My grandmother Frances Pellegrini was a home cook extraordinaire. Whenever she invited me to dinner growing up, I always requested her meatloaf. This is her recipe, taken from a family recipe book, as best as it can be put into words. She never was one to take measurements; it was always about whim and intuition.…
In this episode of my free Modern Pioneering series, I have a nifty idea you can use for an easy brunch and an upcycled table centerpiece. 7-Herb Frittata and Upcycled Flower Styling are two ways to use eggs. You'll never want to throw out your eggshells again with these upcycled flower vases. If you're into…
Grandma P. is in rehabilitation. She's slowly getting her movement back. But she is not pleased with the situation. She said, "Well I guess you're learning a lot about life, aren't you." Then she said, "I'm learning a lot about life too."One of the last things we made together was tofu mayonnaise. She really loves…
I’m 34,000 feet in the sky again. I seem to be up here a lot. I’m hoping to have a lull again this summer before I embark on a whole new book that I’m about to write, which will require travel which means many more posts from up here. Did I tell you about the…
I'm in New York this week, which was perhaps serendipitous since it's May Day, and with it, came a lesson in sweet woodruff from Grandma Pellegrini.Sweet woodruff, is also known as Master of the Woods. It is a perennial, with small white flowers that bloom in May and June and star-like leaves in circles of…
Grandma P. and I had a recent exchange via Gmail, as we are prone to do. We like to talk about projects. And radio programs. She tells me what Arthur Schwartz and Joan Hamburg are up to in New York and I tell her what the latest title of my book is. She has much…
A while ago I uncovered a recipe book from my great-great grandmother. It was full of recipes for brown bread. She was mildly obsessed with it I think. Maybe it tapped into her Puritan nature and she felt satisfied by its simplicity.Then a while after that, I got the latest edition of our family recipe…
Because she loves you, Grandma Pellegrini made you a Valentines soup. She even put hearts in it. It's a work of art. And because he loves you, Gordon snapped some photos of it. And because I love you, well... I'm just writing to tell you about it. I can't take any credit. I can just…
A few weeks ago Grandma Pellegrini sent me an email. Yes, she does email. She also does facebook. It is the dawn of a new era.She said: "I'm just sitting down to enjoy my soup and my latest triumph in the kitchen. I decided this morning to put my various cast iron baking pans to…