Nach Waxman's Brisket of Beef

November 14, 2014 Clare Schapiro

It promises to be a blustery cold weekend coming up and it occurs to me that, before we all delve willy nilly into holiday cooking, this might be the perfect time to make a brisket. Now, I'd never really thought about brisket before I married Jeff in 1988. It hadn't ever appeared in my coterie of Episcopalian go-to recipes, and I don't think I'd ever even had it before my first Passover Seder where I was charmed and amazed by this disarmingly flavorful wonder. How had this meltingly delicious, hearty braised masterpiece eluded me?

Needless to say, though I'm not usually a very observant wife to my lovely Jewish husband, I have happily produced this brisket each springtime to rave reviews.

Apricot Compote

June 27, 2014 Clare Schapiro

I remember precisely the view when I opened my eyes that first morning.

My growing realization as the white plaster wall came into focus, that I'd finally found my way to my dream of the Greek island of Evia. Stories of this magic place had enlivened my imagination since adolescence. I was expecting the exotic beauty, the beloved friends, the splendid joys of the island unfolding before me.

What I wasn't expecting, however, was the overwhelming, sweet aroma wafting from the kitchen where a sublime treat was gently bubbling away in preparation for our first Greek breakfast.

Clare's Muesli

June 24, 2014 Clare Schapiro

I'm extremely fond of breakfast but summertime presents its own challenges. As an inveterate oatmeal eater during those grey times of the year, once the berries come in, I'm longing to give in and feast, but somehow, slathering them over a piping hot bowl of porridge just doesn't cut it. I was wrestling with that dilemma recently when I recalled my much ballyhooed summer of 1975. I was young, I was impetuous and I was driving my parent's completely bonkers in every way imaginable.

I was also, to their despair, living in a squat in London's Belgravia. Think "Upstairs,Downstairs" generally and Eaton Square more specifically. With a gang of boarding school pals, I was inhabiting the glamorous, though vacant home of Bernie Cornfelt, ne'er-do-well financier and sometime boyfriend of Victoria Principal. Ole' Bernie had conveniently gone on the lam, leaving us to live it up in his digs. That is, until we were supplanted later that fall, by a band of Hell's Angels who were altogether bigger and badder than we were, even in our wildest dreams. Alas, that, is, as they say, another story.

Lamb Meatballs with Spiced Tomato Sauce

April 25, 2014 Clare Schapiro

Wow. Somehow when I read Sam Sifton's article and recipe in last Sunday's New York Times magazine, I just knew. And last night, when I cooked it and subsequently tore into it, I was sure. I've stumbled upon a new keeper, bound to make frequent appearances at my table, and maybe at yours too.

Extremely easy, and only a bit time-consuming (about an hour all together, mostly sitting around getting hungry as the yummy aroma wafts about the kitchen), it's bound to be a family pleaser--and in fact, is destined to be Felix's welcome home meal when he returns from school in the not-so-distant future.