NJ SPICE

I needed to use up some apricots, so here’s what I made, a lovely easy apricot jam. The recipe, from Fine Cooking, called for just the fruit, sugar and lemon juice. But I added a few cardamom seeds, because I was in an ethnic mood. This is the kind of jam you store in the … Continue reading →

I read a reference to tuna casserole somewhere recently and just instantly had a yen for the dish that had to be satisfied. I had nearly everything I needed in the cupboard, so easily threw it together. A half box of penne, tuna, home made dried bread crumbs (I mixed the crumbs with a little … Continue reading →

Looking at this, my results aren’t so different from the nice photo in Prevention‘s August issue that inspired me. Their Garlic Bread Pizza was more of a flatbread than a pizza (to me) on a whole wheat crust, with ricotta and pine nuts on top.  It was grilled, but I used my oven.  I had … Continue reading →

I often stay home all day on Saturday, to do my writing and catch up on chores etc. from my work week.  But I recently made a point of visiting the Amish Market in Kingston, on the hunt for bockwurst. Sadly, they’d run out early that day, but I did take home some pulled pork, … Continue reading →

I always read Melissa Clark’s column, “A Good Appetite,” in the New York Times Dining Section. So I had to try her Brown Butter Nectarine Cobbler/Cake recipe, and the results were delicious. I used her alternate fruit, peaches, as I’d found some nice NJ Peaches the day before, and three big ones were perfect for … Continue reading →

An impromptu weekend breakfast of egg sandwich on a whole wheat hamburger bun from Trader Joe’s. I also had leftover spicy Italian chicken sausage from them, that needed to be used. So I sliced it into a pan, threw in a couple of eggs, and scrambled it up on the spot. I may have put … Continue reading →

Had to have the lobster when I met my niece for dinner at the Tiger’s Tale in Montgomery the other night.  Their service was great; I always enjoy myself there although I usually stick to a burger. The lobster was split (sorta) and broiled, although I guess it was also boiled first because there was … Continue reading →

The latest Canal House Cooking issue is out, An Italian Summer, a collection of their favorite dishes from beautiful Italy, where Mss. Hamilton and Hirsheimer spent a lot of time working very hard (oh, sure!) researching the best dishes to bring home for us.  This is a smaller issue of their usual seasonal cookbook series, … Continue reading →

I have fellow blogger Linda Prospero to thank for this delicious dinner.  Her blog, Ciao Chow LInda, is a work of art, both visual and culinary.  Her elemental recipe (from The Geometry of Pasta) for spaghetti alla carbonara gave me my best version ever, not just because it was pared down to the correct, limited, … Continue reading →

I had such a hankering for a lobster roll, but it was too hot to even think of a trip to the market. Then I remembered I had four of those tiny lobster tails in the freezer – are they Brazilian? – and that they needed to be used. So I steamed them, pried them … Continue reading →