Cooking With Fire

Welcome to my blog about food, wine, travel, adventure and LIFE! As the author of three national best-selling cookbooks about “food with attitude”, I invite you to share the journey with me as I continue to write about the things I’m most passionate about!

I’m excited to announce that my three national best-selling cookbooks and the complete trilogy are now available on Amazon as Kindle books!

Here is the Amazon link to my books:

A COVID Inspiration!

A COVID Inspiration!

I love to connect people, whether it’s through technology, introductions within my network, or with the greatest human connector of all – FOOD! I’m excited to announce that my three national best-selling cookbooks and the complete trilogy are now available on Amazon as Kindle books! I had decided some time ago that I didn’t want to reprint the books when I ran out of inventory and it was a COVID inspiration that set things in…

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Newsletter, Site News, Today's Tasting Notes

Making Do With What You Have

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While we’re staying in the Hamptons, we rent a basement suite from a dear Irish woman and her son in the village of Hampton Bays. As with any rental, the kitchen equipment is basic and you make the best with what you have to work with. We had a large batch of fresh basil the other day that I decided to make pesto with (the organic and farm-stand produce available here is fabulous at this…
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Newsletter, Today's Tasting Notes

Tomato and Basil Heaven

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We’re in the Hamptons in New York right now and the bounty of the season is absolutely glorious. Fresh and delicious heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella cheese from Scotto’s, good quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar reduction, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – nothing could taste better for a Caprese Salad than this. My friend, Kajsa, introduced me to this presentation of Caprese – cutting the top off the tomato, then slicing the…
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Newsletter, Site News

A Tribute to Anthony Bourdain…and the People of Mexico

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One year ago today, June 8, 2018, Anthony Bourdain died by his own hand in France at the age of 61. News of his suicide shocked the world as he appeared to be living and loving life to the fullest. I literally ran into Anthony and his daughter, Ariane, about six years ago in Schmidt’s Market in Southampton, New York. We were both bent down to pick something up on a low shelf and got…
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Today's Tasting Notes

Roasted Broccoli With Shrimp

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My dear friend, Denise, served this delicious dish to me a couple of years ago and I absolutely loved it! She got the recipe from her daughter, Joni – both mother and daughter are GREAT cooks. I had some beautiful broccoli florets from the Organic Market up the street and some shrimp in the freezer from Costco and half an hour later – voilá! I made a couple of modifications to the recipe, but here…
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Newsletter, Travel Blog

Our Family’s Acme Juicer

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I always feel, when I pull this bad boy out of the cupboard, that we’re part of the Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Hour. Acme was always the brand that the Roadrunner featured and it always puts a smile on my face when I use it. My parents bought this centrifugal juicer back in the 50’s – sometime after my brother, George, was born in 1956 and before I arrived in 1959. Lots of fruit and vegetables have…
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Newsletter, Travel Blog

Pomegranate Harvest

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We had the pleasure of having my precious Mom here for just over three weeks. She wanted to contribute, so was given the job of checking the pomegranate trees for ripe fruit, then picking and seeding them (and a couple of other jobs as well, but not as fun as this one). We had a beautiful rain and, unlike most days when there are one or perhaps two ready, we had over a dozen bursting…
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Today's Tasting Notes

The Tradition of Turkey Soup

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We cooked our first turkey in Cabo on Christmas Day. I should have used the wood-fired oven, but I’m still learning how to use it properly and didn’t want to risk ruining our precious bird. We shared a lovely meal with Ron’s brother, David, and good friends, Andrea, Pablo, their four month-old baby Tobias, her friend, Giovanna, and our long-time friend, Scott Parsons. It was a VERY traditional dinner: turkey with bread stuffing, mashed potatoes,…
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Newsletter

Now This Is Customer Service!

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REAL customer service! What a concept! So RARELY experienced anymore, which makes it so much more special when it is! I had ordered a Coravin Wine Preservation Opener (a device that allows you to insert a needle into a bottle of fine wine, allow you to pour and enjoy the wine, then reseal the cork to protect the wine from oxidation) from Bed, Bath and Beyond for Ron for Christmas. What else can you buy…
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Today's Tasting Notes

It’s So Good To Be Home!

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The simplest pleasures! I made a fruit salad yesterday with the freshest and best ingredients – many of which we grew ourselves or that we obtained at the Organic Market just half a block up the street on Wednesdays and Saturdays: papaya, cantaloupe, banana, blueberries, pineapple, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, orange juice and freshly desiccated coconut from one of our palm trees. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate the quality of the food we…