From Scratch

There’s a lot of work between now and the new year, much of it food-related of course. I’m a great believer in offsetting work with play, even if not in equal measures, and these sugared cranberries definitely fit my definition of play.
They’re a snap to make and the best tools are a scrupulously-clean pair of […]

I suppose in a perfect world every Thanksgiving turkey on our tables would be a free-range, locally-raised bird, possibly an heirloom breed, and killed not long before being sold. But we all know the world is far from perfect, and the average American is just as likely to buy a frozen turkey as a fresh […]

Who would pay more than twice the price to avoid measuring flour and sugar for simple quick breads? We Americans of course, at least some. I wouldn’t and you probably wouldn’t either and with my recipe farther down, nobody has to.
When I saw this Libby’s Pumpkin Bread Kit last year, I gasped at the price, […]

There aren’t many American dishes I dislike more than that congealed old standby, tuna noodle casserole made with cream of mushroom soup. I can’t even tolerate that salty, fatty, gloppy soup as a soup; using it as an ingredient is just wrong.
But I love mushrooms, I love tuna and heaven knows I’ve never met a […]

Okay, the election’s over. Let’s eat. Or at least think about it, with Thanksgiving only three weeks away. You’ll find some Thanksgiving-related links at the top of the sidebar now, and clicking on “more” (or the word Thanksgiving at the bottom of this post) will take you to the archive of posts tagged “Thanksgiving.” Some […]

I know some people hate them, but I love cranberries. I always buy several bags at the end of the season and freeze them for the rest of the year. Inevitably, by the time they’re back in season I still have a bag in the freezer and usually use it to make a few batches […]

This probably should be called pumpkin spread since it has no butter, but the world calls it pumpkin butter and who am I to argue? I love this fat-free treat, whether on toast or pancakes, on vanilla ice cream or my favorite way, as a dip for apples, giving me two tastes of autumn in […]

It might be more accurate to call this “corn infused with light cream”, but regardless of the name it is a wonderfully savory dish with bits of onion and herb.
I’m trying to stretch summer, so even though the first apples are available, the last of the corn is more appealing. My mother used to make […]

I hate last-minute cooking for a big meal, holiday or otherwise. That’s why I prepare make-ahead gravy at Thanksgiving. But not every meal includes turkey and often, everyday meals need gravy that I am still not willing to scramble around to make at the final moment.
If you’re the same way, set aside your thoughts about […]

Remember —  calories don’t count today.
Eat up and I’ll see you after the holiday.

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving for most people without cranberry sauce, but often it’s treated like an obligation. Is there anything on the holiday table less appealing than a jelled roll of canned cranberry “sauce”, sliced into quivering discs that still bear the marks of the can? It’s one of those retro relics of the Fifties whose time […]

Had there been room I’d have called this Can I eat a turkey we’ve had for thirty years? It was a real question for the tireless turkey experts at the Butterball Turkey Hotline. For more than twenty-five years they’ve been on the other end of the phone during the holidays to answer our questions. This year’s […]

If illustrator Norman Rockwell were still alive, I wonder if he’d do a vegetarian version of his iconic Freedom From Want? The painting, from his Four Freedoms, is seared onto our national consciousness as an idealized family Thanksgiving but for millions, a turkey on the table is neither ideal nor desirable.  
These days there are plenty of choices for […]

Let’s be honest. Making corn bread is dead easy but despite that, dump and stir mixes abound, I suppose because they’re fast. This recipe is ready for the oven in the time it takes to pre-heat and it has the added appeal of being one of those “can’t mess it up” recipes. I think the reason […]

The first Thanksgiving was in 1621 and if we pretend it was observed every year thereafter, that would give us 334 years of Thanksgiving meals without green bean casserole.
For those outside the US, the five-ingredient side dish is built around a can of cream of mushroom soup and it’s estimated that it’s served in nearly 20 […]