Posts Tagged ‘Recipes’

A few weeks ago I made the most decadent, highest calorie macaroni and cheese dinner I could possibly come up with. Why? Because it was my birthday, I had Covid and it’s a very cold January. I needed comfort… and food. Cheese normally does the trick, no? This meal is creamy and delicious. Make sure to use medium shell macaroni. They hold the cheese well, making every bite perfect. Just as if you were preparing baked ziti, don’t over cook the pasta because it continues to cook in the oven. […]

My 10-year-old goddaughter for Christmas gifted me red serving baskets with adorable checkered liners. She knows red is my color and the theme of my kitchen decor. She’s so thoughtful! The baskets are the ones you’d see at a drive-in movie or old-school diner. I wanted to make food fitting for their use. Hamburgers, hotdogs, or French fries would work well. I went with my favorite out of the three, French fries. I realized after looking up a few recipes that I’ve never made fries correctly. I learned you’re supposed […]

I worked at Marzullo’s Bakery on Long Island when I was 16 years old. Marzullo was one of those tough Italian types. I felt intimidated by him at that young age. But I respected him and learned a lot from Tony. He was an incredible cook and baker. Sometimes he’d make us lunch in the back kitchen. I’ll never forget this linguine with clam sauce. It was absolutely, perfectly delicious. Other times Tony insisted that I test out foods and pastries he was experimenting with. You just didn’t say no […]

It’s been a productive garden season partly because of the consistent rain over the summer and the warm weather we’re having of late. I just harvested another batch of beautifully ripe tomatoes. If we don’t get a cold front, I may even procure one more collection! What a great year for tomato growers. It’s been my best year to date– that’s for sure. My herbs are also still growing strong. I made another large batch of pesto last week. I have so much parsley and oregano, it feels premature to […]

Simple is best in almost every situation. That also applies to cooking.  Minimal ingredients allow you to enjoy each individual flavor and really taste what you’re eating for what it is. I had baby portobello mushrooms in the fridge and I had planned to make stuffed mushrooms but I didn’t have much time last week and I didn’t want to deal with the mess. So, I thought to just sautée the mushrooms in butter. I had basil from the garden on the counter and I garnished with that. The earthy […]

This past weekend was The Beach 91st Street Community Gardens’ plant sale. A big thank you to the garden members who donated plants and helped manage the event. Special thanks to Walsh Properties, Inc. and Rockaway Beach resident Joanne McGrath for donating so many beautiful perennials and bulbs. Props to The Wave for promoting the sale in The Happenings section last week! The event was a great success. Most importantly, it was an opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy the garden space, talk about plants, and mingle. It was […]

Confession. I’ve made guacamole only a handful of times in the past few years. This is because Key Food, on Beach 87th and Rockaway Beach Blvd. has an absolutely delicious guacamole. Guac is a bit of a chore to make and it’s just so easy to grab the container off the shelf. The one I get has the deli label on it, and they have it on Fridays throughout the weekend. For a person who is “almost vegetarian,” avocados add richness and satisfaction to meals. Not to mention they contain […]

My friend Matt Johnson stopped by to borrow a blow dryer to fix a window screen. (Yes, it’s actually a thing). As a thank you, Matt brought over homemade clafoutis. What is clafoutis? I didn’t know either until I took a bite of this decadent French pastry. The dessert is traditionally made with black cherries and placed in a shallow, buttered baking dish. It is then covered with a thick flan-like batter and topped with powdered sugar and butter. It’s served lukewarm and sometimes with cream. Matt’s been baking all […]

Do brides these days still buy china? I remember when I told my mother I didn’t want china as a wedding gift. She was really annoyed. I explained that I wouldn’t use it often and when I did, I would be so worried I’d break or chip it. Instead without my knowledge my mother bought me a set of wine glasses, champagne glasses and serving plates, hand-painted in Italy with beautiful fish illustrations. Now that is totally me. And I’m happy she did it, because it is a special keepsake. […]

Several months back I treated myself to a weekend subscription to the New York Times. It’s taking over my physical world. I want to read and look through every page so I’ve been saving the sections I don’t get to every week. It’s piling up. The paper has effectively taken over my dining room table and now has expanded to the living room coffee table. And it sort of feels good. Besides enjoying the articles, I get really excited looking at the illustrations, layouts and typographic design. It’s been inspiring […]