Oh Say Can You See’s?

Yes you can!  You can just make out those magic words under the white wrapping at left: See’s Famous Old Time Candies. Lucky me, this box arrived at my doorstep complements of See’s public relations firm, but I still made the pilgrimage to their holiday store at Marketfair to stock up right after they opened last week – … Continue reading →

Thanks for the Memories

Today marks the passing of one of Princeton’s great traditions, dining at Lahiere’s.  In its 91 years, Lahiere’s became a treasured institution on Witherspoon Street. Their food used to be strictly French, but in later years evolved into creative American cuisine.  The cozy bar was known as the place to go for civilized drinks.  Compared to … Continue reading →

Is it done yet?

Sometimes I just have to have meatloaf. It usually starts when I notice one of those packages of the mixed meats in the butcher case at the market. The combination of ground beef, veal, pork nestled side by side, beckons to me. I brought it home, looked at a couple of recipes, then did what … Continue reading →

Italian Excursion – Brutti ma Buoni?

Here’s a nice, no-neeed-to-plan ahead, mid/late afternoon weekend excursion – a trip to Washington Town Center, home of De Lorenzo’s Tomato Pies and Dolce & Clemente’s Italian Market. First we stop at Dolce & Clemente’s, for a little Italian grocery shopping, then we stow our goodies in the car before getting in line outside De Lorenzo’s – … Continue reading →

Holidays & Gifts

Holidays are creeping up on us with their tiny cat feet, so here are some of the goings on that have arrived in my Inbox lately: I only wish I could celebrate my birthday (39 again!) at the American Museium of Natural History’s Wild Mushroom Harvest: Foraging Local Woods and Markets event on Tuesday (11/9), … Continue reading →

A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of A Misspent Life

What a great title for a book about keeping house!  I laugh each time I read it, and I’m in complete agreement with the sentiment (sorry Mom!). Author Mary Randolph Carter will be at Carter & Cavero on Palmer Square on November 14 to sign copies Noon-3:00pm.  The book, published by art house Rizzoli, is lavishly illustrated with Carter’s … Continue reading →

Squash Ravioli

I always go on a bit of a butternut squash craze in the fall, and even wrote about it for one of my recent Packet In The Kitchen columns. And I noticed these triangular squash-filled ravioli on a recent visit to Trader Joe’s, so had to try them.  I also bought shiitaki mushrooms, and sautéed … Continue reading →

Takeout

This is my father’s favorite pizza, roasted red pepper and sausage from Conte’s, so that is what I brought to him for dinner the night before he moved into assisted living. Conte’s opened in 1941, the year Dad graduated from Princeton High.  He’s been going there ever since. So consoling was the pizza that when we … Continue reading →

Family Dinner at Tre Piani

I had dinner with family recently at Tre Piani, my first visit in a while, I blush to admit.  To the left you see a photo (sorry it’s not better) of the entrée that three of the four of us had, lamb from Neptune Farm, an organic farm in south NJ, prepared three ways,  roasted (shoulder … Continue reading →