Ina Garten has done it again. Her 12th cookbook in 20 years is considered to be her best ever. Titled “Modern Comfort Food: A Barefoot Contessa cookbook”, the new book arrived in October of last year.  As Katherine Gillen of PureWow.com wrote, “Maybe it’s because…

We could ‘fancy-up’ the name of this dish by calling it Pasta al Forno. It still wouldn’t alter the fact that this might well be called Cheeseburger Pasta. Ooey gooey, cheesy, meaty.  This is Andrew and my idea of comfort food times three. Baked Ziti…

A Favorite Restaurant inspires a Home Cook’s Dinner Quest As New Yorkers, we’re bereft at the months-long lockdown of the Broadway theaters.  They’re a part of our landscape and no matter how many—or how few–times we see plays every year, they’re cultural treasures that are…

Here to Help: The New York Times Recipe for the Best B.L.T. is this one from Clare de Boer. The perfect Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich is a flawless combination of salty crunch, creamy mayo, sweet and tangy tomato, and butter lettuce.  And Clair de…

Rao’s, the Iconic Italian Restaurant in East Harlem, is Working To Keep New York’s Partnership Schools Open and Thriving. Fifteen years ago, Frank Pellegrino Sr. of Rao’s Restaurant helped save a nearby small elementary school in Harlem – Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary – from the brink…

A No Recipe Recipe yields a Chowder so good, I had to share the recipe I made with it. Once a week, Sam Sifton of the New York Times publishes what he calls a “No Recipe Recipe”. There is no set of ingredients or steps…

Banana Bread recipe searches surge. I wasn’t entirely surprised to read that on-line searches for banana bread recipes had risen as stay home continues to be the mantra of sensible people everywhere.  From Great Britain, where Reuters reported “Great British lockdown: bread-making frenzy sweeps the…

A transformative dish that takes me to a much happier place. I think it will do the same for you. These days dinner means more than mere sustenance. While we all ‘shelter in place’, it’s a mighty punctuation point to our day. Dinner is a…

Is there anything better than a bowl of Tomato Soup? Why yes! When you serve it with a great Grilled Cheese Sandwich.             I can never make soup without thinking of my Mother. She was simply incredulous that anyone would go to the trouble when,…

How much dry pasta makes a great bowl of pasta and sauce? We love a great bowl of pasta. It’s one of our most favorite comfort foods, especially on a cold winter night. I am particularly fond of Orecchiette, the little “ears” — the exact…

Comfort Food that brings back memories of home. When I was growing up, this dish passed for Shepherd’s pie at our house.  It usually involved the leftover Sunday Roast and any mashed potatoes that managed to survive our wonderful Sunday family dinners. But if you…

A New Cookbook Takes Us on a Family Adventure unlike any other. If you’re like me, you read Cookbooks the way other people read novels.  That’s why I was particularly taken with Sybille Van Kempen’s superb new book “2266 Bridgehampton Inn & Restaurant”,  A Look…

My fondness for tomatoes is a recurring theme this month.  As we reluctantly end August, I will make the most of what has been a terrific tomato season here on Long Island.  I love every kind of tomato from the largest of heirlooms to the…

As some of our readers know, we recently moved out of the apartment we’d lived in for 23 years and moved down one floor to an apartment where we plan to live the next 23 years.  But all the Marie Kondo-ing in the world hasn’t…