I eat oatmeal most days of the week. I make it simply but flavorfully with a pinch of salt, water and something different each morning from my box of “dessert” spices from Ceylon cinnamon and nutmeg to ground ginger and cardamom. Weekends then, you might think, I eschew weekday oatmeal […]
This. This is a food mill. Well, this is one is commercial grade. I’m guessing if you own, or have seen a food mill that it looks a lot like the one your grandmother or your mom had. In fact, one of them probably passed it down to you.
Cider and Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes Serves 6 Roasted sweet potatoes are quickly finished with sweet tart cider, maple syrup and vinegar glaze. Ingredients: 2-3 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 cubes, about 2 cups 3 tbs olive oil 1 tbs Guajillo or other chile powder 2 cups […]
My husband Jason and my brother Alec are allies. Each the youngest of three, they speak a common language, one I’m not too sure I approve of. In addition to their inability to find humor in the harmless practical jokes I may have played on Alec when we were kids […]
I’ve been feeling a little down. I blame it on Thanksgiving vegetable side dishes. Thanksgiving is the Superbowl of cooking. I’ve nailed turkey, and taken satisfaction from thick rich gravy. Traditional sides like perfect mashed potatoes, and my grandmother’s basic bread stuffing deliver comfort. However, each year I seek fresh […]
No matter how simple or gourmet your holiday dinner, there is one sauce you’ll serve this Thanksgiving that makes all the difference: thick, rich gravy. Great gravy is created through layer upon layer of flavor, and though complexity is the end result, eating is simple comfort. The Foundation: Homemade stock […]
Jane Forgiel is my Mom’s mom, my grandmother. She grew up in Maryland, met my grandfather, a young doctor, while working as a nurse, and moved with him to Rhode Island, where she raised seven children. Unlike the Polish recipes of my other three grandparents, the dishes Gram was best known for […]
Every year, about a week before Christmas, my family gathers in Aunt Terry’s kitchen to make several hundred pierogi in preparation for Wigilia (pronounced vee-geel-ya), the Polish celebration on Christmas Eve. My Dad rolls out the elastic dough, rounds are cut out with a drinking glass and then filled with potato and cheese, sauerkraut or […]
With all due respect to my Mom’s version of Gram’s stuffing, Auntie’s Rum Chiffon pie and Aunt Jane’s coffeecake, it was Aunt Ali’s cranberry mold that made Thanksgiving dinner exceptional. The meal, shared at a table that eventually held more than 30 Forgiel aunts, uncles and cousins, along with Auntie […]
Every time I cook for an audience, someone leans over the table and whispers in my ear. “I hate Brussels sprouts,” they’ll say, or maybe it’s asparagus, fennel or squash. Then, conspiratorially, they share, “but I love what you just cooked.” These are my proudest moments. Cooking vegetables crisp-tender, lightly […]
