Entertaining

My oldest brother, Ben had moved back to our hometown by then, and he became the person with whom she could talk things over. They enjoyed planning for and preparing holiday meals and lunched together most days of the work week. Ben kept his weekend activities separate, except when family members were in town. Mom wisely ignored what she must have suspected about his sometimes rowdy behavior with his fourth wife, a local girl younger than his own daughter whom he’d recently married, and their motorcycle-riding friends. more »

They began by arguing the merits (or rather, the lack of merits) of sweet side dishes that had marzipan in them. “That was a lot of WORK,” my sous-chef growled. “Eat it and shut up.”“This rice is hard and funny,” said another son, “and the chestnuts look like little brains.” “I made it exactly the way the recipe said to,” said his brother.“Eeeew!” said the third as he poked at the slaw. I looked down the table in an effort to enlist their father’s support in quashing the rebellion. John was sitting hunched over, eyelids at half mast, face quite green. He hadn’t touched his food. more »

The first episode takes Ms. Reichl to Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, the "cradle of American food." Making cheese, preserving jam and vegetables, spending time with the butcher and fishing for trout with Frances McDormand (the star of Fargo)are ingredients of the segment. more »

“Our goal,” according to Georgetta Dane, “is to trumpet the many underappreciated Mediterranean varieties that express such a rich and varied array of aromas and flavors.” more »