I get asked over and over how I plan meals for the week. My simple and not so simple answer is-just do it. You have to start somewhere, as Julia Child did and our grandmothers did. It’s very similar to when I was writing Scratch That™ Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings. You have to get started and no one can do that but you. Last night during the Academy Awards, I wrote out the meals by hand for the week, made a grocery list, and checked the cupboards and refrigerator during the commercials. [More]

Recently, I purchased a gift for a bride on her gift registry. I wondered why she wanted a $200 china plate, expensive designer napkin rings, and a bread maker. From my experience and talking to brides ten years later, they wished they had asked for the kitchen essentials, not the fluff. Instead they would have liked a sturdy standing mixer, guality knives, and a few quality pots and pans. Instead, their cupboards were jammed with china they never used (or were afraid to use), and gadgets and appliances catching dust. In Scratch That: Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings, I included a few pages to Kitchen Essentials. What's the need-to-have equipment and what is the nice-to-have stuff? Read below. [More]

“So You Want to Write a Book” by Connie Fairbanks



How many times have you said to yourself, “I should really write a book about that.” Whether it’s knitting, knives or ghiordes knots, you know you should put all that knowledge down on paper, and possibly make some money or open some new doors. Ask yourself right up front, “Why am I doing this?” “Where do I go from here?” [More]

With new winter storms approaching, tis the season for "stick to the bones" comfort food. Meat Loaf may remind you of dried out hockey pucks, something you were forced to eat as a kid, or one of those dreaded covered dishes that you avoided at the potluck. On the other hand, meat loaf meant warm and cozy comfort food to me, perfect for a cold snowy evening. It was a Midwestern meal served family style at the dining room table, complete with carrot gelatin, scalloped potatoes, green beans with bacon, and homemade chocolate pudding for dessert. The meat loaf was juicy and flavorful, and the leftovers for sandwiches were something to look forward to. In Scratch That: Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings, I took old fashioned recipes and modernized them. This time, I made meat loaf healthier and juicier with lots of vegetables, including shredded carrots and ground chuck. See my Favorite Meat Loaf recipe below. Please let me know if you have any unusual ingredients that work for you. [More]

With the internet and search engines, it is very easy to find a recipe quickly by typing the key ingredients or name on your keypad. Almost instantly, you have a recipe or many recipes of the same thing. Which recipe do you pick and print? How do you know it will turn out and be good? Even as an experienced home chef, I find myself in the same quandary. Therefore, I added a section, "How to Evaluate a Recipe" to the Basics section of my cookbook, Scratch That: Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings. Read further for the quick checklist of how to evaluate a recipe that you find online, in a magazine, from a newspaper, from a TV show, from a friend, or even from a cookbook. Let me know if you have any further suggestions. [More]