Twelve Under Ten

There are still good wine values to be found, and some of them are at the Princeton Corkscrew Wine Shop.  I am on their email list, and just received a list of a dozen wines for under $10 they are offering, along with enticing descriptions.  What a great opportunity to make up an assorted case of … Continue reading →

Farmer Wanted

When people are downsized from corporate jobs, they often think of a career change.  Are you looking for more meaningful work?  Something closer to your true passion for, say, farming?   If you’re ready to get your hands dirty, here’s an opportunity. Griggstown Quail Farm and Market is looking for someone to grow produce and run their newly … Continue reading →

Seafood Paella

Have I mentioned how much I like Mark Bittman?  The New York Times food writer, blogger, and star of many cooking shows on public television, has a down-to-earth approach to the kitchen, and a firm grasp on what is or is not doable for the time (and technique)-challenged home cook. I had printed out and … Continue reading →

Bread Pudding

I’ve never been fond of the kind of bread pudding made with raisins, which includes most restaurant versions.  Aside from not being a fan of raisins (except for golden or flame), I don’t care for the heaviness of most renditions I’ve sampled.  But somewhere along the way I came across a light-hearted version made with … Continue reading →

Pea Soup

No, I’m not talking about fog. I love to make split pea soup with ham.  If I’ve been by Heavenly Ham in Mercer Mall, I use one of their hambones, which are an astounding bargain, as they come with a lot of meat still on them (look in their freezer).  I save most of the meat … Continue reading →

Oysters

This should have been barbecued shrimp on cheese grits. But oysters is what I had in the fridge, so oysters is what I cooked for dinner recently. For some reason I had a hankering for grits, too, and decided to use up a knob of cheddar cheese I had, so I ended up with cornmeal … Continue reading →

American New Year, Chinese Style

The Chinese Lunar New Year may not be until January 26, but thanks to my friends Angela and Humphrey Chang (she is a cookbook author, see my post of July 27), we celebrated the Western New Year with Chinese food. Up Route 27 we went on a frigid and windy night, to the cozy Szechuan … Continue reading →

Joys of Crock Pot

This was excellent crock pot barbecued beef!  All I did was to put big cubes (~2-3 inches) of chuck roast in the crock pot, add a sliced sweet onion, a little garlic powder and a shake of liquid smoke. Then I poured on a bottle of regular supermarket barbecue sauce (KC Masterpiece Original in this case).  Set … Continue reading →

New Year’s Treat

Here’s a fast and easy treat for New Year’s Eve or New Years’s Day brunch.  It was part of one of my first In The Kitchen columns written for the Packet, back in April 2002 (yikes!).  Where ever I take it, it gets raves, and it only takes moments to put together.  I almost always … Continue reading →

Cappellini Pie

Yum.  And what a surprise.  I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I took home a piece of Cappellini Pie from Dolce & Clemente’s a few weeks ago.  In the prepared foods case (and theirs is amazing), it was cold, so I was hoping it would not be dry. I need not have worried, … Continue reading →