Not Your Mother's Cookbooks

Here is a wonderfully classic beef stew adapted from a recipe simply called Beef en Casserole once on the menu at the now defunct Russian Tea Room in New York City.  I use a quality Merlot red wine, since the…

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Can you share five recipes from your book Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking and tell us why you like these recipes for busy weeknights.

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We are always connected to our roots as cooks as practice builds upon itself. No one is born a great cook. We are inspired, enjoy the process, and by the action of practice, become more and more adept. When you touch and then taste food, you build your knowledge.

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Up until the early 1900s, cheesecakes were made with cottage cheese, which made a cakey cheesecake with its own unique texture. To get the height of a traditional New York-style cheesecake, bake this in a springforn pan with high (3-inch)…

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Another winner out of the old McCall’s Cookbook I have been making since about 1980 that I learned from my mother. It is so perfect a cake, I have never had to make another recipe for devil’s food. Devil’s food…

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While it has Italian roots, there is no American cook who doesn’t have a version of the filling and satisfying layered pasta, tomato sauce, and cheese. In most of my books I have a version of lasagna and it seems like every time I make it, it is a bit different.

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premium ingredients make a delicious lasagne

You will love this recipe. Two staples on the pantry shelf, dried pasta and a jar of marinara sauce, some cheese in the refrigerator and you can assemble this lasagna in about 5 minutes. …

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Vanilla- and chestnut-flavored batters are baked together to form a quintessential coffee cake that is excitingly different, yet exceptionally simple to mix and bake.  Be certain to obtain sweetened créme de marron purée, often available in the jam or specialty food…

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Vanilla has been prized for centuries as one of the world’s most sought-after culinary flavors. Vanilla extract is as familiar to the home cook/baker as chocolate. It is the most widely used spice with it’s comforting perfume and delicate floral flavor.

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Sometimes the fanciest kitchen/dining room by a famous designer is not the most captivating. This is Julia Child’s Dining Room in Cambridge, Massachusettes. The chairs have the New England-style Shaker hand-woven rush seats; I still have the chairs like this my…

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