Market dinners, as we called them, constituted dinner most nights of a two-week vacation in France this May — first with my Aunt Adrienne in Brittany, then with her family and Joe joining in Paris. In Paris, the six of us gathered whatever breads, cheeses, olives, tapenades, and other goodies had struck our eye. We’d make […]
Last week Adrienne confessed that we never overcame our fear of buying a whole fish at the local market during our time in Split, Croatia. As most of you know, I’m quite stubborn and don’t like to admit defeat. It just so happened, I’d taken a personal day from work. I decided to put it […]
After my mom married my stepfather, I was introduced to a new-to-me family tradition: The annual Ukrainian Christmas Eve. Christmas is celebrated on January 7th each year in Ukraine. Why? I’m not sure. All I know is that the night prior is Ukrainian Christmas Eve. The ‘Sviatyi Vechir’ or ‘Holy Evening’ centers around a feast […]
Joe and I have been stuffing ourselves silly with seafood during our month in Maine. Lobster rolls. Fried scallops and clams. Fresh oysters. Crab melts. We’ve traveled for clams with a view. We’ve ordered a second lobster roll because it was *that* good. It’s been a glutinous month. But when in Portland, Maine… So as […]
Last week I got a hankering for some good, old-fashioned Italian gravy. You know, the red kind. Thing is, my mom keeps her recipe quite guarded. Our conversations usually go something like this. Joe: How do you make your gravy? Mom: Oh, just some tomatoes, seasoning, and homemade meatballs. Joe: OK… How many tomatoes? What […]
Osso buco has always felt like this big secret I’m not in on. Finding veal or pork shanks. Committing to a long, slow braise. Pronouncing the fancy name. All this time, I’ve been under the impression that the dish required precision, patience, and less of a recipe than a feeling. I’ve thought about cooking it […]
Well, hello there! I’ve finally gone and done it — after years as an editor, content marketer, and writer, I’ve finally started my own blog. Why now? I recently jumped into a new adventure: the life of a digital nomad. The whole thing is so exciting and new and unknown that I felt compelled to […]