Day 62 of 2021. A year ago, I was adjusting my schedule – radically – to the new normal.  Now with the arrival of sunshine, warmer weather and the vaccine, I’m feeling a tad optimistic. We will get through this. We will see friends again. And we will need to work together to help people recover, especially friends and colleagues in the food service business. And the heroic yet weary front-line workers who have kept

We hosted a remote cheese tasting for a milestone anniversary recently. It was such fun.  Consider hosting your own as you plan a gathering with family or friends this holiday season. A remote cheese tasting can be simple or extravagant. You can do the work for your guests or let them take part in selecting and provisioning.  And you’re contributing to a worthy cause. Globally, artisan cheese makers are suffering along with myriad businesses that

Like many, we support artisans of all types, never more so than this year and for the holidays. Here are some items on our radar right now, call these Priscilla’s picks: Narragansett Creamery Narragansett Creamery is a new discovery for me. It makes a silky ricotta to which I an now addicted.  Cannoli bakers take note. Finding Home Farms Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup Last year, a colleague introduced me to Finding Home Farms’ New York State

When I was 14 years old on my first trip to France,  I visited Pérouges, a medieval walled city not far from Lyon and Jacques Pépin’s  home town. There, I ate the famed Galette de Pérouges, a sweet yeast dough coated with a crunchy sugar, butter and lemon topping.  Much later I learned to make it to serve with custard for dessert at our restaurant. You can watch me make it and get the recipe

The chilly weather arrived right on schedule. And the need for COMFORT FOOD is sure a priority right now.  I’m thinking rich casseroles and hearty pasta dishes. When the tomato season ends, I seek out canned tomatoes for Bolognese and Charlie’s Bright Tomato Sauce for pizza and pasta. It turns out that my favorite canned tomatoes, authentic San Marzano tomatoes grown in the region around Naples, are being celebrated this season. I’m very happy to

Luscious photos and engaging stories sell cookbooks. But most people still buy cookbooks for the recipes. A recipe is a road map that takes the reader from point A to point B. Sometimes it’s a quick trip to the store, a no-frills recipe for roast chicken or mashed potatoes. Maybe it’s a long excursion, fermented kimchi, salami or a tower of cream puffs called Croquembouche. To continue the travel metaphor, there are many routes you