Tag: cooking

Celebration Crab Salad on My New Year’s Eve Menu

Celebration Crab Salad on My New Year’s Eve Menu

San Franciscans love dungeness crab this time of year. The crabs are big and meaty this season. I’m making a celebratory dungeness salad with celery and shallot, EVOO and Meyer lemon. The lemon perks up the briny sweetness of the crab bathed in mellow olive 

A Lucky New Year’s Eve Dish

A Lucky New Year’s Eve Dish

Just back from Christmas with friends and family in Jersey. Now it’s time to plan my New Year’s Eve menu. I’ll share this year’s menu when I’m done. In the meantime, here are a couple of classic dishes to get you started with your planning. I 

Christmas Eve Seven Fish Feast

Christmas Eve Seven Fish Feast

Cena di Vigilia (Christmas Eve meal) is a Neapolitan tradition. I’m cooking with my friend Susan in her New Jersey kitchen. Along with her brother Joe, we’ll prepare our Christmas Eve Seven Fish Dinner for 20 friends. I’ll miss the dungeness crab this year. The 

Neapolitan Christmas Salad

Neapolitan Christmas Salad

I just love this classic Neapolitan Christmas Salad, insalata di rinforza, in Italian. Insalata di rinforza translates into Reinforced Salad. How did such an important part of the Christmas table get such a silly name? Here’s the tale. Giardiniera, vegetables stored in a vinegar bath, 

Holiday Lunch at My House

Holiday Lunch at My House

It’s a Jersey Christmas this year. I’m cooking a Seven Fish Dinner on Christmas Eve with friends. Christmas Day is with my sister Rose’s branch of the family. We’ll be 3 generations in the kitchen. My office-mates convinced me to cook for them before I 

Holiday Sausage @ Little City Meats

Holiday Sausage @ Little City Meats

I was excited when I walked into North Beach’s Little City Meats this morning. The Christmas sausage stuffed with pork, fennel, imported provolone and basil was in. Run, don’t walk. Get some before they’re all gone. I absolutely love these holiday sausages and can’t wait for 

Strufolli (Holiday Honey Balls)

Strufolli (Holiday Honey Balls)

It wouldn’t be Christmas in a Neapolitan house without struffoli, little round fritters bathed in a boiling honey glaze and then topped with colorful sprinkles. The little marbles are crispy outside with a nutty flavor sweetened by the honey. The inside is light and airy. 

Pignoli Cookies

Pignoli Cookies

Want an easy and sweet treat for your holiday table? Bake some almond cookies topped with pine nuts. We always have a stash of pignoli cookies for our Christmas table. You can make them in less than an hour. A fan asked for this recipe. 

Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta Fazool/Pasta & Beans)

Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta Fazool/Pasta & Beans)

Pasta and beans was a staple in my childhood Jersey home. My mom made this soup often and we all loved it. A fan asked for the recipe. Pasta and beans is a healthy and inexpensive peasant dish. You can have this one-pot meal that 

Bolognese Pasta Sauce

Bolognese Pasta Sauce

Actually it’s called ragu alla Bolognese. It’s a long-cooked meat sauce from Bologna, in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, the culinary heart of Italy. The ragu is traditionally served with tagliatelle in Bologna, a flat pasta a bit narrower than fettuccine. The pasta’s shape is perfect 

Focaccia with Grapes & Walnuts

Focaccia with Grapes & Walnuts

I got off easy this year. I didn’t cook Thanksgiving dinner. I joined friends in the North Bay and had to bring an antipasto. It took me a while to get inspired but an idea hit me at the market. The late harvest grapes were 

Roasted Turkey & All The Fixings

Roasted Turkey & All The Fixings

Still undecided about your Thanksgiving dinner? Try my recipes for Roasted Turkey scented with rosemary, sage, lemon and garlic, chestnut/sausage stuffing and easy pan gravy. While the oven is hot, add brussels sprouts roasted with pine nuts and parmigiano and butternut squash roasted with honey 

Butternut Squash Roasted with Honey and Sage

Butternut Squash Roasted with Honey and Sage

I love butternut squash and make it often, especially in the fall. A favorite is roasted butternut squash lightly flavored with honey and sage. You can have this dish on your table in less than 30 minutes. The hardest part is cutting and peeling the 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts for Your Thanksgiving Table

Roasted Brussels Sprouts for Your Thanksgiving Table

I’m not cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year but I will be bringing some vegetables to add to my friend’s table. I know, you either love or hate brussels sprouts. I happen to love these crispy little orbs and I hope you will too. Coat the 

Braised Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Braised Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage stuffed with rice and flavorful browned ground beef braised in San Marzano tomatoes is a comfort food that helps me transition to early fall. I don’t give up late summer easily. Stuffed cabbage is easy to prepare and packs a ton of texture and