The recipe for Green Goddess dressing has a storied past, originating as a sauce for eel on the plate of Louis XIII. In 1923, the creamy rich condiment made its U.S. debut at the San Francisco Palace Hotel as a salad dressing in honor of British actor George Arliss, who was appearing in the play …
Our household eats foods seasonally, and the winter diet of root vegetables gets quite long. So, I am quite excited in the spring to spot clumps of fresh chives, purple asparagus tips and the dark green leaves of rhubarb starting to unfold. Something new to cook! Botanically speaking, rhubarb is classified as a vegetable, although …
There is nothing more welcoming in spring than a clump of fresh chives. The smallest species of the onion genus, Allium Schoenoprasum, is a choice edible herb, and the only allium native to both the Old and New World. Here in Maine, chives grow as a perennial, and self-seed themselves wildly throughout the garden. Chives’ …
In many households, the lengthening daylight hours herald the time to do some major cleaning. This age-old ritual of “spring cleaning” is rooted in religious and cultural traditions and linked to the biology of how humans are wired. In the Jewish custom, the home is cleaned before Passover, while Christians clean the altar before Good …
In her seminal book “The Way to Cook,” Julia Child writes that “while attitudes about food have changed, fortunately the principles of good cooking have not. The more one knows about it, the less mystery there is, the faster cooking becomes, the easier it is to be creative … and the more pleasure one has …
My Meyer lemon tree boasts 11 bright yellow lemons in various stages of ripening and nine shiny green ones. And I’ve already harvested five deeply perfumed and heavily burdened fruits. Such a luxury in the depth of winter! Cultivating any citrus fruit in our climate is a challenge that takes patient nurturing. My lemon tree …
The bean is a marvelous food; tasty, economical, highly nutritious; nearly a perfect food. Although the noble bean is often associated with peasant food, to be eaten when meat was not available, it is a staple in many cuisines. We call them reverse immigrants because beans were growing in Central and South America long before …
The recipe caught my eye for an easy-to-make chocolate cake in a cast-iron pan featured in a glossy magazine. True comfort food, a good chocolate dessert is something everyone loves. After closer inspection, the cake seemed familiar, similar to one mother used to prepare when we had company for supper. Back in those days, our …
As winter deepens, colder temperatures and fewer daylight hours trigger biological changes that stimulate hunger and increase our cravings for more energy-dense food. Our cooking and eating patterns shift from grilling burgers and salads to comfort foods like hearty soups and stews. One of our family’s favorite soups is split pea. Either yellow or green, …
“In the year 2525, if man is still alive, If woman can survive…” go the lyrics of Zager and Evans’s 1969 song. The tune keeps resonating as I reflect on our family’s cooking and eating habits during nearly two years of the coronavirus pandemic. What will be on people’s plates in the year 2022 and …
Rösti (RAW-stee) Potatoes are a classic fried-potato preparation from the German-speaking region of Switzerland. Originally a breakfast dish commonly eaten by farmers, this savory potato pancake has many creative adaptations. In the Swiss mountains, rösti usually comes with a fried egg, bacon or speck (cured pork belly) and or cheese. At a Swiss restaurant, rösti …
One of the easiest and most elegant desserts in my recipe collection is for a Bavarian Apple Torte. Not really a torte, more like a cheesecake, this creation starts with a buttery, shortbread crust that slides to a creamy, luscious filling topped with al dente tart-sweet apples in a cinnamon, almost caramel coating, and finishes …
