Recently, after finishing a TV cooking demo for a noontime show called “Mass Appeal” at our local NBC affiliate, the host asked me what I’d like to cook for my next demo at the end of February. Before I could answer he suggested a Mardi Gras dish since I would be on air several days before “Fat Tuesday.” I spent much of my childhood visiting New Orleans and went to college in the Crescent City, so I enthusiastically said yes and began searching my files for a Creole recipe to celebrate this special day,

What could be better to serve on Mardi Gras than an appetizer of spicy chicken wings with Creole Continue reading →

During the holiday season my husband and I ate with abandon. Homemade cookies and cakes arrived at our door and in the mail from friends who are talented bakers. We indulged in all manner of cheeses–Mont d’Or from France and Jasper Hill’s Harbison from Vermont were our favorites. We also assembled bountiful charcuterie boards on more than one occasion. On Christmas Day with our extended family, everyone forgot their diets and savored a beef roast with port wine, bacon, and shallot sauce served with sides that included a potato and crème fraîche gratin and sugar snaps tossed in brown butter. Now that the season of feasting is past, I am looking for recipes that are more healthy, simpler to prepare, and inexpensive. Cauliflower soup with toasted hazelnuts and Gruyère just happens to meet all these Continue reading →

For many holiday cooks (myself included) one of the biggest challenges of entertaining during this festive season is figuring out what to serve overnight company for breakfast or brunch. A dish that calls for easy-to-find ingredients, can be assembled in advance, and also delivers a bit of dazzle would be perfect.This recipe for baked French toast topped with purchased eggnog plus a glorious mélange of fresh and dried fruits is such an all-in-one morning entrée.

For the toasts, you simply cut thick slices from a country or peasant loaf of bread, arrange them in a Continue reading →

Often in my cooking classes, students ask if they can make a substitution in a recipe. I always welcome these queries and try to offer alternatives. I asked myself that same question last month when I discovered a baked brownie fudge pie crust at the back of my freezer. Wrapped tightly in plastic, then in foil, the crust in its pyrex pie plate needed only to be defrosted and filled.

In its original incarnation, this brownie crust was filled with whipped cream that was combined with Continue reading →

In Paris right after the Olympics ended this past August, my husband and I were thrilled that one of our favorite Left Bank restaurants was open. Many Parisian eateries had closed right after the Olympic games for the annual French summer holidays. Semilla, on  rue de Seine, is a perennial favorite of ours, so once again we savored the delicious original dishes this casual restaurant offers. My spouse loved his long red Niçoise pepper stuffed with caponata served with a risotto. I savored a dish of house made pasta called “sorpresenie” (a specialty of Emilia Romagna that is shaped like tortellini, but without a Continue reading →

 Although the calendar declared that fall was underway several days ago, it’s the produce bins and the shelves at my local grocery store that always make me aware that a new season has arrived. Recently, packages of peeled and cubed butternut squash were on display at the our Whole Foods–a sure sign that shoppers are buying ingredients for cool Continue reading →

During the summer and early fall when figs are in season, I often pick up a basket and use them as a garnish for cheese or charcuterie boards. This year, however, I used my cache to craft a sweet confection. I was inspired by two memorable fig desserts I’ve sampled recently. In London last month, at Elystan Street Restaurant in Chelsea, I ordered figs poached in port garnished with a scoop of homemade ice cream and warm lemon beignets. Then, a few weeks later, at Café Carmellini in New York City, I savored a fig and honey tart topped with homemade yogurt sorbet.

For my own creation, I poached figs in port along with sugar and seasonings of cinnamon, Continue reading →