How Fresh are Your Spices?
Contrary to a common belief held by many, spices are not ageless. If you use some of your spices infrequently, you really should throw them out and purchase fresh ones. There is a cool aid on the McCormick [...]
An Accountant’s Alternative to Starbucks
I love my daily Grande Nonfat Latte. In fact, I love two or three lattes every day. Gary matches me one for one with his espresso consumption. Our habit became very expensive many years ago as we were [...]
Champagne: In Victory One Deserves It; In Defeat One Needs It – Napolean
Watch our video on facebook of Rhonda Rhyne teaching the Easthams about Sabering Champagne! Sabering - An old tradition which represents, today, a festive gesture of friendship, love and respect for champagne (and friends)! I. What is Sabering? Sabering is the French tradition of [...]
What is “Cook the Part?”
Cook the Part is much more than a collection of recipes; it's an entertaining revolution. For the first time, menus are divided into "parts." Each of your dinner guests cooks a part of a fabulous meal. In this [...]
Oma’s Thanksgiving Stuffing
This is my Oma's recipe for "stuffing" although the purists call it "dressing" if it's not actually inside the turkey. This has been my brother and my favorite Thanksgiving dish for years. It reheats well so it makes great leftovers. [...]
A Virtual Cooking Class by Chef Andrea of “Cooking Classes in Rome”
Following our day of cooking with Chef Andrea we received the following email from Chef Andrea, which I am sharing with you here. This is unedited and includes many tips in addition to the recipes. If you try any of [...]
What €18 will buy in Rome, but you can recreate at home
Lobster Half served with thin linguini in a fresh tomato sauce This was an elegant but simple meal we had in a restaurant in Rome a few nights ago. I thought that this would be a great dish [...]
Notes on Gnocchi and More
Today we attended a cooking class in the Trastevere section of Rome. Our menu was: An appetizer of fresh purple artichokes, deep fried in a light beer batter Pasta course: Gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce, ricotta, and basil Secondi Piatti: [...]
A Busy Weekend of Cooking: Starting with a Lesson in Chiles En Nogada
The independence day celebration in Mexico is actually on September 15, so we were a bit late this year, but on Friday, my friend, Barbara Zaugg, gave us a complete lesson on making the traditional celebratory dish: Chiles En Nogada. [...]
Homemade Baklava – Not as complicated as you thought!
From the "Dinner in Athens" chapter of Cook the Part : Next weekend we are planning to cook the "Dinner in Athens" chapter of my book with some of our biotech friends. In preparation for that event, I am making [...]