My son turned four recently and since the chosen theme was “robot,” we were busy coming up with a good way to design the cake. I love playing with cakes and gingerbread houses. We’ve done a stripped-down gingerbread Guggenheim, a … Continue reading
New Bedford’s Gourmet Wonderland
If you’ve ever found yourself in a restaurant-rich neighborhood in Boston—the South End, say, or Beacon Hill—chances are you’ve seen a white Sid Wainer truck making a produce or specialty foods delivery to the back door of some bistro or … Continue reading
Spring in the Vineyard
I drove down to Westport, Massachusetts today to visit with Bill Russell at Westport Rivers Winery for an upcoming Yankee story. We’ve just awarded them a “Best of New England” award for their wine tastings and I’m a big fan … Continue reading
Zucchini Pancakes
We continue to plug away at recipe testing for this year’s Yankee Cookbook, whose theme is “lost and vintage” recipes. Today’s test was for a dish that I already plan to put into regular rotation: zucchini pancakes. This is my … Continue reading
A Big Night in the Big Apple
Not to sound too provincial, but when something really big and exciting happens to you in New York, the significance and excitement seem magnified by a thousand. On Monday night, my book, The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, won big: an award … Continue reading
Stalking the Roxbury Russet, finding the Bartlett Pear
Today I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of sophomores at the John O’Bryant school in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. Their teacher, Ian Doreian, contacted me several weeks back to say that his students were going to do a … Continue reading
Revisiting the Connecticut Dairy Bar and Farm Diner
I was in my hometown of Windsor, Connecticut recently and I had the kind of craving that goes beyond food and deep into nostalgia. And in sharing this remembrance of things past, I’m hoping to get some help from any … Continue reading
Behind the Scenes: A TV Shoot
I was out of my kitchen today and into the studio of WSFB, Hartford’s CBS affiliate. The station has a great local news magazine show, Better Connecticut, and I’ve made a few appearances since December. Those two crazy kids in … Continue reading
Waffle Brownies
What a day! I am so excited about this post. Waffle iron brownies, folks!! It’s an idea from a 1953 issue of Yankee and it’s fantastic. Really, I’m just so excited about my job right now. I’m working with Aimee … Continue reading
Shirred Eggs and Bacon
Shirred eggs sound fancy, but really they’re just oven-baked eggs with some sort of creamy-cheesy topping. And because they’re so very easy to make, especially for company, they are just the sort of dish that every home cook should have … Continue reading