Whole Wheat French Toast with Apples, Maple Syrup and Cranberries

My challenge? With guests arriving and meals planned, forage the house for local bounty for a simple but festive breakfast. This French toast, using nutty whole wheat bread, and other household staples — local eggs, maple syrup, apples, cider, milk and regional cranberries — makes it easy. 2-3 servings, easily doubled 1 large egg 1 […]

Crispy Wrap with Warm Cheese and Apple Chutney

Some of the best recipes are born out of desperation. This is one, created when I had to come up with yet another wrap for my book, Wrap it Up, now out of print. But here it is — a warm wrap reborn with melty local cheese, apples, shallots and regional cranberries. Serve as a unique […]

Simple Savory Sweet Potato Soup

Sweet potatoes create a smooth orange soup that is quick to prepare. The fire of cayenne pepper cuts their natural sweetness. The first version is inspired by Southern cooking, with its roasted peanut and scallion garnish. The second is seasoned with the Mexican flavors of lime and cilantro. This is a simple recipe, but feel […]

Tangy Double Cranberry-Orange Sauce

You don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy regional cranberries, but they sure are swell with turkey, especially in those day-after sandwiches. Here, I paired dried and fresh cranberrries for a varied texture and extra oomph. If you prefer an alternative to the neutral sweetener of sugar, try adding local maple syrup or honey […]

Butternut Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Pumpkin pie has become a generic holiday dessert, a blah crust that offers nothing to its slightly gelatinous canned filling. So here’s an alternative, a family favorite that’s a welcome twist on the classic. Fresh roasted butternut squash is spun into a pudding-like filling with local cream and eggs, then housed is a crunchy ginger […]

Warm Apple Galette with Garum Masala

Tonight, our cozy little family reunion — my visiting mom and daughter, along with my husband and I — split this perfect apple galette, right out of the oven. Seasoned local apples were casually gathered in a crisp crust, then glazed with jam. The kicker was garum masala, a warming Indian spice mix that varies […]