I can trace the inspiration for these blueberry ricotta cornmeal pancakes back 25 years when I lived in Chicago and worked for food publicity maven Marian Tripp. She was well-known for creating fantastic publicity events that the food media actually wanted to attend. How? She insisted on spectacular venues and always had a great news [...]
September 1, 2010
August 25, 2010
A while ago I wrote the post Macaroni and Cheese Once and For All. Who was I kidding? I’m still futzing with the recipe. Now I’m streamlining it even more, using less white sauce and blowing off the breadcrumb or cracker crumb topping completely. And don’t be fooled by fancy mac and cheese recipes [...]
August 20, 2010
Some food trends startle me. Growing up in the 70s in cities without Mexican restaurants–Rochester, NY, and Richmond, VA, I was unprepared for the salsa uprising that eventually upstaged all-American ketchup. I also confidently and so wrongly predicted that sushi in the grocery store would bomb. Who would ever buy a plastic tray of California [...]
August 18, 2010
Sort of salad, sort of pasta It’s hot outside. Farm stand and homegrown tomatoes are at their peak and available everywhere. Here in Tennessee my basil is loving the humidity. Perfect conditions for a fresh tomato pasta. I rely on this recipe throughout tomato season for lots of reasons. It’s not served hot so the [...]
August 10, 2010
I like to think of recipe swapping as social research. What kinds of recipes do home cooks like to share? What makes a person say “hey, can I have the recipe?” Or even better, “have I told you about my favorite recipe, you’ve got to try this, it’s so easy.” For example, think of the [...]
August 4, 2010
I’ve noticed that folks are often reluctant to generously sweeten the fresh fruit for shortcake. Me included, but I’m over it. There’s nothing shameful about adding sugar to fresh fruit. In fact, it’s necessary for great shortcake. Sweetening the fruit brings out the flavor and creates the heady syrup that ties the three components–fresh fruit, [...]
July 19, 2010
Last summer at the Hobin family reunion in East Greenwich, RI, we watched a New England Irish-Italian family really work out the food. The array of side dishes and platters of salads and seafood and very not-Nashville delights was stunning. As you might expect from a clan of well-heeled partiers, the Hobins had reunion operations [...]
July 13, 2010
My college buddy Philip and I have been cooking together and talking about cooking for 30 years. He’s an inventive cook, always open to new ingredients and techniques, but with one foot firmly planted in his native Boones Mills, VA, soil. He never was an ingredient snob. Ever since I’ve known him, Philip has been [...]
June 29, 2010
What are you doing with your local fresh eggs? We’re serving them over all kinds of vegetables.
Get tips for making perfect skillet cornbread. It's the only bread to serve with summer fresh vegetable suppers. 
