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January 14, 2016
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Minerva’s Candied Yams

My mom only made these once a year at Thanksgiving. We had baked Russet potatoes and other potatoes throughout the year, but these were strictly for Thanksgiving. As much as I love these and could eat them all year, it’s nice to have something you only make once a year for a special holiday. They […]

May 29, 2015
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Cheese Toast

This is what my mom used to call garlic bread. She made it whenever she made lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs: Her take on Italian food. I call it Cheese Toast because the flavor really comes from the Parmesan cheese on top. Yes, there is garlic, but it is very light. When I make garlic […]

March 27, 2015
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Thanks, Mom!

I am very lucky to have so many great memories of cooking with my mom, planning parties, watching her meticulously decorate platters and charm her guests. My parents had a very long (over 50 years) traditional marriage and my mother was in charge of all the cooking and entertaining. My father helped. He loved to […]

March 16, 2015
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Boneless Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese

When I was growing up, my mom made chicken that we lovingly called “crummy chicken”. She cut up a whole chicken, bathed each piece in melted butter and coated it with a mixture of seasoned breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. I later saw recipes that called this Parmesan Chicken but I will […]

February 16, 2015
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Baby Shower Party

  It was wonderful news to hear that my friend Krista, who does a lot of the beautiful photography on this blog, was having a baby. Then I got the news that it was a girl.  I immediately volunteered to give a baby shower. Krista and I had lots of conversations about the shower and […]

February 9, 2015
At Home with Friends

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What’s on My Table: New Year’s Day Brunch

My copper collection started with a gleaming copper-and-brass chafing dish my mother brought home one day. She was in a silver plating shop, having silver platters replated, when it caught her eye. Someone had brought it in to be polished and never picked it up. The storeowner sold it to her and home it came. […]

January 26, 2015
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Blintz Souffle

As I have already said, this is my mother’s recipe. Her original called for 3 tablespoons of sugar added to the egg / orange juice mixture. Frozen cheese blintzes tend to already be very sweet, so I omitted this sugar. I think this makes them better. It’s a really simple recipe. Over the years, the […]