A Word of Caution: Don’t Be Nosy About Friendly’s

I ate at Friendly’s yesterday. It’s not that I planned to lunch at the Home of the Fribble , but there was one next door to the Midas Muffler Shop where I deposited by ancient and rather noisy Saab wagon. Besides, it was lunchtime, a steamy 90 degrees and, according to my muffler man, Friendly’s […]

Just Say No Or Just Say Yes: One RSVP Rager’s Story

I urge you to peruse my friend Beth Teitell’s story “RSVP Rage in the Modern Age” that appeared in the Boston Globe this week. It is a must-read for anyone who throws parties or gets invited to any ‘do that requires a simple yes or no response. The RSVP (a French acronym for Répondez S’il Vous […]

Kooking with the Kardashians? Like, Seriously?

I haven’t — nor will I ever — read Kris Jenner‘s new cookbook, “In The Kitchen With Kris: A Kollection Of Kardashian-Jenner Family Favorites,” but that’s never stopped me from serving up a snarky opinion. This over-publicized Hollywood how-to written, ahem, by the matriarch of the Kardashian clan is 300 pages of her own recipes […]

I’m Greens With Envy

I’m dying for a salad. Any kind of salad – Greek, Caesar, Cobb (sans egg), spinach, mesclun… At this point I’d attack a wedge of iceberg like it was an apple and I was a starving rabbit. True confession: I actually mewled when I passed by the salad bar at Whole Foods the other day. […]

True Confessions: From Gastronomy to the Gastric Sleeve

Anyone who knows me is well aware of my love of food. I like to cook it, bake it, eat it, write about it, talk ad nauseum about it and was humiliated on national TV because of it. I even gave up a 30-year career in daily journalism to pursue my food-inspired talents. So why […]

Twenty-Two Things I Love About My Mother

1. She thinks because she didn’t go to college she’s not as smart as some people. Truth be told, she’s smarter. 2. Mom’s the best judge of character. 3. She doesn’t hesitate to pinch me under the table when she thinks I should shut up. 4. Kids at family gatherings surround Auntie Camilla like she’s […]

I Survived Wegmans…Barely

CHESTNUT HILL — It started with parking attendants directing cars like they do at Gillette Stadium, and then moved onto a scrum at the Asian hot take-away bar. There was incessant choo-chooing of an overhead train by the dairy case that drew screams from a overexcited tot named Adam. Maybe it was the mosh pit […]

I Had to Share…

this Zagat post with you since I am a HUGE fan of New York’s Hudson Valley. Besides my gazillion trips to the Culinary Institute of America for bootcamps and one-day classes (they really should give me a diploma by now), I plan my spring through fall forays around the Rhinebeck Farmers Market. It is, hands […]

Foraging for Dinner Ideas? Think Morels. It’s Spring!

I was on a quest to find some early rhubarb the other day when I walked into Volante Farms in Needham. Sadly, there wasn’t a reddish pink stalk to be found, but, wait, are those morels???? Spring has truly sprung! Morels are mushrooms (for you fungi-challenged), a tasty gourmet delicacy shaped like little honeycombed cone […]

Why Break with Routine? Just Cook Clean!

Like our two spoiled silly cats, my husband and I are creatures of habit. We each drink our coffee out of the same mugs every morning and he must have a snort of single malt every night. My standing Starbucks order is a “venti non-fat one Equal latte.” No shots, thangyouverymuch. At our local Asian […]