This Old Chef

Sometimes, a tiny little thing changes something from good... to classic. 

Last night, I decided to make tuna cakes.  It’s one of our favorites, and it generally leans, or leaps, in a vaguely Asian direction. 

But I also had some…

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

I know, I know... but the family names are McCann, Kavanagh, McCullough, Shannon, Murphy, O'Gara... 

Clearly... I have no choice.

And in these strange times, it seems we have no choice but to spend more time…

I'm really ready to move on from the wild Ups and Downs of 2019, but I'm also grateful to have seen my recipes published in Food & Wine magazine for the first time, and on a number of great digital…

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…

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…

This experiment from last Thanksgiving will definitely be making a repeat appearance on our table this year!  It's staggeringly good, if I do say so myself...)

As always, this year I'm determined to come up with some new ways to…

There are very few culinary creations that can boast the rich flavor and luscious mouthfeel of risotto.  And that fabulous Thanksgiving turkey will provide you with the meat, and the stock, to make some of the best risotto you've ever…

THE use... THE comfort food... using the remains of the turkey... probably my personal fave... because when all is said and done, I'm a Midwesterner who's Irish on all sides (and I do mean ALL sides).

Hash.

So this version…

These two recipes are De-lightful to make, De-licious to eat, and De-lovely to serve... with your favorite turkey or ham or chicken!

Time Machine:  Chicken Crêpes

I can't really explain it...

OK... I could say that some of the roast…

If it makes you feel better, you can call it "Shepherd's Pie with Turkey," but either way, my after-Thanksgiving take on this comfort food favorite will have you gobbling it down!

So...  The Remains were gloriously arrayed before me...

I…