So many words (+ a pilaf recipe)

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Many bemoan, myself included, the demise of the independent booksellers. There have been a few bookstores in the past that hold a special place in me.

History and me + a recipe for Bolognese that would have amused my dad

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Earlier this month was Father’s Day. It was not the intended motivation for me to write this but the connection is unavoidable.

We all came from someplace else

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Manchester, our city, is growing in leaps and spurts and a walk down Elm Street, a visit to any number of the new ethnic markets (for which as a chef I am ecstatic) or Market Basket for that matter is all it takes to see that diversity is becoming established in the Queen City. I am sure there is tension – how can there not be? – but it seems that our city (Welcoming Manchester) and our neighborhoods are unassumingly making a statement. We have yet to witness and I fervently hope we never do, the vitriol and at times violence that cultural intermingling can cause.

Mise en place: It’s a small pond + a recipe for socca

Monday, June 10, 2024Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Manchester is a small city that is getting bigger quickly. We are all witnessing and experiencing the effects of its growth, both the good and the bad. As we all maneuver our way through and around the speed bumps, the personal connections that we make along the way are what will make the experience smooth and maybe fulfilling.

It’s not a home without them

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Wednesday, May 10, 2023

The bonds that we have with our dogs, cats, birds or other mammals (not sure if you can bond with a reptile) is at times as strong as with a dear friend or family member.

Daydream Believer

Monday, June 10, 2024Wednesday, April 19, 2023

For millennia mankind has searched for meaning behind our dreams. Mystics, shamans, theologians and psychiatrists have delved deep into the bizarre scenes and disjointed scenarios that play out as alternative lives all occurring while we appear to be unconscious.

Uninvited guests

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Wednesday, April 5, 2023

I have always been an observer. My life in restaurants has afforded me uncountable opportunities to witness my fellow humans in all manner of behaviors. It has been an endless form of entertainment, wonder and, occasionally, befuddlement.

The rumor of our death has been greatly exaggerated

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Today I read another article written by a chef/operator both bemoaning the state of the industry and forecasting either its doom or its transmutation. I am a serious newspaper addict and I have only great respect for the medium and for those serious journalists who work in it. As in all things, there is the good, the bad and the incompetent.

At the table none grow old

Monday, June 10, 2024Wednesday, February 22, 2023

When we serve an entree to friends that is accompanied by a story about how your mother, grandmother or Uncle Henry prepared this dish, I am sure it will start a wave of nostalgia from your guests about their own remembered recipes. We all have them, even about the ones that were not especially ready for the New York Times cooking section. My grandmother was an amazing cook, my mother, well, not so much. It wasn’t that she did not learn the skills but she had to cook for my father who possessed a rather limited palate. That being said, I cannot walk down the canned vegetable aisle, see Green Giant creamed corn and not think of my mother pouring it into a saucepan while giving my father a cold stare.

A recipe for disaster, or how to do Valentine’s Day – and a romantic pasta dish – right

Tuesday, June 11, 2024Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Restaurants vie for customers to fill the seats and since almost all reservations are deuces one may see a few more tables added to the dining rooms. Chefs plan enticing menus and bar managers create special cocktails, stock up on sparkling wine and even Rose (pink being the color of the day). Men and women challenge themselves on making the day more memorable than last year. I am going to give you some restaurant tips on not having this day turn into a disaster.

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