Every once in awhile I take a break, sit down with a cup of tea, and re-read some of my favorite old cookbooks. The most fascinating thing about reading old cookbooks is the history they tell us about the people who lived in a certain neighborhood during a specific time period. That is perhaps one of the beauties of making your own family cookbook – you have control over favorite heirloom recipes, as well as a time capsule of all the people in your family. If you haven’t started your f... Read Full Story

I have a few recipes for homemade gifts from the kitchen in a special section of my family cookbook. Whenever I need an idea for a quick gift, this “Homemade Gifts” section of my family cookbook never fails to inspire me or solve my immediate gift need.  Even if I don’t have all the ingredients for a quick homemade gift from the kitchen, it is usually very easy to shop for the missing items since most recipes are made with standard measurements and readily-available package sizes. My favorit... Read Full Story

Oh, d a r n. “They’ve” found frozen water on the moon. Not unripe cheese (or even little green men). Ho Hum. I was so hoping for cheese. Any color of cheese. Yes, as I’ve mentioned before, I love cheese. My arteries probably have something to say about that, but, we’ll worry about that later….Meanwhile, it is time to stock up on some of the most favored cheeses in the U.S. for making holiday party spreads and holiday party snacking trays. GREAT CHEESES FOR PARTY SPREADS These softer cheeses ... Read Full Story

  Cookbook author Kathryn Carriere with her second recipe book as shown on Amazon.com We are so excited to report that our Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software has inspired one of our customers to publish her second recipe book and sell it on Amazon.com. That’s right! High school English teacher Kathryn M. Carriere of Houston, Texas, published her second recipe book in July called Spirits for the Mind and Body: 2101 Cocktail and Alcoholic Beverages‎. It is a whopping 548 pages and features t... Read Full Story

  Cookbook author Kathryn Carriere with her second recipe book as shown on Amazon.com We are so excited to report that our Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software has inspired one of our customers to publish her second recipe book and sell it on Amazon.com. That’s right! High school English teacher Kathryn M. Carriere of Houston, Texas, published her second recipe book in July called Spirits for the Mind and Body: 2101 Cocktail and Alcoholic Beverages‎. It is a whopping 548 pages and features t... Read Full Story

We are getting closer to the holidays, and before you know it, we’ll all be planning our simple-to-elaborate menus. For some of us, selecting wines to go with our menus can be a bit of a challenge. Narrowing down the food selection helps, especially when whining about which wine to serve with what. There really is no reason to whine about wine.  Over the years, I’ve found that most people (aka guests) enjoy whatever a host or hostess chooses to serve (or they bring their own!). Here are some... Read Full Story

We are getting closer to the holidays, and before you know it, we’ll all be planning our simple-to-elaborate menus. For some of us, selecting wines to go with our menus can be a bit of a challenge. Narrowing down the food selection helps, especially when whining about which wine to serve with what. There really is no reason to whine about wine.  Over the years, I’ve found that most people (aka guests) enjoy whatever a host or hostess chooses to serve (or they bring their own!). Here are some... Read Full Story

Talk about truth in food labeling!  Seems like we’ve all been duped in the U.S.A. for a very long time by our food marketing folks. Everywhere you look in supermarkets, sweet potatoes are called yams, and “yams” are called yams even when they are sweet potatoes. How in the heck can we tell what we’re buying when most of us have never seen a real yam next to a sweet potato, and wouldn’t know a yam even if we got slapped in the face with marshmallow cream? So here goes my feeble attempt to cla... Read Full Story

Talk about truth in food labeling!  Seems like we’ve all been duped in the U.S.A. for a very long time by our food marketing folks. Everywhere you look in supermarkets, sweet potatoes are called yams, and “yams” are called yams even when they are sweet potatoes. How in the heck can we tell what we’re buying when most of us have never seen a real yam next to a sweet potato, and wouldn’t know a yam even if we got slapped in the face with marshmallow cream? So here goes my feeble attempt to cla... Read Full Story

Went to a cooking show last night and it was so much fun. The cooking demonstrator onstage created 10 different recipes over two hours, including appetizers, entrees and desserts: APPETIZERS Fall Harvest Salad Smoked Salmon & Chives Cheesecake (also great as a party food) PARTY FOODS & MUNCHIES Snickerdoodle Chex® mix Fresh fruit centerpiece ENTREES Cheesy Vegetable Chowder (smaller portions make a good appetizer, too) Stuffed Manicotti with Spicy Sausage & Fresh Marinara Sauce M... Read Full Story