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December 28, 2015
At Home with Friends

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Baked Ham with Bourbon Pecan Glaze

My dear friend Dano requested a ham for Thanksgiving. I said what I usually say, “Of course, I’ll make ham for Thanksgiving, in addition to the turkey.” I didn’t tell him that until this Thanksgiving I had never baked a ham. My only memories of my mother baking a ham involved a canned ham decorated […]

May 8, 2015
At Home with Friends

5 comments

Antipasto Platter

When I was a kid, one of the restaurants we went to was an Italian pizzeria. There was a chef in the front, throwing and stretching pizza dough for all to see. We always ordered a huge family size pizza and I always burned my tongue on the hot melted cheese, too impatient to wait […]

April 17, 2015
At Home with Friends

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Weeknight Sit-in-the-Kitchen Dinner

It was a weeknight and my friend Maria was coming over for dinner. I’ve known Maria for 30 years. (Is it really that long?). Maria doesn’t cook but she eats real food, so it’s always fun to make dinner for her. She doesn’t eat mushrooms, loves artichokes and will try anything I prepare. This was […]

February 4, 2015
At Home with Friends

3 comments

Chicken Livers with Mushrooms

When I was a child, there was a restaurant we frequented for breakfast that served lightly breaded, sauteed chicken livers. The livers were perfectly cooked. They had a dark, rich, crusty, brown exterior and tender, moist, juicy, pink insides and were perfect with softly scrambled eggs. My father and I were the only ones in […]