I feel like I am making up New Year’s resolutions as a I go. I seem to have sidestepped the pressure of December 31. But the things I want to accomplish continue to hit my mental temples and I feel the need to organize. No surprise there.
One of the things that keeps showing up in [...]

One of my culinary goals while living in Tuscany is to learn to make great focaccia.
I confess, I am more of a ‘cooker’ than a ‘baker’ and yeast doughs and breads are not a consuming part of my repertoire. But that doesn’t mean it is going to stay that way. I mean to learn the [...]

I am so excited! My goal was to learn to make focaccia, pizza dough and pasta dough while living in Italy. I figured I could pick up on the nuances of certain foods simply by having the time to cook, repeat and tweak. For example, how many rounds of focaccia will it take to really [...]

A little disclaimer, I had written this just after Christmas (when, apparently I was still in the holiday spirit). Then I forgot to post it… but Christmas dizziness aside this is a fun take on potatoes when you are in the mood for something different yet with the same ole ingredients. My kids love these [...]

Quick: before summer is officially here, make this gratin. You—and I—won’t want these thick, buttery, cheesy carbohydrates mid-summer when we are concerned about our midriffs. But the caveat is: this gratin satiates and fills you with even a small portion (I am all in favor of trimming portion sizes so I can still enjoy favorite [...]

Yes—I too ate the boxed version of macaroni and cheese in college. I would add smokies and/or broccoli to give it a little color and flavor (my other main indulgence was making Big Gulp size lattes on the $30 Krups espresso machine, back in the day we actually thought it was ‘expresso’). For the record, [...]