Category Archives: Ask Chef Phyllis

Ask Chef Phyllis: The only time I think about or serve sweet potatoes is during the holidays. And I am tired of serving gooey, marshmallow–topped sweet potatoes to my guests […]

Ask Chef Phyllis For years, our parents roasted a 25-plus pound turkey that my mom started to cook at 2 A.M. That very large bird was more often than not […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: A few weeks back at a neighbor’s party, a friend who had been to Brazil mentioned that tapioca pudding was on almost every menu. I know I […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: My mother never told me of this season in a marriage—I call it “late-summer boring squash season.” My husband (my “can’t waste anything” backyard gardener) brings me […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: What do I do with the four tablespoons of pureed pumpkin not needed in my recipe? I confess, I usually toss it in the trash after a […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: My dear mother was Portuguese, and my father was French. They worked in the textile mill town of Fall River. We were 5 children; I am the […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: Fall is coming, and I love pears. Truth be told, I know very little about this fruit. Sometimes I have a pear and think it’s the best […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: About a year ago, a friend emailed me your Q&A column concerning his parents and their dining experience at the ’39 World’s Fair. We have a disagreement […]

Yak meat is growing in popularity and availability. My friends in the know are all talking about it. They say it’s leaner than beef, just like bison, and doesn’t have […]

Summer is the perfect season to experiment with cultured frozen ice cream. Are you ready? How about a classic dessert from India called Shrikhand: rich, creamy Greek yogurt streaked with […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: I hear a lot about heirloom tomatoes these days. They’re very expensive in the supermarket, but I must admit…delicious. What is an heirloom tomato? Our short growing […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: Once when visiting San Diego, we were invited to a beach party. This event was called a clambake. Everything was cooked by a team of men. It […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: I live along the coast of Maryland, and by June our waters are filled with all kinds of seafood. Of course, soft-shell crabs are the seasonal prize, […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: I love all-you-can-eat shrimp and the shrimp festival at Red Lobster…I never miss an opportunity to get my fill. Though I should mention that the shrimp at […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: It’s been a long time since I thought of making beets at home. They’re messy, with all that boiling in a big pot—plus they’re hard to peel […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: We live in a warm climate nine months of the year, but summertime we grill outdoors for sure and maybe dine inside when it’s humid. We tried […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: Several  years ago, we backpacked through Northern Italy. At local homes or in little specialty restaurants, it was easy to find nutritious vegetarian dishes. The one that […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: Years ago I had a refrigerator magnet that displayed equivalent amounts for baking, like 4 quarts equal 1 gallon and other basic information that most cooks know […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: I am a native of Cornwall-on-the-sea in Great Britain. I haven’t lived there since 1976, but I remember how much seafood and fish were part of my […]

Ask Chef Phyllis: I remember fondly at Easter time my mother would make a rather large leg of lamb, with rich bread (dotted sometimes with colorful hard-boiled eggs) baked right […]