Ask Chef Phyllis: I need something special that kids (ages eight, ten, and twelve) can help prepare on Mother’s Day for our mom. She loves pancakes, but I don’t think I can manage frying all those pancakes without help. Is there a big pancake that’s easy and special too? Any suggestions? —Mariead Q. from Cambridge, […]
A lady friend came to my house for lunch last week. I was serving my version of Waldorf Chicken Salad (a recipe inspired by the nearly forgotten and long-closed Schrafft’s restaurants in New York City). When she spotted what I was serving, Julie commented that my chicken salad was the best and asked me to […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: I’m not in the habit of using just chicken breasts or parts and need to find a good recipe for whole chicken. I know how to cut it up, if need be. I’ve heard of a chicken in milk recipe from a neighbor and had something like it in Spain, but the […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: Back in the day, before the supermarket took over every mom-and-pop shop, our town, Assonet (just a few miles from Fall River) had a real bake shop. They sold filozes on Sunday morning and cookies at Christmastime, but what I remember most of all was the Portuguese sweet bread I could get […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: My family’s specialty for any get-together, wedding, or potluck is BBQ style spare ribs. Our family ribs are steamed in aluminum foil over an open pit of applewood chips for hours, and then drenched in sweet, thick BBQ sauce. Recently, I went to a restaurant in Oklahoma. Their baby back ribs were […]
I’ve been trying to make dinners that are quick and tasty. With two teenage boys always having to go somewhere in a hurry after school or after dinner, I need nutritious, quick meals. (By the way, these guys are always famished, and they love Mexican food.) In the past I’ve made chicken cutlets, chicken tenders, […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: What do you know about Swedish breads? Limpa, pumpernickel, and other really dark ryes are my favorites. But they are, in my opinion, the most difficult breads to make. My mom, who left Stockholm when she was only eight, said dark rye bread has to have orange peel and lots of rye […]
Bread of Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche, Regions of Proud Traditions Ask Chef Phyllis: Is it possible to find a good tasting, really crusty bread like the Pane Toscano that we had in Italy? I understand the reason for a no-salt bread in the past was about money. Flour and water are cheap, but salt was […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: I loved my mother’s baccala and have tried to make it myself. She was from the Piedmont region of Italy. I used a recipe that called for capers, but I didn’t like them in this dish. Maybe I used too many. After soaking the salt cod in water for three days, as […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: Have you heard about the big fermented food craze? What should I know about gut health? My sister Aggie told me that yogurt is good for us (and a good substitute for our favorite double chocolate fudge ice cream) because of its live cultures. But we’ve still never tried kimchi, kefir, or […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: Lent is early this year, and since my family has Cajun roots, we do celebrate Mardi Gras. After, we will fast forty days or at least give up some favorite food during Lent. We usually make a kind of gumbo (Cajun Shrimp Chowder or Cajun Gumbo) that is unique to our area […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: I don’t doubt that people write to you about what festive meals to serve during the holidays, but my question is what to serve in between and after those costly feasts? That’s when I’m so burned out. Do you have any suggestions for crock pot meals, top–of–the–stove meals, or even simple, quick chicken meals that are cooked in the oven? […]
Ask Chef Phyllis Everyone knows that English muffins came to America with Samuel Thomas. Everyone knows they’re a pain to make….kneading, rolling, cutting, and griddling. So I decided to make English muffin bread. That sounded like a solution. I tried six different recipes, some old, some new. Easy by definition, yet not so easy as the ones I tried didn’t produce the […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: Pain d’Epices from France Have you ever heard of pain d’epices? French for “spice bread,” it’s literally a kind of spiced sweet bread (with cinnamon, ginger, and anise seed), but Europeans think of it as a cake. Compared to the old familiar fruit cake, this version, although sweet, is far less complicated […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: If my grandmother didn’t make Cuban pork for New Year’s Day, she probably made oxtail stew. Both leave plenty for leftovers and are festive enough for any holiday. My experience is too lacking for me to recall what was in this stew except for red wine and tomatoes. But my grandmother’s stew […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: My daughter came over the other day and said, “Remember when you could buy a good date-nut bread in the supermarket?” I thought yes, I do. And then, without blinking an eye, we went and looked for a recipe card that my mom gave me when I first got married, and it […]
My grandmother’s name was Ruth, but she was known as “Bubbie” for as long as I can remember. My father tells me that at Hanukkah she would make an extremely tender beef roast with prunes or dried fruit in the sauce. He smiles when he tells me that the roast was brought to the baker’s […]
When it comes to cooking, my friends think I’m a trend spotter (and they may be right!). And I’ve noticed that salts of all kinds are definitely in the limelight these days. Because I love to cook and create new recipes, and with a plethora of new salts readily available, I want to introduce you […]
All my life, every Easter my family—guided by three generations of matriarchs—would make a traditional specialty called Easter Wheat Pie (pastiera di Grano). One of the main ingredients is grano, Italian for wheat berries. You might have seen wheat berries in the bulk section at the health food store, but unless you grind or mill […]
First, let’s shed a little light on goat milk and goat cheese. Growing in popularity almost every day, you may have noticed that goat cheese is all the rage. Are you confused about it and how to use it? Do you need suggestions for serving it? Mastering a tried and true recipe is a great […]