Baked Grouper with Herbs over Polenta

A half hour dish that tastes like a lot of fussing! I love making a little fuss on Friday nights, a celebration of the beginning of the weekend! My sister usually comes over, sometimes we invite a couple of friends too. While it is great to begin with a feast, sometimes we’re a little tired…

New Potatoes and Green Beans with Ginger and Mint

Potatoes with ginger? Green beans with mint? Both combined, along with garlic and sesame oil? Why not? July was always rob-the-potato-hills time in our garden growing up. Dad was the vegetable gardener and potatoes were his favorite to grow. He loved the whole process from planting the seed potatoes, hilling them up, and harvesting. About…

Parsley and Parmesan Broth with Crabmeat Salad

Full of flavor, and we didn’t waste a thing! One of the joys of having an accomplished chef and restauranteur for a mother-in-law was the abundance of knowledge of little techniques along the way from her, often just by eating what she served. It was always incredible, always memorable, and never skimped on calories, carbs,…

Tomato and Fennel Summer Salad

Here come the tomatoes, and my first fennel! I picked my first cherry tomatoes from my plants this week, and this is what really marks summer’s beginning to me. Of course, the farm stands are full of beautiful heirloom fruits of many colors, tempting me into making Salad Caprese with local fresh mozzarella, Bruschetta with…

Sea Scallops and Baby Potatoes in Purgatory

Any time of day, this flavorful dish is a crowd pleaser! We love eggs in purgatory, the Italian version of shakshuka, a spicy tomato sauce in which eggs are simmered. It is a delicious breakfast, brunch, or supper dish, that is popular around the world.  Let’s make a swap! But for a different take on…

Celebrate the Season with a Luscious Lighter Strawberries Romanoff

This is a much lighter version of the old standby, with all the flavor and beauty. Strawberries are our first fruit of the season, and we wait all year for these beautiful little gems. Sweet, sometimes with a tart edge, red through and through, there is something magical about the aroma of macerated strawberries when…

Leek, Asparagus, and Fennel Soup

Served hot or chilled, this soup is the flavor of Asparagus Season! Asparagus season is fleeting here in the Northeast, but we celebrate it with great flair. There are even asparagus festivals to celebrate this vegetable with every possible cooking method! Raw, baked, roasted, boiled, braised, sautéed, steamed, stir-fried, and grilled, any way you cook…

A Spring Fling! Roasted Cod and Sugar Snaps with Rhubarb Sauce

Spring treasurers unite for a memorable meal! Spring in Vermont means lots of delicious happenings, including vibrant red rhubarb, and delectable sugar snap peas bursting with freshness. Combine these wonderful ingredients with locally grown shiitake mushrooms and sweet Atlantic cod, and you’ve got a winning dish. Not for everyone Rhubarb is one of my favorites,…

New England Steamer Clam Chowder with Fennel

We call it chowdah, a regional staple with the flavor of the sea.  A friend of mine asked me for a clam chowder recipe recently, and I told her to check my blog. However, there wasn’t one there! I checked my family cookbook, and I didn’t include one there either, lots of other chowdahs, but…

Chickpea Flatbread with Asparagus & Chives

Chives and asparagus are among our earliest sprouts here in New England, dancing together nicely at this time of year! This is the season of lilacs in our village, and what a year it is! There isn’t a street where one does not inhale this incredible scent of spring, and their luscious color as well….

Ramp and Spring Radish-Top Pesto of Possibilities

Spring is here with great flourish, and we’re celebrating every minute.  It’s been a cold spring, so we’ve had to wait a little longer than we’d like for our early seasonal delights. Wild ramps and fiddleheads are now here in abundance, spring-dug parsnips of course, and the first of the seed-planted radishes and their beautiful…

A Yankee’s Shrimp and Grits with Asparagus

It may not be a traditional Southern Shrimp and Grits, but this dish is packed with flavor and freshness! Grits were not a part of my childhood cuisine. In fact, I never tasted them until I was an adult and actually lived in the South. I must confess, my first encounter with them was as…

Spring Sorrel and Parsnip Soup

It’s time to make a spring tonic soup since the ice is out at Joe’s Pond! Ah, April. Just when we thought it was safe to ditch the boots and winter coats, just as the daffodils delight with their beautiful spring show, we had a spring snow storm that left thousands without power.  The ice…

Pineapple Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

My mother always made a ham at Easter. She cut crisscross marks all over, slathered it in mustard and brown sugar, sometimes varying the topping. One of my first jobs was putting the little whole cloves in each intersection of the cuts. Toward the end of baking, she adorned the entire ham with pineapple rings…