“To water bath or not to water bath, that is the question”

Some of my readers who baked my fluffy cheesecake using all the helpful suggestions have written to tell me that they had some problems while baking. The problem was usually the same one for all; they encountered cracking at the end of baking and during the cool down cycle. Well, I have also experienced that problem with either a small crack in the middle or several around the edges but never cracking completely through the cake.  Read more...

November has arrived, which means the holidays are just around the corner! If you are like me, you probably are planning menus for those special dinners and are looking for some classic recipes. One classic recipe for the holidays is Pumpkin Pie, a tradition in many families.

However, coming from an Italian-American family we were not familiar with pumpkin pie for dessert. More likely we would serve pastries, cheesecake or cannoli. So when many of my readers asked for a pumpkin cheesecake recipe using my original Aunt Mary cheesecake formula, I was stuck.  Read more...

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...

It is amazing to see how many versions of Pasta e Fagioli are printed in cookbooks or on the Internet. I searched many recipes for this delicious Italian traditional dish, but could not find one that was similar to the recipe my Mother made and taught me.

Pasta e Fagioli is Italian for pasta and beans. It can be considered a soup or a stew. It all depends on how much liquid you use. My recipe is more like a stew or as Rachel Ray has coined the expression “stoup”. It’s meatless, quick, hearty, and inexpensive to prepare. How many of you remember Dean Martin singing Amore and the famous lyrics “when the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool”? I guarantee this dish will make you drool! Enjoy.  Read more...

My Mother made lentil soup often and a pot of lentil soup cooking on the stove still reminds me of those cold, snowy days growing up in New York City and the warmth and delicious aromas of our kitchen linger with me today. Mom’s recipe for lentil soup was a meatless dish and with her knack of adding a pinch of this and a pinch of that made this a very flavorful dish.  Read more...