CHEWING THE FAT

Some holiday discoveries are well worth making all year round. This is one of them.  It’s from Melissa Clark in The New York Times. It’s one of four recipes created for New Year’s Eve 2020. In “A Finger Food Countdown to 2021”, Melissa created two…

My lastest Travel Adventure takes you aboard Celebrity Equinox for 11 days of Culinary Cruising CruisingJournal.com has just published my latest article. This time I concentrate on the extraordinary offerings aboard the largest ship I have ever sailed, Celebrity Equinox.  At 122,000 tonnes and carrying…

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…

My latest article for Cruising Journal has just been published. Come aboard for an extraordinary trip around the world. On December 22nd, 2022, 930 passengers will embark on the voyage of a lifetime.  They’ll board a brand, spanking-new ship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  From there,…

What’s in a name?  Plenty! Drunken Pork Stew Proves it. I have to admit, it was its picture in Fine Cooking–and not its name– that made me want to cook this extraordinarily easy-to-make stew.  Tony Rosenfeld, who wrote “Savory Pork Stews”, says it’s “a quick…

A remarkably creamy-rich soup with a secret. There’s not a drop of cream in it. Bon Appetit Editor Sarah Jampel developed this recipe for the magazine’s “Basically” series. “Basically” focuses on beginner home cooks. Do not be put off by the length of the recipe.…

A Trip to California and an unforgettable food discovery. The first time I had this soft tortilla shell stuffed with crispy, beer-battered cod topped with avocado salsa, pico de gallo, and slaw, I was hooked.  The crispiness of the fish was irresistible. The soft flour…

Are you serving enough Lamb? These Chops from Costco ought to be on your shopping list. Lamb is a pretty pricey option when it comes to choices at the meat counter. That is good loin lamb chops.  Shoulder and Sirloin Chops are more economical but…

Nothing can compare to the delights of the South of France…especially when you experience them aboard this river cruiser. Emerald Waterways features a Top Chef France Contestant who comes aboard to cook a very special dinner. And look what’s for Dessert… To Go Directly to…

The Great British Baking Show Contestants could have used this recipe for Babke. Andrew and I are great devotées of this wildly popular British TV series, now in its 11th season. Judges and Co-Hosts have come and gone but we’ve never strayed.  We have had…

“To eat well in England, you should eat breakfast three times a day”– Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham was an enormously popular playwright, novelist, and short-story writer with a 65-year long career.   Born in the British Embassy in Paris, he spent much of his life…

Diwali started on the 14th of November this year.  And since it lasts 5 days, celebrate it tonight! Diwali, a festival of lights celebrated widely by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs, has a lovely premise: It symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over…

Rome’s favorite and most famous pasta dish gets a major makeover. When I lived in Rome, I can’t count how often I would order this dish. At least once a week, I would sit down to a bowl of this pasta.  Just four ingredients made…

Ina Garten’s Winter Minestrone is remarkably simple to make.  Trust Ina Garten to give us a recipe so dead easy, that you could decide to make it an hour before dinner.  It’s from Ina’s 2012 cookbook “Foolproof” (Clarkson-Potter). I looked at the ingredient list and…