Frank Castronovo’s Topping for Tomatoes, Pasta, Fish or Meat

July 14, 2015

Talk about versatile! The owner of numerous NYC’s hot spot restaurants such as Frankie’s Spuntino and Frankie’s 457 developed this fresh combination for effortless summer cooking. Spoon it over just about anything and the salty, spicy flavors will take anything up a notch.  Equally delicious whether made fresh or a day ahead to marinate. Loved […]

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Rao’s Roasted Red Peppers

July 6, 2015

Rao’s is a legendary hundred year-old restaurant with only ten tables in what used to be an Italian neighborhood in East Harlem. It is probably the hardest reservation to get in New York City if not the country; tables are booked months in advance by regulars and celebrities. Family owned and run for generations, it’s […]

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Quinoa Panzanella With Wild Salmon

June 30, 2015

Acclaimed New York City chef Marco Canora has a new cookbook full of healthy, delicious recipes like this one. His Mother grew up in Lucca, Italy and he remembers her refusal to buy him his longed for Cocoa Puffs as a child (he has since forgiven her.) After working in various legendary restaurants, he opened […]

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White Chocolate Challah Bread Pudding from “Still Alice”

June 21, 2015

This is the dessert that the title character in the book and movie forgot how to make on Christmas Eve. The author, Lisa Genova, has been making it for years and describes it as “rich, smooth, and luscious. I don’t care for white chocolate, and I’m not crazy for bread pudding, but somehow the combination […]

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Risi E Bisi ( Risotto with Peas and Pancetta)

June 14, 2015

One of the pleasures of this website for me are the random connections that sometimes occur. In 2013 I posted a delicious recipe from my archives called “Pasta with Chicken, Sundried Tomatoes, Gorgonzola and Pine Nuts” that Diane March from Reno, Nevada had sent to Bon Appetit in 1997! She called it “Casey’s Pasta’ because her then 6 year old son […]

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Bumpy Brownies in Cookie Disguise

June 6, 2015

Lenore Dale is one of the most upbeat, bright, industrious women I’ve ever met. Her son John was one of Jimmy’s best friends since third grade, so we have many shared memories; one of the worst being losing a third grader on the Disneyland field trip. ( A Dad who spotted him minutes later told […]

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Real Simple Magazine’s Salted Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate

May 30, 2015

Here’s one more recipe from the 15 year anniversary issue – the readers chose this as the best cookie recipe the magazine ever published!  And it is a good one….the large chunks of dark chocolate accented by the sprinkling of sea salt sets this apart.  I froze most of the cookies to protect myself from […]

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Spring Vegetable Panzanella

May 14, 2015

I was just served this at lunch with my book club, and the whole group immediately demanded the recipe (with me first in line!) Dana Saxten and her family have been in the restaurant business for many years, and any invitation to her house for a meal is eagerly accepted.  For a vegetable dish, it’s […]

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Honoring Mother’s Day

May 7, 2015

“Motherhood is a choice you make everyday to put someone else’s happiness ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is, and to forgive yourself over and over again, for doing everything wrong.”      Donna Bell “I believe in […]

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Greek Layered Dip With Pita Chips and Crisp Vegetables

May 2, 2015

We have an exciting adventure coming up in a few weeks; flying to Istanbul and then cruising the Greek Isles. We aren’t sure we are “cruise people” but you can’t exactly take a train between islands, so off we go! This was the perfect appetizer to bring when we had dinner with a couple who […]

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