CROATIA’S “SOPARNIK” CHARD PIE AND THE BALKAN’S “AJVAR” ROASTED PEPPER DIP       I just returned from a Silversea Cruises Culinary Adventure. Today I’m sharing two delicious souvenirs from Croatia.  These simple dishes were truly eye-openers. “Soparnik” is a crispy, garlic-scented hand pie filled…

A great addition to your Thanksgiving Table or any table for that matter… With its earthy mushrooms and sweet leeks, this quiche-like tart is a perfect side or perfect for lunch all by itself.  A weekly pilgrimage to Marilee’s Farmstand in Sagaponack, NY is always…

If you think a Pot Pie is more of a winter offering, think again. This one has Spring written all over it.  It’s filled with fresh Spring vegetables and there’s no heavy cream sauce. The recipe relies on a simple Chicken Stock sauce. It is…

This wonderful dish is simple to prepare and an absolute show-stopper. It’s been a while since we cooked a Quiche.  In the 70s we remember making one once a week.  Watching “Nadiya Bakes”, Nadiya Hussain’s latest series on Netflix, we were drawn to this crispy-crusted…

Because you can never serve too many tomatoes this time of year. I realize this recipe comes right on the heels of our wildly popular Heirloom Tomato Tart recipe, but we just cannot get enough of this year’s stellar crop of tomatoes. This tart first…

A Tomato that looks flawed creates a Tart that is pure perfection. The heirloom tomato has arrived. Heirlooms, or “Heritage Tomatoes” if you’re British, are not always the most beautiful on the outside.  But the first slice brings a flood of great tomato flavor. They’re…

        A couple of years ago, I read a very detailed recipe for a tomato Tarte Tatin in Bon Appetit. I worked with the recipe and came up with two versions of the dish. Now that Tomato season is in full swing, I revisited this…

As much as I love Chicken Pot Pie, I was looking to kick things up and bring some new flavors to this old family favorite.  And old is an appropriate word.  Pot Pies have a history going back to ancient Greece.  The Greeks cooked meats…

I can’t imagine a world without cheese. It would be a far less delicious place.  Today, I wanted to share three great recipes that you may have missed. And an offer that’s hard to refuse.   The first  recipe is for the “ Diva of…

A couple of weeks ago, I returned from “A Cheddar Odyssey”, an offering from Cheese Journeys, who, as their name implies, runs tours that combine Culture, Exploration and Cheese. Lots and lots of cheese.   It’s one of those trips that beguiles you long after you’ve…

         Bangers and Mash I have a weakness for English dishes with picturesque names. Even the simplest of these is a riddle.  “Bangers and Mash”, or Sausage and Mashed Potatoes, is the simplest to understand.  The sausages used in the original recipe,…

It’s awfully close to putting-away-the-pot-pie-recipes time.  But this one is so good, I hope it gets in under the wire and if not, do save it for a rainy day.  It’s that good.  The reason I rushed to make it was that I’d managed to…

The Decor of Maison Boulud gets high marks too!        Daniel Boulud is no stranger to these pages.  His recipes are as reliable as his restaurants, the latest of which just opened in Montreal’s newly renovated Ritz Carlton Hotel ( 1228 Sherbrooke St. Ouest,…

        “The Joy of Cooking” was one of the first cookbooks I was ever aware of.  It, along with Boston Cooking School Cookbook (aka Fanny Farmer), the enormous Gourmet Cookbooks Volumes 1 and 2, and something called “The Encyclopedia of Canadian Cooking” (yes, Encyclopedia) formed…