Those of us who bake bread at home are constantly looking for ways to utilize the excess bread starter. I personally believe that there should be no “discarding” of the starter. If you are in a good baking rhythm and the starter is mature and vigorous, there is no need to feed your starter daily, only […]

[Sponsored post] With holiday season just around the corner, party food has been on my mind.  Holidays put pressure on a cook because in my mind the traditional menu is so limiting. Not that there is a shortage of good recipes out there, but some of the traditional dishes are not something one would cook the rest of the […]

Here are just two wonderful renditions of the no-fail party snacks: one savory, one sweet.  Fillings are not set in stone, naturally. Feel free to offer your own. The main focus here is the versatile and delicious flaky cheese-based dough.  It’s so easy to make, it’s almost ridiculous.  Because the dough is not sweetened at […]

With Jewish New Year just around the corner, I feel a bout of phantom nostalgia coming on. Why phantom, you may ask? Because my family never really kept any of the Jewish traditions.  Sure, my aunt made Gefilte Fish every fall, along with some other staples of classic Jewish cookery. She’d invite the family over, and we […]

Don’t get me wrong. At 5 o’clock I was still convinced we were having a leftover night.  We had plenty of leftovers to deal with, all good ones.  All I had to do was get off the couch where I was comfortably settled with my new quilting project, head to the kitchen and reheat a […]

If you ever cooked a large hunk of meat, say, pot roast, picnic pork, leg of lamb, the abominable Thanksgiving turkey, or chicken, you probably have experienced the big feast aftermath syndrome.  Doesn’t ring the bell?  Well… you cook that beautiful cut of meat, you feed everyone until their are full to the brim, and then… and then […]

Bagels are one of my most favorite things to eat.  They are so versatile, so forgiving; they go with anything — from smoked white fish to jam — and never complain.  You can eat them by themselves just fine or slather with butter or cream cheese, and you’ve got yourself a meal. New York style […]