Food & Drink

If you’d like some chocolate with your strawberries, try this recipe, which looks as good as it tastes. Phyllo dough is available in the freezer section of most grocery stores. If you’ve never worked with phyllo dough, don’t let the tissue paper thin sheets intimidate you. Just remember to keep the sheets you’re not working […]

Here’s the real deal. I like to use a generous amount of strawberries in proportion to the shortcake, making this a big dessert. So keep the previous part of the meal on the small side. Then again, people eat biscuits and berries in the morning meal. Since shortcakes are part of the biscuit family, why […]

I made this sandwich in many variations when catering lunches. It’s a family favorite for picnics, tailgating – movie or otherwise – or roadtrip meals. 1 8-10-inch plain or herbed round foccacia About 1lb. meat such as thinly sliced steak, roasted or grilled chicken, ham, salami, mortadella, roast beef, etc. Or use grilled tofu or […]

Make this recipe when fragrant local melons are in season for an especially delectable treat. Bamboo skewers are infinitely versatile: good for grilling, but equally useful for threading pre-cooked or uncooked items to be eaten as finger food, with or without dips.  36 shrimp, deveined, peeled (peel the tail also), and cooked 2 T. minced […]

If you’ve only ever had pudding from a box, you’ll be surprised at how flavorful this homemade version is – and that it doesn’t take much more time than the pre-fab stuff. Nana used regular Dutch cocoa; I prefer Hershey’s Special Dark, and substituting dark brown sugar for white. Made with skim milk, it only […]

Pie may be the quintessential rhubarb dessert, but this upside-down cake also is a delicious showcase for it. Whenever a recipe calls for brown sugar, I almost always use the dark brown, because it has more flavor. (Incidentally, Meijer’s own brand of dark brown sugar is significantly darker – and more flavorful– than any other […]

Mostarda – sometimes called Mostarda di frutta – is a classic Italian condiment. It is somewhat like a chutney in that it combines fruit and a savory element. In mostardas that element is mustard. It’s a traditional accompaniment to Bollito Misto (mixed boil), a wintertime dish of an assortment of boiled meats; more recently it’s […]