Baked Fennel Au Gratin with Orzo and Onion

I ate fennel nearly fifty years ago when my husband and I were in Zurich, Switerland in the mid-seventies where we studied Jungian psychology. I didn’t like this vegetable much back then because of its potent licorice flavor. Also, I wasn’t familiar with how to cook it. I only baked it with a sprinkle of…

Zucchini cheesy tomato frittata

Frittatas have introduced me to fancy egg dishes for dinner. As a kid, as well as an adult, I often ate them for breakfast. It was a gradual practice I developed early on and have held onto it for decades. Because of this routine, I would not want to eat eggs again for dinner–too many…

Skinny Paprika-Smoked Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits are easy to make, quick and luscious to eat. Magazines and books lately focus articles and recipes on biscuits, touting favorite combinations from well-known chefs and bakers. Biscuits run the gamete from classical, tall and fluffy, ( 3-4 inches high), to thinner, and to every combination imaginable! You can make big ones, baked separately…

Loaded Potato, Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Chowder

I always enjoy starting a lunch or dinner meal at a restaurant with a cup of soup. Except for French onion soup, which I don’t like, or something very spicy, I’m quite open to a wide assortment of soups, like creamed ones, thick ones with grains, barley, orzo or others with meatballs, poultry, cheeses, and…

Majestic Morning Muffins: Sweet or Savory

Aside from banana muffins, or simple toasted English muffins next to eggs for breakfast, muffins were often, decades ago, ho hum for me, kind of bland, mostly an aside to any meal. I never ate them as a child, even though my Dad owned bakeries. (We usually ate rye bread, bagels and yeast rolls, nice…

Oriental-Style Pork with Oyster Sauce and Mushrooms

As I’ve stated in other parts of this book, I didn’t eat pork until after I was married because my Jewish parents kept a kosher house. However, I still recall a whiff of bacon cooking in the kitchen and I loved that smell and flavor, still do! I think my mother followed certain rules, and…