ALL SOULS DAY…What the rest of the world does or you can make cookies*

Did de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), aka All Saints Day, All Souls Day is celebrated throughout the world, especially in Mexico, South America, the Caribbean and is associated with American Halloween.  Here are some highlights: Oct. 31-Nov. 2; traditional Aztec dancers, parades with costumed figures, regional Mexican music, and other Mexican artisans celebrate… Continue reading ALL SOULS DAY…What the rest of the world does or you can make cookies*

Little Known Cocktail Trivia

LITTLE KNOWN COCKTAIL TRIVIA Just short of 90 proof, Angostura bitters is now available on tap in Chicago’s Best Intentions bar (best patio bar in 2015). Who drinks that stand-by dash provision to the Old-Fashioned? By itself? Bartenders world-wide apparently are consistently searching for the new, unusual, best and most creative uses of ingredients to… Continue reading Little Known Cocktail Trivia

OUR ROOTS, OUR HUMAN SPIRIT, Italian or Otherwise

L’Italo-Americano on-line newspaper celebrates “The #1 source for all things Italian since 1908”. In their recent articles, I especially appreciated the exclusive interview with Superstar Chef Massimo Bottura, “Knowing the Past to Shape the Future of Italian Cuisine.” By SILVIA GIUDICI | OCT 19, 2018.  The article seemed more to do with the spirit of a successful… Continue reading OUR ROOTS, OUR HUMAN SPIRIT, Italian or Otherwise

Trendy One-Sheet Pan Dinners without a Sheet Pan

Very trendy right now is the concept of the one sheet pan dinner. I remember our family using this idea ever since I was old enough to shell peas. For one thing, there was hardly time after a busy day in the restaurant, in the house, in the garden, wherever the chores may be, to… Continue reading Trendy One-Sheet Pan Dinners without a Sheet Pan

The Wonderful Fig

Fig Cakes with Vanilla Glaze

Each season, the overwhelming harvest of figs makes me frantic. They are at the farmers’ market, the orphaned neighbor’s tree, and in my own yard, bursting forth on a daily basis in tantalizing shades of greens and purples. Plump and juicy they are too delicious and voluminous to be left untended. So I pick and… Continue reading The Wonderful Fig