My friend Bernadette from New Classic Recipe came up with the idea to have an on-line cook book club with some of her blog buddies. What fun, and a great way to choose a recipe or two from the books, cook them, and review the books. “Milk Street Tuesday Nights Mediterranean,” from Christopher Kimball The…
Category: To feed a crowd
A few twists on (American) Chop Suey, or was that Hungarian Goulash? Your choice!
It was one of our standards growing up in New England, a hearty pasta meal that is cooked and served in one pot, great on a weeknight, and pretty much loved by all. But all that fat and carbs! We loved it as kids. A big dish of macaroni with browned ground beef and onions,…
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Traditional Boston Baked Beans? May I introduce you to their great-granddaughter?
A New England favorite with lots of twists! In years past, every New England cook had their own recipe for Boston Baked Beans. Inexpensive, filling, and nutritious, peasant food at its best. Baked beans were a Saturday night staple dating back to Colonial times when cooking on the Sabbath was forbidden and the beans could…
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Let’s Play! Steamed Mussels with Leeks and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
There’s probably a hundred ways to make mussels in white wine, so why not 101 and use some sun-dried tomatoes! Mussels are pretty popular in my house. Whether serving as a starter, a component on a buffet, or a quick and humble main dish for supper, these lovely little bivalves are always welcome, and always…
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Warmed Mixed Olives and Artichokes
Simple, but quite addictive! I often make an olive and artichoke tapenade at gatherings. It is always well received, and any leftovers keep for quite some time. You can also make it well ahead of time because it keeps well in the refrigerator. Let’s try something new However, this year, I decided to switch things…
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Aunt Jeanette’s Luscious Lemon Tart
This tart is all about the lemon, so don’t be shy! Anyone who knows me, knows I love lemons! To me, my idea of lemonade is freshy squeezed lemon juice and water, that’s it! I was delighted when I realized that all three of my grandchildren loved to suck on raw lemons since they were…
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When you cook together, it’s always a feast
Cooking with friends and family is one of the delights of the kitchen. When you share making a meal with someone, the enjoyment of eating it together is increased. There’s often an extra person in the kitchen with you, at least in memory – a mother or grandmother who gave you the recipe, a friend…
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Sweet & Sour Autumn Slaw
Who doesn’t love a nice crunchy slaw? This one is packed with flavor that only gets better with time. Sometimes I find the weirdest things at the farmers market. This week, my eyes spied a cone-shaped cabbage. Yes. Connie Conehead would have snapped it up in a minute. I already had a head of radicchio…
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How to stuff a sweet Italian
The sweet Italian frying peppers have hit the farm stands and they beg to be used in many different ways. I’m stuffing mine with smoked trout and chèvre for a delightful treat. A recipe often begins life with a flavor combination found in something totally different. I found the most beautiful sweet Italian frying peppers…
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Wheat Berry Tabouli
This classic vegetarian salad has traveled well through countless decades! A good while back in my early adult life, my first vegetarian cookbook was the Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen. If you are of my generation, you probably had it on your shelf too. It was certainly my first experience attempting meatless meals beyond baked…
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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…
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Baked Tofu with Mustard Cream Succotash and Fregula
Heavenly. Creamy. This dish made with veggies tucked in your freezer is good for you too! The garden is offering up a few chives right now, and this weekend I’ll tuck some lettuce in the cold-frame to at least give the illusion of gardening season starting. The squill is blooming, the daffodils are budding, and…
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Spanish Shrimp with Artichokes on Toasted Farro with a Little Saffron Love
A versatile dish you can serve many ways, even vegan! Just don’t forget the saffron. Spanish flavors. The gorgeous smoked paprika, all the tasty peppers, tomatoes, olives, saffron of course. Saffron has a special place in my heart. An expensive spice My brother Floyd was a talented cook, and he adored saffron as much as…
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Swiss Chard with Potatoes and Yellow-Eyed Beans
These New England staples combine for a memorable winter supper that is packed with flavor and nutrition. Our family’s favorite green in the garden when we were growing up was Swiss chard, and it remains one of my personal favorites to this day. In addition to being tasty, it is easy to grow, you can…
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Winter Veggie Stew: A study in orange
This soup is flavorful and warming, and on a cold winter’s night, a welcome supper. It has been grey here in Vermont. Tuesday, we had a bit of sun for a while, but for the most part, the last two weeks have been black and white with a bit of holiday red tossed in. The…
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Let’s Have a Party! We’ll Have Crab and Mashed Potato Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms!
A special starter for a dinner party, fun hors d’oeuvre, or a comfort food supper. (And there is a delicious vegan option as well!) First of all, any dish that has mashed potatoes as a prime ingredient is going to be on my favorites list. This has both mashed potatoes and local crab meat, which…
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Pat’s Holiday Gravlax
I first received gravlax as a gift from my Mother-in-Law and was amazed that this could be accomplished in a home kitchen I remember getting this gift of home-cured gravlax, a salt-preserved salmon, every year at Christmastime from my mother-in-law Pat, my husband’s father’s second wife. The first time she gave it to us, I…
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Tomato Rice with Broccoli Rabe and Roasted Garlic
It’s tasty and economical, and with a few additions this humble dish can star at a dinner party! From Mexico to Malaysia, and just about everywhere else, there are recipes for simple rice and tomato dishes that offer a wide variety of flavors and options. A base for the simple or the complicated, they create…
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Seven Roasted Autumn Vegetables and One Exquisite Sauce
Pick a rainbow of autumn vegetables, top a bed of wilted greens, and enhance with a simple Maple, Miso, and Mustard Sauce. It is the perfect time of year to think about a big platter of roasted vegetables, especially the delicious roots of the season. I feel truly blessed to live in a beautiful and…
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Making Nana’s Dinner Rolls
Mother always made the rolls, in a great big batch. We called them Nana Rolls, and everyone had some in their freezer for a rainy day. Be it a Christmas dinner, a community potluck, or just a little dinner party, out came the big bread bowl. Out came the massive ingredients, the buckets of flour,…
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Sushi Salad with Shrimp, Pickled Ginger, & Wasabi Dressing
A salad using some common components of a sushi roll fits the bill as a light offering, and it’s also quick and easy to make. Now, one might not immediately associate Vermont with the growing of ginger, and yet, in the past few years these exotic tropical nuggets, along with their cousin turmeric, are making…
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Twice Baked Delicata Squash with Swiss Chard
Whether served as a main course or side dish, these little stuffed squashes are always a hit. One of my favorite winter squashes is the sweet little Delicata. Their compact size, and quick cook, makes them a perfect weeknight dinner side, or even main course if stuffed! They have a sweet orange flesh, store well…
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Three Sisters Succotash
Corn, Beans, and Squash are a timeless combination, and especially delicious in this classic New England dish. We just about live on vegetables this time of year. There are so many wonderful delights just asking to be taken home from the farm stand. Red swaths of tomatoes are everywhere, squashes are turning up in their…
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Quite a Hodge Podge
Another northern dish with a funny name! This quick stew of midsummer veggies has long been a favorite when we need to sample the new produce, but don’t want to stand over the stove too long! Robbing a few new potatoes from the hills is a tradition around here. Pulling sweet baby carrots is also…
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Rose and Strawberry Summer Drinks – Sangria or Lemonade
When your roses smell good enough to eat, drink them! It’s been an amazing rose season this year. The air, especially at dawn and dusk, is filled with beautiful perfume, and how we wish it would last. My favorite roses are the old garden roses, once-blooming heirloom treasures that carry so many flowers they bend…
