This Old Chef

I'm continuing to work my way through the samples sent to me by @sitkasalmonshares, and I am thrilled every time I taste something new. 

As all of you know, I make crab cakes whenever my wallet allows.  One of…

Mother's other "famous" Christmas cookie contribution was the "Melting Moment."

I know these are seriously out of fashion... but I don't care...

The texture is sooooooooo different from most cookies... because of the cornstarch.  But it's the very, very lemony…

I realize this sounds like hyperbole.  It’s not.  This was stunning.  But let me rewind the clock a bit. 

Out of the blue, I received a note from Grace Parisi, an old friend from days gone by in the Food…

Forgive me.

The switch from "after Thanksgiving" foods to Christmas prep can induce whiplash...

And now it's mid-December!

So let's get going, people...  Over the next few days, we'll be re-posting our greatest Christmas cookie hits.

You're welcome!

(And please…

Stop What You're Doing and Make These!!!

Seriously.  I love all the traditional Christmas cookies.  But I'm telling you:  make chocolate shortbread and bring those elves to their knees!

These come from Chef Extraordinaire Bob Chambers.  You will never, I…

Shortbread.

I have always been helpless when confronted with a plate of shortbread...

And these have forever replaced decorated sugar cookies in my affections.

Shortbread

Yield:  Approximately 50

Cream:

1 lb. Unsalted butter

1 C Sugar (processed fine)

½ t…

I’m incapable of making the right amount of mashed potatoes.  I love them... new, old, hot, cold... so I always make too many.  And this Thanksgiving was no exception. 

But then on Friday, I had this silly idea. 

I took…

I'm celebrating my first time having a recipe featured on the cover of Food & Wine magazine!

Check out my luscious Rutabaga, Celery Root and Potato Gratin... you and your family will love it!

OK...  This is totally not something I’d usually do.  But I ran across a mention of the general idea and I thought, “Well... I might just try this.”  And - surprise, surprise - they were really good.  If you're planning…

My recipe for Chicken 'n' Biscuits Pot Pie is just the thing for those beautiful remaining pieces of turkey...  Made with black pepper and chive biscuits!

Chicken 'n' Biscuits Pot Pie