Finally, inflation has really got to me at the supermarket. I so wanted to make a pot roast and saw a lovely fat chuck roast. Before I put it into my cart, I saw the price: $31. I looked again. Yup, $31 for a piece of meat that requires 3 to 4 hours of cooking before it has the perfect chew. I left that market with chicken. The next day I tried another market. That … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Thinking of Those Southern Warmer Climes? Creole Daube Will Take You There
Columnists
A la Carte: It’s St. Patrick’s Day, So It Must Be Time For Corned Beef & Cabbage!
I had such a fun weekend watching the UConn women play basketball at Mohegan Sun. And as I write this column, the final game (UConn vs Villanova) is tonight. We had only one loss in the Big East, and that was to Villanova. I have my fingers crossed. Friends Sue and Karen had extra tickets for me to see all the games. Frosting on the cake was the ability to see most of our … [Read more...] about A la Carte: It’s St. Patrick’s Day, So It Must Be Time For Corned Beef & Cabbage!
A la Carte: Twice the Usual Feast Today:- First Maple Gooey Butter Cake, Then Whole Coconut Curry Chicken
Column #1 All winter, friends have been wailing about winter. When will it be over? Will summer ever come? Others complain about the cold. Some have slipped on ice. For me, winter on the Connecticut shoreline isn’t bad. I grew up in Troy, N.Y. Went to college in Ithaca and Rochester, and lived and worked in Worcester, Mass. Even the isolation during the pandemic … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Twice the Usual Feast Today:- First Maple Gooey Butter Cake, Then Whole Coconut Curry Chicken
A la Carte: This Five-Way Chili is All The Way From Cincinnati!
I get excited when I see old recipes in my computer and haven’t made in decades. Friends asked if I could make dessert for 12. I wanted it to be yummy and attractive and decided on a flan, or custard. I’d made it often as a dish but not in years. When you take it out of the oven and turn it onto a slightly oval plate, the caramel waves over and stays that way for … [Read more...] about A la Carte: This Five-Way Chili is All The Way From Cincinnati!
A la Carte: Caramelized Coconut Budino Makes a Luscious Dessert
I am going to a dinner party next Saturday evening in Madison. There may be 12 people. I may have met half of them. Most are flying in to see their daughter and son-in-law in their new house into which they moved just three weeks ago. The last time I moved, it took me months to unpack boxes, never mind ready to host a dinner party in less than a month. And many of the … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Caramelized Coconut Budino Makes a Luscious Dessert
A View from My Porch — The Shady History of Connecticut Tobacco, Part 1: The Age of Discovery to the Jamestown, Virginia Colony
It’s been a while since my last View, which was A Primer on The American Rescue Plan. Since then, I have spent some time thinking about tobacco; and frankly, that’s a subject on which I have rarely, if ever, reflected. Then again, it’s not COVID, or its aftermath; and has nothing to do with the events of Jan. 6, 2021, or their aftermath. To explain, Christina and I saw … [Read more...] about A View from My Porch — The Shady History of Connecticut Tobacco, Part 1: The Age of Discovery to the Jamestown, Virginia Colony
A la Carte: A Soup for Snow? Try This Intriguing Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup
What do you do on a Sunday when there is nearly three feet of snow on your front door? Obviously, the meteorologists were right this time ... Is there enough food in my house to keep me a day or two from starvation? Sure, there is. But what would I be in the mood for? Yes, my friends, I had stocked up on produce with what I wanted to cook: three different soups. … [Read more...] about A la Carte: A Soup for Snow? Try This Intriguing Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup
A la Carte: Lemony Shrimp and Risotto Makes a Luscious Entrée
I used to wonder about people who won’t go out if the weather is crappy, especially if it is snowing. I grew up where there is snow most days from mid-November until the end of March. I don’t remember having any snow days, but maybe we did. In any case, I never saw a school bus and, to this day, I have never been on one. From kindergarten until junior high school (now … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Lemony Shrimp and Risotto Makes a Luscious Entrée
Gardening Tips for February from ‘The English Lady,’ Lift Your Spirits by Thinking Spring … and Beyond
Hello everyone, with all the pain and suffering we are all experiencing right now with the pandemic still upon us, I wanted to lift your spirits and cause you to begin planning for this season in your garden. Mother Nature’s gifts of renewal, growth and nourishment tell us that in this wonderful pastime called ‘gardening,’ we can escape from the trials and tribulations of … [Read more...] about Gardening Tips for February from ‘The English Lady,’ Lift Your Spirits by Thinking Spring … and Beyond
A la Carte: Winter Vegetable Soup for a Wintry Day
Over the years, I learned a lot about buying cookbooks. Never mind the first one I ever had: it was a cookbook that was part of the first (and only) encyclopedia we order for our daughter. I bet no one under fifty years old has ever bought one. My second was Craig Claiborne’s New York Times Cookbook. It was one hell of a cookbook and still is. I learned to cook from that … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Winter Vegetable Soup for a Wintry Day
A la Carte: Count on Chicken Chili on a Cold Day!
I have four definites before I give you a recipe: I have made the recipe and it was good Someone I knew had made this recipe and gave me the recipe and I understood the intranets and trusted them The ingredients were available or that a substitute would work for you I tinkered with the recipe and felt the tinkering made the recipe even better. This was not the … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Count on Chicken Chili on a Cold Day!
A la Carte: For Lee, Winter and Widowhood Mean it’s Time for Tourtière
Before the holiday season, Nancy Harmon Jenkins, a wonderful cookbook writer who lives mostly in Maine and visits Italy often, talked about the French-Canadian tourtière. I made it a few times for my husband but he really didn’t like the seasoning. He said the same when I made Cincinnati Five-Way Chili (chili with beans, onions, seasoning, spaghetti and cheese). Doug had … [Read more...] about A la Carte: For Lee, Winter and Widowhood Mean it’s Time for Tourtière
A la Carte: Two New (and Lucky) Soups for the New Year
Luck can be two different sides of a coin. Just a couple of weeks ago, I lost one very good friend, and another very good friend lost his mother. Just three days after that, I went to a birthday party for Jacques Pepin, who is now 86. It was a small party of maybe 14 people. Most of us have known each other for 20 or more years. Jacques’ beautiful wife, Gloria, … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Two New (and Lucky) Soups for the New Year
A la Carte: Time to Celebrate, Time for Tiramisu!
Christmas has become a quiet day for me. My own daughter, Darcy, is in California with her husband. Stepchildren are all over the country and their children are, too. My stepson and his wife, whom I adore, are divorced and my daughter-in-law will spend her day with her parents, who are quite old and don’t drive the nearly two hours to get to Newburyport. I won’t be … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Time to Celebrate, Time for Tiramisu!
A la Carte: Terrific (Homemade) Treats to Take to Friends
Column #1 A year ago, a COVID vaccine was my holiday hope to family and friends (and everyone else in the world). I think all we wanted was a vaccine that this once-a-century pandemic could be handled and we wouldn’t have to watch Andrew Cuomo every single morning on television (although we didn’t know then that his final showstopper would be his last ever). By the end of … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Terrific (Homemade) Treats to Take to Friends