Proseca
Ina Garten's Eggplant Dip
w/ Carrots & Celery for dipping

Brisket Tacos  
Lila's Guacamole
Amy’s Fresh Tomato Salad

Ginger Snaps and Fresh Berries 

From the NY Times

For years, our family recipe for plum cake was so inextricably linked to Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, that I could not even fathom the idea of one without the other.

We weren’t alone. Back in the ’80s, this recipe for a soft, airy, buttery torte topped with plums and perfumed with cinnamon sugar — made popular by Marian Burros in The New York Times — made the rounds among New York Jews of my parents’ generation. It became a nearly ubiquitous addition to the holiday table, as important as the apples and honey and just as sweet.

It never occurred to me to make any other kind of plum cake. And it might never have, had I not fallen in love with a certain sour-cherry cake recipe I stumbled upon this summer.

It was everything the plum cake was not. Sturdy and dense, it had a coarse crumb and deep, nutty flavor from whole-wheat flour. The cherries melted into the cake, leaving chewy, scarlet craters. It, too, was delightful, but in a rustic way.

I made the cake a few times, tweaking it to try to lighten the texture slightly without compromising its whole-wheat nuttiness. When sour-cherry season was done, I still was not.

Read article...

From the NY Times

For years, our family recipe for plum cake was so inextricably linked to Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, that I could not even fathom the idea of one without the other.

We weren’t alone. Back in the ’80s, this recipe for a soft, airy, buttery torte topped with plums and perfumed with cinnamon sugar — made popular by Marian Burros in The New York Times — made the rounds among New York Jews of my parents’ generation. It became a nearly ubiquitous addition to the holiday table, as important as the apples and honey and just as sweet.

It never occurred to me to make any other kind of plum cake. And it might never have, had I not fallen in love with a certain sour-cherry cake recipe I stumbled upon this summer.

It was everything the plum cake was not. Sturdy and dense, it had a coarse crumb and deep, nutty flavor from whole-wheat flour. The cherries melted into the cake, leaving chewy, scarlet craters. It, too, was delightful, but in a rustic way.

I made the cake a few times, tweaking it to try to lighten the texture slightly without compromising its whole-wheat nuttiness. When sour-cherry season was done, I still was not.

Read article...

The Hotel Crandon Restaurant in Crandon, Wisconsin came highly recommended from the ladies at the local visitor’s bureau. Seems the husband of one of them liked their Hotel Heart Attack burger very much. How could I resist. I had stumbled into the visitor’s bureau after being unable to find Ed’s Main Street Grill, which turned out to be 20 miles farther off my path in another town. (Never trust a free tourist pamphlet.)

I walked into the restaurant and all heads turned to see the interloper into their small town haven.

Undeterred, I sat at one of the tables covered neatly in red vinyl tablecloths. A very pleasant server greeted me in that familiar northern Wisconsin accent and I was put right at ease. I ordered the Hotel Heart Attack ($5.95), which features both burger and bratwurst patties, pepperjack cheese and grilled onions. The menu states “Doctor’s Release Required”. My cardiologist recommends such fare and also encourages I wash it down with scotch. I added fries for an additional $2.

Read article...

The Hotel Crandon Restaurant in Crandon, Wisconsin came highly recommended from the ladies at the local visitor’s bureau. Seems the husband of one of them liked their Hotel Heart Attack burger very much. How could I resist. I had stumbled into the visitor’s bureau after being unable to find Ed’s Main Street Grill, which turned out to be 20 miles farther off my path in another town. (Never trust a free tourist pamphlet.)

I walked into the restaurant and all heads turned to see the interloper into their small town haven.

Undeterred, I sat at one of the tables covered neatly in red vinyl tablecloths. A very pleasant server greeted me in that familiar northern Wisconsin accent and I was put right at ease. I ordered the Hotel Heart Attack ($5.95), which features both burger and bratwurst patties, pepperjack cheese and grilled onions. The menu states “Doctor’s Release Required”. My cardiologist recommends such fare and also encourages I wash it down with scotch. I added fries for an additional $2.