I was very lucky to have a childhood filled with love and privilege. I never wanted for anything, had the best education that money could buy, and the full attention of both of my parents who supported me in everything I did. I was spoiled by my grandparents and had plenty of wonderful extended family [...]
A cursory read through Max McCalman’s new book Mastering Cheese makes me say WOW! I’m so glad that someone has finally taken the time to write an updated reference to take over where Steve Jenkins’s Cheese Primer left off. This book tells you just about everything you need to know about cheese and more for [...]
I like to do things around Christmas that remind me of home like cooking Cajun classics such as Gumbo and Crawfish Creole. These familiar flavors bring me closer to my family who is so far away and also bring back some fond memories of lavish Christmas Eve gatherings filled with food, music, and lots and [...]
If you read my post on Cava a while back, you know how crazy I am for bubbly. Last night, after the fabulous Arneis Ensemble Concert, we headed over to Brookline’s famous Publick House to raise a celebratory glass together. Our friends visiting from Chicago, Kristin and Grant, as it turns out are [...]
Another Winter Solstice has come and gone. It’s a day that, for me, begs introspection and also one that I look for comfort and warmth in, bracing for the coming winter. I was happy to spend my evening attending a concert given by Dan Doña and friends, Kristin Elgersma and Will Cicola – [...]
If you have a hankering for a breakfast of brioche and homemade jam, I recommend you check out Tatte Bakery in Brookline on Beacon Street in St. Mary’s Square. The daily special is two warm brioche, homemade jam, and cup of coffee for $10. It’s one of the fabulous things you can treat yourself [...]
It’s been about seven years since my dinner at March in New York City. Mistress Botrytis (name changed to protect the innocent) and I dined there on a comp and had the meal of our lives. There are bites of food that I will always remember like the amazing two-bite lobster purses [...]
I’m not usually a huge fan of fresh goat’s milk cheeses. They are enjoyable, certainly, but I prefer the subtle complexities of a firm textured aged cheese or a runny ripe washed-rind stinker nine out of ten times in my state of cheese snobbery. For the most part, I just don’t get from [...]
The weather outside has indeed been frightful. Icy cold temperatures and chilly gusts of wind have been making it tough to warm up over these past few days. When I got home after work last night, I felt chilled to the bone despite the four layers of clothing I was wearing. I [...]
Plants in the chicory family include Belgian endive, frisee, radicchio, chicory, and escarole. All have a relatively bitter flavor and can be eaten year round because their growth does not depend on photosynthesis to a point. In fact, the only green one in the bunch is escarole. The others are grown deliberately [...]
