I cook because I love to eat. I garden because I love to cook.
In the fall of 2023, my wife Marci and I were lucky enough to take a trip to Scotland. It was a wonderful vacation. Because of the weather, traveling to Scotland in early November is a gamble. But for us it paid off. The week …
I must have been about 7 years old when my father brought home a big bag of blue crabs from the Italian Market. A trip to the open-air fruit and vegetable stands, cheese and spice stores, fish mongers, butchers, and live animal stalls lining 9th …
My wife Marci and I just returned from a lovely trip to Portugal. The weather was beautiful. We saw lots of churches, met interesting people, walked up and down miles of hills through narrow streets, had astonishing views, listened to amazing music, saw beautiful tile …
As the calendar rolls over from one year to the next, New Year’s Eve is a chance to celebrate. And what is a celebration without tasty and exciting foods? For me, New Year’s Eve means appetizers, and a wide variety at that. Here are my …
I thought I had the perfect, original recipe; one that no one else had thought of, let alone posted online or to social media. But it was not to be. As I mark the sixth anniversary of Max’s Kitchen and Garden this month, I think …
We have a couch in our kitchen. It may seem out of place to some, but the kitchen is the room where guests inevitably gather. So why not make it comfortable? You invite friends or family over for a meal, gathering, or party and you …
It may seem obvious, but we should eat the season. In other words, we should eat fruits and vegetables that are in season locally rather than eating produce that has travelled from halfway around the world or all the way across the country. Our food …
Every year we host Early Thanksgiving for our friends a few weeks before the traditional holiday. And every year the menu has a pattern. The main course is typical, as it is with most families, with few major variations from year to year. Turkey, gravy, …
Many of the things we eat are variations on a theme; the same type of ingredient that gets spiced, sauced, or wrapped a little differently each time, but is still, if you break it down, a similar idea. There is a myriad of types of …
In the spring of 1994, I became a student teacher in a suburban high school on Long Island. One of the first people I met would become my mentor. Tom was tall and lean. Very tall and very lean. He taught a marine science class, …
