Category: Uncategorized
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Easy, cheesy!!!
Somewhat in contrast to the tart sweetness of the Nantucket Pie of a few days back is the warm comfort of another of my fall/winter favorites, cheese wafers. I say cheese wafers as if the plural applies only to the number of wafers made at any one time, but this recipe is so simple, and…
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Pie to die for!
As much as I like cranberries, and as much as I like pecans, I can’t believe that it took me until now to be introduced to Nantucket Pie. Thank you, Instagram!!! From all I can find, Nantucket Pie has been a thing in New England for ages. I had to research to learn that yes,…
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A side trip to Scotland!
I had every intention of continuing with my Sicilian culinary experiences and discoveries, but I sat down to watch the Great British Bake Off. My intention was to catch their 2025 New Years bake off, as those usually wrap in a single episode. Ever hear of Hogmanay? Well, neither had I. It’s the Scottish equivalent…
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Savoring Sicily
It’s no secret that The Chopping Block in Chicago is my favorite cooking school. A sponsored cultural and culinary adventure in Tuscany was swept aside by COVID; a similar opportunity in Sicily was a no-brainer, and something never to be forgotten. One of the things I like most about cooking is to challenge myself to…
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What would you change about modern society? A return to civility. For too long, now, people have sought to define society by what they can do, and in the process have lost all concept of what they should do. Yes, you can drop f-bombs, but should you? Yes, you can champion your right to act…
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Texas on my table!
When a neighbor blesses you with a cantaloupe, fresh from Pecos, Texas, the floodgates of memory and possibility open wide. I’m guessing it was in the 1960’s that my wife’s grandparents educated me to the sterling character of Pecos cantaloupes. I’ve always liked cantaloupe, and knowing the source of some of the best just added…
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Kitchen Alchemy
This post is for everyone who ever had, or wanted, a chemistry set. It’s not about turning lead into gold, but it is about turning raspberries into caviar, and other ‘magical’ transformations. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice can move over!!! Caviar: To be honest, what we’re talking about here isn’t the fish roe that started it all.…
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Having your cake…
Every so often I get on a cake kick, and I had some sliced almonds I needed to use, so… Back in the day, one of the features of Neiman-Marcus’ flagship location in downtown Dallas was its bakeshop, located on Commerce Street and accessed from the street, not through the store. It’s hard to imagine…
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Memories!
It’s a rather safe assumption, I feel, that all of us have memories associated with food, whether because of a relation to the preparer (mother, grandmother, the family grill-master, etc), an introduction to something new (or something you didn’t like or that made you sick, for that matter), or the situation in which it was…
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Flat as a pancake!
While writing this, I’m guessing that all of us, at some point, have had a craving for pancakes, many times tied to a fond memory. For me they are pretty much at the top of the “sometimes you just gotta” list of comfort foods. And while pancakes themselves aren’t noted for a lot of regional…
never 2 old 2 start cooking 