Marcella is always full of surprises and she makes sure you read her directions carefully. Take this recipe – pretty simple, eh? Potatoes, olive oil, butter, anchovies, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper cooked in a sauté pan. What could be … Continue reading →
Well I put this off as long as possible. I have never prepared mashed potatoes before in my life. I haven’t eaten mashed potatoes in, oh, likely more than twenty years. I don’t care for mashed potatoes. I think this … Continue reading →
Well, I’ve had a run of pretty quick and easy recipes, but that ends today. – First, I have to prepare two dishes. – OK, I thought, I’ll just do one, then add some ingredients and do the second one. … Continue reading →
Eggplant is the rather prosaic English name for this generally purple vegetable; aubergine is the much more elegant French name; in Italy it’s called melanzane. Melanzane??? Oh, oh, I’ve got to be careful here. Back in August 2007, I reported … Continue reading →
When I was planning my vegetable garden last spring, I looked over all the recipes for which I would be responsible and planted as many ingredients as possible – both vegetables and herbs. Of course, many were familiar plantings – … Continue reading →
Our younger son Brad prepared this recipe. My wife and I have 4 children – Kelly, Steve, Meredith and Brad – our attempt at immortality. Kelly’s son, Liam, has made an appearance in this project – we see him a … Continue reading →
I have always grown beans in my vegetable garden. They grow well and we like them. The only problem I have had are groundhogs (aka woodchucks) eating the young plants when they are only an inch or two high. So … Continue reading →
We like asparagus & have it fairly often. I have tried to grow it in the past, without much success. It is one of the few vegetables that we buy at the store year round, although there are definitely better … Continue reading →
Well, that was close. Like a couple of my fellow conspirators I didn’t make this dish when artichokes were fresh and plentiful last spring and summer. I did manage to obtain some a couple of weeks ago at my local … Continue reading →
My mother was born in England. Her family emigrated to Canada in 1919, with my grandfather and his family receiving free passage because of his service in the British Army in World War I. My father’s ancestor also came from … Continue reading →
As Doug explained in the Tuesday post, we traded days this week. He found it impossible to find caul in his neck of the woods, and I do love a challenge. As it turns out, it wasn’t any challenge at … Continue reading →
Well, I’ve been doing this for a few months now & I’ve figured out my favourite part of preparing all these recipes, aside from sampling the end results, of course. It’s just before I start to cook – you know … Continue reading →
This recipe calls for small amounts of two wines – Marsala and one of a Piedmontese Barbera or a Valpolicella or any young red from Central Italy, e.g. a non-riserva Chianti. I didn’t have any of these wines around the … Continue reading →
When my vegetable garden was in full production a few months ago, I looked ahead at the recipes for which I was responsible and prepared some well ahead of time if I could use just-picked produce a few steps from … Continue reading →
My wife and I spent two weeks in Tuscany in May 2004, based at Villa Nottola, just down the hill from Montepulciano. The weather was terrible – not much Tuscan sun – but we had a great time. My Trip … Continue reading →
