If we can cook it, you can cook it!

Author: Monte Mathews

Thanksgiving Way Out West: Cornbread and Sausage Dressing

        There are stuffing people and there are dressing people, but no Thanksgiving Dinner is complete without one of the two. Not even one in California. ( By the way, the only difference between stuffing and dressing is whether you put the stuff…

Thanksgiving 101: The Ultimate Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving 101: The Ultimate Cranberry Sauce

Jill Clark and I have been cooking together since she was in Dr. Denton’s. We’ve had so many great holidays together that The Making of the Cranberry Sauce is an annual event. And it’s taken place all over the map—even in Hong Kong. Several years…

Thanksgiving 101 – Brown Butter Pumpkin Layer Cake

The Comfort Family’s Farm on Lumber Lane in Bridgehampton. A great place to get your pumpkin if you are lucky enough to live on the East End.              Beyond Roast Turkey and Stuffing, there’s nothing that says Thanksgiving more than pumpkin.…

Lillian Hellmann’s Empanadas

Lillian Hellmann’s Empanadas

Lillian posed for Blackgama Mink for which she was roundly criticized.  The late Wendy Wasserstein  Did she…or didn’t she ever make an Empanada ? Before you think I am fixated on Lillian Hellmann, Playwright, Author and Memoirist, I feel compelled to admit that you may…

Thanksgiving 101: Gratin of Sweet Potatoes and Leeks

Thanksgiving 101: Gratin of Sweet Potatoes and Leeks

          My friend Betty once told me a riotous story of being invited to a Thanksgiving dinner and being asked to “bring something”.  When she arrived on the big day, there were 12, count ’em, sweet potato casseroles.  Lesson learned: If…

To Montreal again and to Iron Chef Chuck Hughes’ newest hit “Le Bremner” plus his incredible recipe for Beef Short Ribs with Cambozola

            Andrew and I felt as if we already knew Chuck Hughes before we even arrived at his latest Montreal venue, “Le Bremner”  (361 Rue St. Paul East, Montreal H2Y 1H2 Tel: 514-544-0466 ) in the heart of Old Montreal.  We’d been following Chuck…

Turkey Meatloaf with Spicy Tomato Jam

Turkey Meatloaf with Spicy Tomato Jam

         Ground turkey is not my favorite protein, not by a long shot. But I know many people adore the stuff. For its low fat, high protein content, it’s hard to beat.  The difference between it and ground beef is startling.  A mix of dark…

Lillian Hellmann’s Pot Roast

Lillian Hellmann’s Pot Roast

With ingredients bordering on White Trash, this Pot Roast is absolutely delicious When I went to the market last weekend, there was a special on Chuck Roast with a big sticker on it saying “Easy Cooking Instructions for Pot Roast”.  I immediately thought “Lillian Hellmann’s…

Aromatic Braised Chicken with Fried Onions

Kerala, Land of Coconuts          Talk about a recipe that lives it to its name!  This glorious chicken dish perfumes the house with a wonderful aroma of spices—ginger, curry, cloves and cinnamon.  And then, when you bring it to the table and serve it over…

Chicken with Creamy Mushrooms and Snap Peas from Food Network Magazine

           The Food Network magazine came on the scene in 2008 and created quite a splash.  Its initial goal was to sell 300,000 copies.  In short order, it had over 1,000,000 readers a month.  Its celebrity chefs grace each cover like rock stars. …

Fig-Almond Tart from Marinus Restaurant at Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, California

Fig-Almond Tart from Marinus Restaurant at Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, California

Andrew made this recipe not once but twice and it was big hit. He encouraged me to post it.  But for the life of me, I could not find it. I must have used every search word combination I could think of.  The truly pathetic…

Next stop in Montreal, an homage to Joe Beef, their recipe for a Foie Gras “Double Down” and a Mushroom Ragu with Burrata Cheese recipe created in Frederic Morin’s honor.

  Joe Beef’s notorious Double Down Our Homage to the Chef, Frederic Morin We realized there was no way we were going to pin a “Best Restaurant in Montreal” title on any one of the sensational places we ate.  They were uniformly great.  They all…

Since I’m on my way there today, a recipe for Quebec’s own Poutine (French Fries with Gravy and Cheese)

“Poutine”, a fine “mess” and Quebec’s gift to Gastronomy… or Gluttony as in this version from Au Pied de Cochon topped with Foie Gras Vieux Montreal, a perfect base to explore Old and New Montreal          As New Yorkers, we’re inclined to feel that our…

Curry-and-Yogurt-Braised Chicken adapted from Grace Parisi of Food and Wine Magazine

Curry-and-Yogurt-Braised Chicken adapted from Grace Parisi of Food and Wine Magazine

Food and Wine’s Grace Parisi          We love a good curry at our house.  It’s warming and satisfying on all levels.  This particular recipe is the product of that master chef at Food and Wine magazine, Grace Parisi.  What Grace has achieved here is a…


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