wild. Whether you are going to a party or a parade, this is the holiday to join the masquerade.

The possibilities are endless – you can present yourself as a superhero or a world leader, a puppy or a princess, a vampire or a bunny rabbit.Halloween treats are everywhere, free when you call out “Trick or Treat” at the home of a friendly neighbor.

Thoughts of Halloween disguises and Halloween treats got me to wondering. Could I disguise an often overlooked and sometimes disparaged vegetable, rich in vitamins and minerals and low in calories, in a Halloween treat?

I was thinking about parsnips. To be honest, I have never been a parsnip fan; I’ve cooked them, served them and composted them, generally in that order. My past attempts have been dry, woody, insipid or simply uninspiring.

Time to let my imagination run wild, time to dress up a parsnip as a sweet treat. Grated parsnip, combined with nuts, dried fruit, and sugar, held together with flour and egg, fluffed up with baking powder and oil, disguised in a silver fluted skirt – Say Boo! The costumed parsnip was on its way to the Halloween party. Here’s how I did it. … read more