food detective

On a recent trip to the Evanston’s farmers market I spotted these gorgeous “hen of the wood” mushrooms. If they sprouted legs and a beak you could almost imagine they would start to scratch and strut amongst the stands. Personal disclaimer- what often looks inspirational at the farmers market frequently turns out to be a bomb in my kitchen.
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cooking for one... or two

I don’t know about you, but some days I could really use a drink. Most times it’s a crisp glass of white wine while I’m preparing dinner. But I’ll confess on rare occasions I’ve craved a little something a little earlier. Properly doctored, a bloody mary is the perfect tonic. A fitting connotation to accompany brunch, lunch or dinner. Suitably garn
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perfecting the "done before they arrive" party- a work in progress

How’s this for a Hollywood ending to your holidays. Here is the amazing baked cheese recipe that accompanied my saucisson spread from an earlier post. This is not your typical baked brie. And it couldn’t be simpler to make. The garlic studded triple crème, with a splash of vermouth, bubbles in the oven on a bed of aromatic herbs. And the critical
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perfecting the "done before they arrive" party- a work in progress

Here’s a holiday quandary- when the pressure is on to put on a lavish holiday meal what can you serve beforehand that will simultaneously delight your guests and not push you over the edge? Disclaimer Thanksgiving dinner is not one of my favorites. Don’t get me wrong, I adore having my house and table brimming with family and friends. It’s just al
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perfecting the "done before they arrive" party- a work in progress

it’s one thing to misplace your reading glasses, completely another to space on the fact that you’re hosting a party. That happened to me last week. Months ago, my daughter at Northwestern business school thought it would be fun to invite some of her classmates over for a cocktail party. At the time I thought so too. Then life happened.
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food detective

The apartment we just moved into has structural damage and we need to move… again. While the mere thought of packing everything up again has brought me to the brink of tears (several times), I’ve decided to set my mind on the positives. First, we are renting, so in essence this is not our problem. Second, there is another unit in our building that
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entertaining with style- making it work for you

How fun that my daughter and her husband were going to be in town for a wedding the weekend of their first anniversary. Turns out the ceremony they were coming in for was uptown at three and the reception downtown at six, leaving a bit of a gap. Lucky me that our new apartment happens to lie right in between. So my daughter and I decided to have
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entertaining with style- making it work for you

So excited for my first Chicago party. My youngest, who is in business school at Northwestern, wanted to invite some of her classmates over to meet me and see the apartment before they took off for their summer internships. With my husband and I driving back across the country the week before, time was going to be too tight to pull off a proper
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entertaining with style- making it work for you

In my last post I mentioned how important it is to have a handful of go-to recipes that always work for you. With those up your sleeve you will never shy away from having people over. So many times people think they need to cook up something new or extravagant when they entertain. The truth is when you have a party it’s the guest list that most
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food detective

Happy Chinese New Year- it’s the year of the pig! What perfect timing that I stumbled upon the following recipe. One of my personal new year’s resolutions is to finally go through all my old cooking magazines that have literally been piling up for decades. And while I’ve been feeling some Marie Kondo pressure to simply pitch them all, I’m glad I
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