CHEWING THE FAT

For such a relatively small corner of the world, the East End of Long Island is long on extremely talented chefs.  Proximity to New York has led many a city chef to, if not abandon the city, set up a second home out in the…

         When I was growing up in Montreal, my family had an endless stream of visitors, most of whom had some connection to my parent’s time in Britain during the Second World War.  They were both volunteers—my father was a Major in the Canadian Army…

         Let’s face it: this time of year begs for recipes that you can get on the table in no time. This wonderful soup takes all of 15 minutes to make and it’s a perfect warmer for a winter night.  With a tossed green salad and…

         Recently, I was a guest on National Public Radio’s “The Food Schmooze”.  The show, which originates in New Haven CT, is heard twice a week on WNPR’s stations in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York including the East End of…

On a recent “Chopped”, the Food Network TV show that pits four chefs against a basket full of incongruous ingredients, a very sad fact was served up to the audience.  Americans throw away 40 percent of the food they buy!  The dollar amount is staggering: …

                    The other day I saw the sign pictured on the left announcing the annual arrival of Nantucket Bay Scallops.  Like local asparagus, there are only a few weeks a year when these little sweet morsels make their way into our market.  It’s…

Photo by Alex Mathews       Mason William Mathews       Just in case you somehow missed it, I  spent 5 of the happiest days of my calendar year visiting my son and his family in California.  Surprise, surprise, I cooked.  I have a…

Brussels Sprouts in Winter on the North Fork of Long Island As a boy, I cannot think of a vegetable I detested quite as much at the Brussels Sprout.  These nasty little cabbages were about as appealing to me as damp pair of socks. I…

A few years ago, I witnessed the arrival of Bison or Buffalo in my local supermarket.  At the time, a Day-Glo printed sign heralded its arrival in the meat case.  Not only had it arrived but also it was billed as ‘the meat of the…

        Our god daughter, Olivia is very special to us.  We were there the night she was born and she’s been a wonderful part of our life ever since. She’s lovely to be with, so much fun and so full of personality. …

You might want to hide after what I turned up… read on… Here’s a food writer’s dilemma for you:  Say you discovered a great recipe so full of flavor and so easy to make, you literally jumped on your MacPro and started to extoll its…

         Confession time:  I made this dish just as Spring was arriving. But by the time I got around to writing up the post, Spring had sprung and with it temperatures that suggested getting out of the heat and out of the kitchen.   But now…

         Jane, Jason and John About a month ago, my friends, Jane Maguire and John Quigley of Long Island Mushroom Inc., invited me to attend a special event.  It was a dinner held at the EECO Farm in Easthampton.  It was hosted by a group…

Marcella and Victor Hazan, as loving and giving a couple as one could ever hope to know. If I’d never been introduced to Marcella Hazan, my cooking would have been so much poorer for it.  Marcella died last week at her home in Naples, Florida…