Medallions of Venison with Spiced Beet, Cornichons, Tarragon, and Sour Cream

December 16, 2011 Clare Schapiro

I love it when Kismet strikes and you know the Universe is sending you a message, which is what happened to make this incredible dinner come together the other night.

It all started just before Thanksgiving when my beloved friends Charlotte and Sarah came from London for a festive,whirlwind weekend visit. Stories abound, of course, but on the culinary front, I was mortified to have to admit to Sarah that there was nary a juniper berry in the house. " How in the world," she inquired with only very thinly veiled horror in her voice, "do you make venison?"

Cauliflower Cheese

December 9, 2011 Clare Schapiro

The other day, since Jeff was out-of-town for a speaking engagement, I found myself faced with the prospect of dining alone. This was quite an opportunity, I realized, to see if I was all talk and no action, and if in fact I was true to my word.

Last month I had the distinct honor of speaking to the James River Women's Club. Their chosen topic was "cooking for one" which, obviously, isn't something I have very much call to do these days, however, like most things, it's something about which I have strongly held convictions.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

November 30, 2011 Clare Schapiro

One of my great coups of Thanksgiving had to be this pie. I'd read about it in the New York Times several weeks ago, where it listed some ingredients in passing, but no recipe. I was totally intrigued and just had to give it a whirl. After all, what's the worst thing that could happen? A big fail, that's what, but, given that enough food to feed a small army was already prepared, I decided that even if it didn't work, no one was going to starve, so "what th' ?" as Mark Trail would say. I thawed one of my trusty no-fail dough balls that I've written about in a previous post, assembled my ingredients and let 'er rip. What a wild success and a new addition to not just the Thanksgiving repertoire, but really, a new favorite apple pie. I know the ingredients are a bit wacky, but give it a try anyway. Salt and pepper aren't just for entrees anymore.

Cranberry Crumble

November 23, 2011 Clare Schapiro

Just like your house, things are in a cooking frenzy here in preparation for the big day. Felix returned home from college yesterday and I wanted to make something special for dessert that would be a foreshadowing of the delights to come, without stealing the thunder of the actual day.

In conversation with my sister, I remembered this old favorite which completely fit the bill. I think it would be great for Thanksgiving too, as a matter of fact, but I'm obsessed with creating a salted caramel apple pie for tomorrow. If that's a disaster, at least I'll have most of this in the kitchen and I can always dish it out in there, can't I? What they don't know won't hurt 'em.