food detective
Last month United threw us a curveball. A seven-hour delay in the Denver airport for our connecting flight home. Being held hostage by the airlines is never fun but this time I was carrying special cargo, my little Norwich terrier Willie. We waited for our crew to arrive at the gate for an hour, sat on the plane for 2 ½ hours for mechanics to
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food detective
Bravo to Bon Appétit for their excellent January edition. One of the highlights is their spread on savory toasts. While I rarely serve lunch I often offer up hors d'oeuvres. And can’t canapés simply be sandwiches cut into little pieces? Time to dissect my favorite on the page. I am a huge fan of bresaola. If you’ve never had it it’s an air-dried
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food detective
How wonderful when a student teaches you a new trick. One of the fun things about teaching at Dorothy Lane Market’s Culinary Center is when I run into my “students” and they share not only what they enjoyed learning from my class but divulge their own secrets to making a dish work. This happened just the other day. I was visiting my dear friend
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perfecting the "done before they arrive" party- a work in progress
What a fun evening at DLM’s Culinary Center. I hosted a Girl’s Night Out cooking class with Dorothy Lane Market’s wine expert Teresa Kearney. The topic was holiday canapés. And the point was to learn how to make an array of nibbles that would impress without any stress. Have to say the night was a success. We had a full house and while Teresa
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perfecting the "done before they arrive" party- a work in progress
How do you pull a party off in a matter of minutes? The answer is by planning and prepping everything weeks, months and hours ahead of time. The secret to successful entering is in the pre-work. There is actually a direct correlation between the amount of time you put into planning and the ease with which your party comes off. Knowing we wanted to
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perfecting the "done before they arrive" party- a work in progress
Why is it when you want to take in every little minute the pace of life seems to ramp itself into a frenzy. In the past couple weeks my husband had what seemed like the last of an endless array of birthday celebrations, my baby graduated from college, and we held my sweet mom’s memorial service. All milestone moments. To help my youngest daughter
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food detective
I’m in the midst of a summer love affair with tomatoes. Can’t tell you how excited I get when I try something new and absolutely adore it. This happened at my husband’s surprise birthday breakfast for his entire office at our home. I usually don’t hire caterers. But because this party was at 8 AM, at my house, AND a surprise I knew I needed
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something in a snap
Whether you’re throwing a bash for thirty or curling up on the couch in your jammies most everyone who’s watching will want an academy award-winning appetizer for tonight’s festivities. But if the big event has sneaked up on you like it has me you might need something sensational in a snap. Try this bite with guaranteed glam. And while it ensures
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perfecting the "done before they arrive" party- a work in progress
My husband and I returned to Ohio on the eve of January 6th. We left 74-degree highs in the California desert for wind chills plunging past 38 below. It was a literal shock walking out of the airport. Thankfully we had someone picking us up. Can’t image the state of the cars left at the open lots of Dayton’s International Airport. The next day
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perfecting the "done before they arrive" party- a work in progress
Last week I taped my first cooking segment on television… live. The folks at Dorothy Lane Market asked me if in two days I would do a piece on holiday entertaining for Living Dayton. I said sure thinking they would be coming to the DLM Cooking School. As it turned out it was at their television studio. I took a deep breath, focused all my nervous
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Wherever I find myself, I’m happiest with a full dining room table. As a former professional chef and caterer I want to share what I’ve learned over the past three decades of entertaining. On this site you’ll find tricks of the trade to help even the most harried of you pull off a seemingly seamless fête. Come join the conversation! read more →