As fun as I always think having brunch out will be, I invariably find myself slightly disappointed at the menu. (Albeit not by socially acceptable cocktails at 11 o’clock in the morning!) Perhaps I am dining at the wrong places. Or maybe I always wind up at the veggie place when I’m in the mood for bacon, or

The cherry blossoms and dogwoods are out, the daffodils and crocuses are up, and while it’s not truly warm yet, New Yorkers are dressing like it. I guess there’s a fake it ‘til you make it element at work here, but I’ll keep my spring jacket on until we hit 70, thanks. While this is

A few weeks ago Mom fell and broke her pelvis, so I headed down for a few days to get her and Dad set up for their new life during the twelve-week recovery period. On my flight from New York to Atlanta, I sat by Dwayne, a broadcast engineer, who worked in New Jersey during

On a fateful night back in November, Anthony and I were at a party. And, as one often does at parties, I had a few adult beverages. Maybe it was the wine talking or maybe it was just me, but somewhere between having a lovely conversation with our friends about their upcoming wedding and hugging

I grew up on the Florida panhandle, so I’m picky about my shrimp. I don’t buy tigers. They’re fresh water—usually farm-raised—and lack the briny sweetness of the salt-water varieties. There was a time I had to work hard to find wild Gulf shrimp, but now that Whole Foods is down the street, I have an

A few weeks ago we had a baby shower for my friend Ariel (which I catered!). Among other things, I made these star-shaped cookies loosely based on Martha Stewart’s Earl Grey Tea Cookie which is more like a shortbread than a cookie. I wanted to change it up, add some zest, and I wanted the recipe to

Set out a bowl of warm, creamy spinach-artichoke dip and there’s never any left. That got me thinking. Why only enjoy these flavors in the form of the occasional appetizer? So I set out to develop a creamy weeknight pasta dish that featured these crowd-pleasing flavors. Turns out Creamy Spinach-Artichoke Penne couldn’t be simpler. With

A month ago I was at my father-in-law’s 94th birthday celebration. As an only child I especially appreciate these yearly gatherings when all the siblings—three brothers, four sisters, and seven spouses in toe—gather to honor the father. I’ve got no sisters of my own, so my sister-in-laws have adopted me, and I love when we

Last week my friend Terrie and I lunched at Bodego in Darien, CT. I had eaten there a few months back and enjoyed an array of decadent, delicious antojitos (or little plates) that featured bits of rich pork belly, duck, and truffle cheese. Today’s lunch was different. We were going clothes shopping, and neither of

Earlier this week I was in San Francisco for a meeting north of the city with a goat dairy farm I work called Redwood Hill Farm. Much more fun than staying in hotel, I visited with my dear friend Sabrina instead. On Monday night I arrived just in time for dinner after a long, stressful

Long ago I developed my go-to savory strata. Over the years I’ve attempted sweet ones, but they were never quite as winning the savory strata. No more. Finally  I’ve developed French Toast Strata with Strawberry Sauce that rivals its savory cousin. Sweet stratas are notoriously rich. One of my goals in developing this strata was

Yesterday we had a baby shower for one of my dearest friends, Ariel (who coincidentally just started her own lifestyle blog, Dunne and Done). While I’ve cooked for crowds often, this was my first time catering an event. It could have been stressful, but it wasn’t. Here’s what I did to ensure things went smoothly.

Our family celebrates twice Easter weekend–first on Saturday night before the Easter Vigil, and then again on Sunday afternoon when David’s done with the marathon of services.  Our Saturday night feast is fun hors d’oeuvres on the fly. For as long as I can remember, deviled eggs have always been on the menu, but this

When Andy was away last month, my cooking style changed dramatically. While I enjoyed eating smaller and lighter meals, I didn’t look forward to cooking because I knew Andy wouldn’t be coming home to enjoy it with me. I was reminded that meal-time is about so much more than the food itself, it’s about the