My Mother made the best mixed tossed salad and so did my Mother-in-Law. In fact, all the Moms in my family made the same salad. Forget the bottled salad dressings, the mixing bowl and whisk, and the measuring of ingredients! They all would make their salads with a wonderful mixture of salad greens plus top quality extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and toss in additional vegetables or meats to complete the dish.  Read more...

Baked jumbo stuffed shells are a great alternative to serving baked lasagna. You can determine how many servings you will need for your dinner party and not have the worry of baking a huge casserole and having to serve leftovers for days.

With this recipe you can make as many as you want and you can even freeze the unbaked stuffed shells individually for use at a later date and again determine how many you want to bake.  Read more...

Another wonderful recipe my Aunt Mary shared with me, in addition to her now famous light as air fluffy cheesecake recipe, is her cream puff recipe. These puffs are easy to make and can be filled with whipped cream, custard, or ice cream. When filled with ice cream they are called Profiteroles.

Aunt Mary used a wooden spoon when beating the eggs into the flour and butter mixture. You would need to beat each egg well into the mixture. It is quite a workout for the arm muscles. I found using a food processor for incorporating the individual egg was easier on the arm and did just as good a job as a wooden spoon.  Read more...

When I was in Middle School, umpteen years ago, all the girls were required to enroll in Home Economics while the boys were in Shop. Home Economics taught us how to clean house, make beds, sew, and, my favorite, how to cook. The boys basically learned how to use tools and would make bookends, bird houses, and model airplanes. Bless our parents who had to grin and compliment our achievements even if we burned the pudding or the bookends collapsed after trying to hold up a few books. These classes were so much fun and we really did learn the necessary basics of homemaking and carpentry.  Read more...

Easter will be here in early April this year and I can remember the excitement and anticipation of this holy celebration among Catholics starting with Ash Wednesday. My Mother and my Aunts, the blue ribbon cooks in our family, would plan and prepare some delicious meals, including desserts. There were many meatless dishes that were prepared during the forty days of lent.

As children, most of us would give up eating sweets during those forty fast days. Come Easter Sunday, a full course meal of meat, pasta, and salads and pastries, pies, and cakes were a child’s dream after the 40 days of giving up sweets. I can still smell the aromas coming from the family cooks on the days prior to Easter. They would be preparing for days the scrumptious feast for this special holiday.  Read more...