[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 […]

If there is one item that puts Ukrainian cookery on the map of International Yum, that would be borscht.  I would love to tell you that there are poems and songs written about it, borscht cook-offs and Borschtfests are held around the world, but, sadly, I can’t report any of this; apparently the rest of […]

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 […]

From time to time, abiding by the unbending code of conduct of first generation transplants, I succumb to strong nostalgic cravings.  In case you are not the first generation transplant, let me explain.  I refer to craving foods I can’t have because there is no place to get them — either they no longer exist or […]

Grab a piece of simple soft dough, roll it out and it will open a world of possibilities to you.  A skillet pie can turn your ordinary weeknight into a  feast fit for a king. Should you feel like you need to be convinced, let me give you just a few bullet points: making the dough […]

As days are getting warmer — some places already headed full-throttle into scorching summer heat — meal preparation is dwindling down to a few quick and easy basics. I don’t blame you people,  I mean, who wants to spend the entire evening after a stressful work day cooking when it’s so nice outside (well, that excludes me, […]

Chakhokhbili. I can’t blame you if your first urge was to say Gesundheit when you read this.  Yes, sounds a lot like a sneeze, and for some people it is very hard to pronounce.  Khokhobi in Georgian means pheasant.  Traditionally this dish was made with pheasant, but chicken took its rightful place right next to pheasant because […]