Gilding the Granola….with yogurt and a slice of plum Dr, James Caleb Jackson, Inventor of Granula When our houseguests John and Mary showed up with homemade Granola as a house gift, I was hooked.  It was so far superior to any store-bought granola it amazed…

             Consider the Tuna Melt, that diner staple that combines tuna salad, a slice of bread and a heated layer of cheddar cheese.  I myself have consumed dozens and dozens of the open-faced sandwiches in a quest to find the…

“Zoodles” Pappardelle made from Zucchini The summer season may be over but summer’s not. And for the next several weeks the farm stands will be brimming with great produce. Fall is actually a fairly long growing season and really only ends with the first frost. …

      In August, we published Andrew’s take on one of Martha Stewart’s many versions of the regrettably named “Slab Pie”.  I felt strongly that the nomenclature of this pie didn’t do justice to the results: the season’s best stone fruits under a blanket of…

Karen Polle rode “With Wings” to victory at the Hampton Classic Grand Prix 18 Year Old Victoria Colvin won our hearts!  Last Sunday’s Grand Prix Day at the Hampton Classic was its 40th Anniversary. What started out as a truly local event has now become…

I must confess that I am more than a little put off by the name of this remarkable pie.  I mean really?  “Slab” as in cold, stone slab or “slab of meat” both of which are less than appetizing and have little or nothing to…

  We were having friends for lunch over the weekend and I wanted to make Chicken Salad.  For the recipe I took out three contenders. Patricia Well’s “The Paris Cookbook” (Harper Collins 2001) had one that would have put us right in the heart of…

Photo Courtesy of Fine Cooking Magazine. All rights reserved. Once again, I am sharing one of Andrew’s great summer desserts.   Surely one of summer’s great pleasures are its fruits and berries, especially when they are local.   And what can compare to any fruit dessert coupled…

           What is a “pluot”?, you may well ask. It’s the Labradoodle of fruits.  Actually it’s more like a Cockapoo or even a Maltipoo in size. The Pluot is a plum and apricot hybrid bred first in California in the 1800s.   Initially it…

HOME/TRAVEL On the Danube River with Viking River Cruises On this cruise, your next meal is right around the bend in the river 5 July 24, 2015 | 05:26 PM  By Monte Mathews, Special Contributor    Monte Mathews This cruise is one of the best ways to…

HOME/TRAVEL/CULINARY VACATIONS The Restaurant in Regensburg, Germany, You Must Travel For Don’t miss the bratwurst in this city by the Danube River 0 July 24, 2015 | 05:09 PM  By Monte Mathews, Special Contributor          Monte Matthews This wurst is the best. There are…

Several years ago we discovered the joy of watermelon and tomatoes combined in a salad that takes advantage of these summer favorites.  We enjoyed it again and again and if you haven’t tried it, you should too.  Here is the recipe that brought the salad…

Month after month, Martha Stewart Living takes us into the spectacularly photogenic homes of equally photogenic families. They share Martha’s passion for the domestic arts in their wonderfully curated and art directed living spaces.   And there is always a prominently featured menu item that is…

Garlic Scapes make their appearance once a year. There are cooks who wait all year to work with Garlic Scapes, the flower bud of the garlic plant.  The bud is removed about this time every year to encourage the underground bulb to thicken up.  They…