Our good friend, Nancy McKay, gave us a fruit basket of gourmet pears with a large wedge of Havarti Cheese. We ate the pears (Nancy made a pear dessert) but then had the cheese remaining. My wife scoured cookbooks and the Internet and found an interesting recipe for Havarti Cheese Dip. It was one of the best dips I have ever had the pleasure of dragging a Ritz Cracker through. If you … [Read more...]

When I was a boy, we had either potatoes or rice with every meal. A starch was a requirement. Many times, we had Fried Potatoes and always cooked in an iron skillet Today, Nancy and I have potatoes with many meals, though sometimes we will have pasta as a starch and rice from time to time. Baked potatoes are a staple, and we fix French Fries with burgers and dogs. We have scalloped potatoes and … [Read more...]

Several years ago, there was a book entitled, “Real men don’t eat quiche.” So being a real man, I didn’t eat it, though my wife Nancy loves quiche. However, being an amateur chef, I had to try my hand at a Quiche Lorraine and my version turned out so well that Nancy thinks it might even be better than her recipe. The word “quiche”, or so they believe, comes from the German … [Read more...]

Chicken Parmesan is one of the great dishes of all times. It’s rich, elegant, tasty, and economical. For a weekday night meal or for company, Chicken Parm is hard to beat. But here’s another way to fix it and it’s easier. Instead of a chicken breast, use ground chicken patties. It cooks quickly and it’s guaranteed to be tender and juicy. First, make the patties. I use a pound of … [Read more...]

  When the nighttime temperatures plunge into the 20’s, it means one thing. Time to make soup. The three soup staples at our house are turkey and rice, vegetable beef soup and chili – if chili can be called a soup. This week, when the brrrr-factor kicked in, I decided on a slight change of pace. Chicken soup made with chicken thighs – the most flavorful of all the chicken parts. … [Read more...]

There are probably as many recipes for meat loaf as there are kitchens in America. Every family has their favorite. I was particularly fond of my Mom’s meat loaf. She used – among other things – tomato paste and lots of onions in her meatloaf. When we married, Nancy used her mother’s recipe with lots of catsup. It took a while, but now I’m used to that recipe and enjoy it. Recently, I … [Read more...]

It’s fall, you know, the time we all turn into pumpkins. Whether we’re carving pumpkins for the front porch or baking them into pies. Pumpkins are a hot item. Recently, I became so enamored with the large, orange spheres, that I made a batch of pumpkin cookies and they turned out well - a nice change of pace in the cookie department. And they’re easy to put together. Here’s how. In … [Read more...]

Really? A Chardonnay Cake. Yes, really. My wife Nancy used this recipe to make a cake for a company event and every crumb disappeared. So, I suppose you really can bake a cake with wine. Says Nancy, “This recipe was from a friend. It’s not mine, I just tried it and found it to be delicious! Chablis can be substituted for the Chardonnay if desired.”   Chardonnay Cake 1 yellow cake … [Read more...]

It’s fall, and that means raking leaves, football Saturdays, Halloween, and soup. Nothing beats the celebration of a crisp, fall afternoon like a bowl of good soup. I made some last week. Really good Creamy Potato Soup. Like most everything I make, it was super easy, and it all fit nicely in my crock pot. Here’s how. First, put a liner in your crockpot for easy clean-up. Add one 30-oz. … [Read more...]