Christmas Dinner

A standing-rib roast was ordered for Christmas Dinner, enough for 7, but perhaps the butcher thought we meant 7 ribs, because it was big, over 17 pounds, probably enought for 17 people. Never having cooked such a beast before, I consulted Epicurious and found that of the 19 recipes that came up– variously crusted with herbs [...]

Soup from a can

No, not canned soup, per se, although it’s surprising how delicious Campbell’s cream of tomato soup, served apres ski from a thermos, with Ritz crackers, can be.  A few hours cross-country skiing does whet the appetite. In this case, I opened a few cans and made a quick and satisfying homemade soup.  I had a Portuguese White [...]

The Food Issue

No, not that we have issues with food…well, maybe we do, but what we’ve been talking about lately is The Food Issue  of The New Yorker:  I tend to be annoyed when The New Yorker devotes a whole issue to one topic (something introduced by Tina Brown back in the nineties) (rants on this topic [...]

Skillet Cooking – Thai sweet potato with tofu curry

Since my early days making corn bread and Dutch Babies in a cast iron skillet, I’ve always been a big fan of skillet cooking.  The idea of one pot and one cutting board resulting in little mess and a hearty dinner really, really appeals to me because it’s easy and fun.  Maybe it’s because I [...]

A few twists on white bean, butternut squash, kale and olive stew

Hearty winter stews and soups…an area of my repertoire that could use some expanding, and snow last night  left  me searching for a recipe to warm us right up.  I made a creation this afternoon using veggies that needed moving along – butternut squash, yet more kale from the garden (via the freezer), cannellini beans, kalamata olives and a few [...]