Here's a version of the New England and Canadian Maritimes classic, often served for breakfast with Baked Beans (but they're great with fried eggs, too!
You can buy fishcakes in a can. It's easier than making your own. But they're disgusting.
Some restaurants, especially clamshacks, sell fishcakes. In many cases they're no better than the canned ones. Sometimes they're 9-parts potato with a hint of fish essence.
These are not hard to make, and you get enough servings that it's worth your while. The mixture keeps in the fridge for some days so you can fry up a few fishcakes when you want them.
For a simpler, more historical version, see Yankee Fish Cakes.
Another New England classic, easy to make, with a wonderful old-time flavor!
I was preparing a recipe that called for a fowl. That's not so unusual; fowl are tough old birds, stringier and better suited for the stockpot than for roasting or frying. Fowl are used instead of younger birds when flavor is important and tenderness is not. 
Chickens are raised for meat or for laying eggs, and the birds that are bred to be good at one are not so well suited for the other. Of course, the ones bred for meat come from eggs, too, but those eggs are laid by big meaty mamas. 
Have you seen the listing of cookbooks in 
Two international organizations cooperate to help ensure quality and production of 
In early colonial times, before the molasses trade established that sticky black substance as the sweetener of choice in Boston and much of New England, 
So in March of 2013, we made a series of trips deep into the sugarbush country of northern New England. We wanted to learn more about maple syrup and how it gets from tree to table. There's a good, detailed overview of maple syrup production in the 
The title of this post is Christmas Mexican Lasagna. Why would I call this Christmas Mexican Lasagna? 
I found a pound of ground turkey sitting in there. What do you do with ground turkey? 
Annette wanted a fancy French dinner for her birthday this year. Actually, she wanted a 
We had:
It got to be a joke. It seemed every time we passed the Oxford Creamery on Route 28 in Mattapoisett it was closed, and we speculated they saw us coming and had all the customers move their cars and hide. We'd heard rumors of good food, but had just about given up tasting it. The other day, however, we detected activity. We were headed for Turk's, and my mouth was watering for their shrimp Mozambique, but life stirred at the Oxford Creamery and it was an opportunity not to be passed up. 
Having operated on the spot for eighty-two years, Oxford Creamery is the type of old time eatery I love. Brightly painted in blue and white, it evokes the past. The interior is festooned with signs that substitute for a menu. Their prices are old fashioned too, and with sandwiches starting at $2.50 and soft drinks at $1.25 you can easily get lunch for under $5.00. 
When we finally left the broad western horizon of the Pacific Ocean behind us, we had good incentive to cross the rugged coastal hills to the valleys of the wine country. It's a gorgeous area everywhere you look, fine for driving and exploring down roads that barely appear (or don't appear) on the maps. Drive by hunch! This is no place for a GPS. GPS devices come with built-in serendipity destroyers. 
We have been to the Wine Country several times, and each time we get better at it. The first time, back before the turn of the century, we drove up the Napa Valley, visited some wineries and tested their wares, and thought it fun. On the next visit we planned ahead and drove up the Sonoma Valley, dutifully stopping at whichever winery we had on our list, checking them off as if we were still at work.
After one more morning in Santa Cruz, we spent a wonderful day in San Francisco. We covered a lot of ground; fortunately we had a plan going in and we hit all of our objectives.
We celebrated Richmond's 2013 birthday out on the beach with a Greek feast. Present were the usual foursome. 
We opened the festivities with:
We spent the next day and a half in Santa Cruz, visiting with friends, shopping Pacific Ave, and exploring the boardwalk, the long pier, and the pleasant streets of that fine small city.
We arrived late, after a long drive from Morro Bay along Big Sur through Carmel and Monterey to Santa Cruz. We met our Greek friend Hector, who naturally took us to one of my favorite restaurants in California - The Greek! 
Everyone who reads this blog knows how we love scenic drives, and one of the most famous outside of New England is the drive up the 