With Thanksgiving little more than a week away, I've had cooking on the brain. No wonder--it's the only national holiday entirely devoted to food (plus, well, giving thanks). Is there anything more wonderful? I decided to honor the holiday by investigating its historic roots.(And, as you know, I can't leave well enough alone.)The results were… Continue reading The "First" Thanksgiving (I)
Category: holidays
This meal brought to you by Christopher Columbus
Ah, Columbus Day. I'm not sure there's any other secular holiday more filled with angst and mixed feelings than this one.When I was little, we learned the basics of Columbus Day. We sang that catchy song, the one that goes, "In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety-Two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue..." and read picture books about… Continue reading This meal brought to you by Christopher Columbus
Fourth of July Kuchen tarts
Right now I'm in Cleveland, enjoying a week with family and quiet mornings of blazing heat. While I love Providence, it's wonderful to escape from a city (even a small one) for a time. I get to remember what it's like to walk down the street hearing only the cooing of birds and the rustle… Continue reading Fourth of July Kuchen tarts
One year
Dear blog,You are one year old today. To celebrate, I doctored this photo of a decidedly unhistorical chocolate beet cake. I hope you like it.It's been quite a year! In one year of blogging, I have...worked with two cookbooks and started a thirdlearned what salt pork isdiscovered the joys of cooking with animal fattried and failed to… Continue reading One year
Signed, sealed
Valentine's Day is a tough thing to write about because there's so much baggage attached to it. The single folks think you're cruel for reminding them of their single plight, or they take it in hand and have an anti-Valentine's Day. Meanwhile there are the folks in the blase corner who say they don't need… Continue reading Signed, sealed
Brunswick Stew
We are pulling Christmas together here in Ohio. Everyone's pitched in wherever they can, and the house is finally starting to look holiday-ish. We're winding garlands around the banisters and laying boxwood across the mantle.We keep asking each other, "What are we forgetting?" "Are we in good shape this year?" Because usually Christmas Eve feels… Continue reading Brunswick Stew
Roast Turkey
Happy post-Thanksgiving, all! I hope your homes were full of the people you love and your tables laden with delicious food.We had a relatively simple Thanksgiving out in Ohio, where my family lives. After the requisite morning of cleaning (we maybe have a problem with piles of mail at our house), we settled down to… Continue reading Roast Turkey
Abby Murphy 