High concept desserts may make people oooh, aaah and Instagram, but it’s the old school goodies that get gobbled up with glee. Case in point: Mrs. Lamb’s Apple Cake. I dug into my faded, hand-written recipe book the other day when I needed a fourth offering for our refreshments table at the Westport Historical Society’s […]
I’m a fan of East London baker Claire Ptak, the owner of Violet, a bakery in Hackney. I’ve never eaten any of her pastry; never made a pilgrimage to her shop. But I do follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. So, you know, it’s like we’re besties. A few posts ago, Claire – a […]
The French film “Haute Cuisine” isn’t about haute cuisine at all. In fact, just the opposite. When I mentioned that little observation to the film’s real-life subject Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch — the farmhouse cook plucked from the Dordogne to serve as French President Francois Mitterrand’s personal chef — she roared with laughter. “It is certainly not,” […]
I’ve judged dozens of contests in my day. Whether it was choosing readers’ best Christmas cookies, the hunkiest bachelor or crowning that year’s “Boston Pride Idol,” it was always serious business for me. Of course, I also got a chance to be on the other side of the judges’ table as a contestant on the […]
Call me contra mundum, but I couldn’t bear to drive in the parking lot of Anthony’s Pier 4, much less eat there. So don’t expect this girl to weep even a little bit for this circa 1963 restaurant that finally closed its doors tonight. Popovers, shmopovers. Before I begin this screed against ye olde seafood […]
…which set the tone for my first day of the week at Flour. Simply stated, I was a total spaz yesterday. Not only did I lack sleep, my routine was altered, and now I’m worried I’ve morphed into a perimenopausal cat. Working on maybe 5 hours of sleep, I drove — in a downpour — […]
The Second Act of my life began yesterday at 6:50 a.m. when I entered the doors at Flour Bakery + Café with a smile on my face and chef’s pants in my tote bag. I left 11 hours later with the same smile, dirty chefs pants and a sense of pride. Sadly, I could barely walk. […]
make an angel cake! I said I would only take one dozen off his hands when our friend, Fred, called to say one of his paddle tennis partners — who owns a farm in Dover with 300 chickens — off-loaded three dozen on his bachelor buddy. “I already bought eggs this week,” I told him. […]
Years ago, treating Mom at a restaurant on Mother’s Day was a way to get her out of the kitchen. We’d get dressed up in our Easter clothes and sip Shirley Temples while Mom ordered her baked stuffed shrimp or prime rib. But now that the novelty of restaurant dining has gone the way of […]
for great containers! Last night, after spending the afternoon at Babson College at a culinary entrepreneurship seminar, I was treated to dinner at The Farmhouse in Needham. A beet salad with fresh greens, pistachios and a goat cheese croquette followed by Nantucket Scallops with exotic mushrooms on a cauliflower/purple potato puree were divine. And then […]