I picked up my daughter from my friend Debbie’s house a few days ago and Debbie’s 8-year old daughter greeted me at my car, balancing two mini pans of freshly made meatloaves on her oven-mitt protected hands. My dinner for the night! The next day, my friend Kathe stopped by with a cast iron kettle ...
Spring Quiche
This medley of asparagus, prosciutto and leeks is baked in an herbed crust, adding a depth of flavor to traditional quiche. Cook it ahead and freeze it for a stress-free holiday such as Mother’s Day. Make the dough in advance of your cooking date (2 — 24 hours) since it needs to rest a while before ...
Crimping with Company
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a dumpling, an empanada, or both on the same day. Crimping with company is much better than doing it alone. From afar, Suzy and I could have been mistaken for two little old ladies sitting across from each other, slightly hunched over in my small kitchen, methodically ...
A Little Bit Irish
I was strolling down the grocery store aisles on Monday morning, selecting cabbage, potatoes and corn beef for a family dinner in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. While eyeing the strawberries, my pal who works in the produce department noticed the Irish ingredients overflowing in my arms — “Eh, are you ...
Crazy Cooking
Whenever Kathe and I get together to cook, there’s an energy in the kitchen that verges on frenzy. We don’t cook together often enough so we try to get as much done as possible when we do. Yesterday was no exception. I came with a bag in each hand and with my toddler holding onto the tip of my ...
The Gift of Cake
Every couple of weeks, my friend Jackie and I are the fortunate beneficiaries of our friend Jennifer’s remarkable baking skill. With a rotating toddler playgroup, we look forward to the days Jennifer hosts since we know we’ll get to feast on freshly baked apple spice coffee cake, blueberry crumble ...
Fiesta Night
For some, cooking together in a larger group and then sitting down to enjoy the fruits of their collective labor is the best reason to cook with friends. The other night, eight friends came together in one very nice-sized kitchen to prepare, kibbitz, cook and eat a Mexican feast together. For these ...
Cake, Cookies and Camaraderie
The picture says it all — this was one spectacular cake for my daughter’s 8th birthday party. By myself, I would have been lucky to produce a sheet cake with her name and sprinkles thrown on top. With a friend, look what I was able to create! Once again, I followed my baking friend Jenn’s lead and ...
Marvelous Mayhem
With kids so much a part of my life now, it’s inevitable that they will learn how and why to cook with their friends. After school on Monday, sixteen 7-year old Brownie girls gathered at my brave friend Emily’s house. Yes, there was mayhem that to some would have seemed like madness. To me, it was ...
Cooking with Little Friends
The other day, I came home to a beautiful yet messy surprise. My almost 8 year old daughter and her 10 year old friend were in the midst of making Gingerbread cookies — from scratch and by themselves. Apparently, they went to the Cooking with Friends website, downloaded the recipe for Gingerbread, ...