This Old Chef

I'm not at all sure how this happened... but it's Easter... already!

I hope you and yours have a wonderful day together, and, to help make Sunday (and the days thereafter) a bit easier, here are some of This…

So… Charlie wanted chicken on St. Patrick’s Day, a radical deviation as salmon has been our go-to for years now.  On went the thinking cap.  Chicken is very Irish… as is cream.  Then I started thinking about a variation on…

Following a large number of requests... I'm going to post a recipe for soda bread today... 

Bear with me... and be prepared, I like a far more traditional recipe... no fat and no sugar or raisins... 

So... while I have…

For your consideration...  A St. Patrick's Day flashback from a few years ago:  salmon three ways!

It's that time of year again!

You're either really Irish, or you wish you were!

So do yourself a favor, eschew the supposedly traditional…

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 a bit…

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…