In a recent conversation with my chocolate-loving Mom, she inquired about my writing and wanted to know “What’s Cooking” in my kitchen these days.…

While doing research for last week’s column about the history of canned food, one of the links led me to stories about Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France. …

February has a couple of holidays that have are loosely associated with food. Today is Valentine's Day (chocolate anyone?) And Happy V-Day to you, dear Peter,…

Midcoast restaurant chefs/owners from local favorite restaurants have teamed up with Central Lincoln County Adult Education to offer the community a “taste” of…

I thought this is an appropriate time to share with you some of the things I love best, given that Valentine’s Day is next week and it’s certainly a holiday all…

Thank you to everyone who entered the “Yummiest Hors D'oeuvre” recipe contest. 

I've been busy testing your…

First I would like to congratulate Debra L. Arter of Damariscotta for winning the “Yummiest Hors D'oeuvre” recipe contest. Thank you to everyone who entered.…

I’m always interested in hearing from the faithful readers of “What’s Cooking” and often your letters and questions lead me straight to a topic for a column. (I…

It was “confession” time around the dinner table at a recent gathering of some of my way cool foodie friends. The lively conversation was about what one…

G. K. Chesterton once said, “The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.” This quote by the late English writer and philosopher is one of…

It seems that the mantra of most of the people in my circle of friends sounds something like, “I'm so tired.” 

Everybody seems to be feeling just a tad worn out from all the hustle and…

Now what would Christmas be without special holiday cookies? The air conditioning is set low enough so I can enjoy a cup of yummy amaretto hot chocolate and Pavarotti (as only he can do) is giving…

Party time! My goodness, I don’t think I’m going to have time to do much of anything for the rest of the month except go to parties. I have four birthday parties between now and Christmas (…

A gift from the kitchen is truly a gift from the heart. The kitchen is often termed "the heart of the home" and I certainly agree. 

In all the houses I've lived in throughout my life, and…

Would you like to win a beautiful black, sequin-studded apron by the BarbaraAnne Company? All you have to do is send your favorite holiday hors d’oeurve recipe to Paula Anderson, who writes the…

Here we go with the mad seasonal rush to see how many parties we can squeeze in during the next few weeks. Maybe we should designate a quiet month (perhaps March?) as “Party for No…

Happy Thanksgiving! I would imagine that by the time you are reading this column, you've been to the grocery store at least three times after you said “That’s it… I’ve got everything I…

Thanksgiving is the one holiday meal when it is OK (maybe even mandatory) to serve and enjoy more than one type of dessert. In my family, we view the dessert as our “supper,” with the big feast…

This week’s column is dedicated to those of you newbies who have put on your bravest faces and volunteered to cook the holiday meal. (I know, there is a “Yikes! What have I gotten myself into...”…

If only I’d been writing a cooking column about pumpkins 55 years ago I could have saved myself a lot of tears. In doing the research for this column, I learned that pumpkins were once thought to…

The mail bag is over-flowing with questions so today’s column is all about filling you in on what everybody is buzzing about via What’s Cooking. I truly enjoy hearing from my readers so if you…

The month of October is worthy of a bit of fanfare in our family and we travel hither and yon to celebrate. We’ve celebrated niece Hillary’s birthday on the 2nd (North Carolina) son Eric…

Good news for carnivores that particularly enjoy pork: the United States Department of Agriculture recently reported that pork tenderloin is now a tad leaner than skinless chicken breasts. 

…

Just who doesn’t love a potato? Always dependable and adaptable, this humble tuber provides more protein and energy than any other food crop per unit of land. From Ireland to Idaho, potatoes offer…

Let’s don our party hats and sing a belated Happy Birthday to John Chapman who turned 238 years old yesterday. You probably know the birthday boy better as Johnny Appleseed. Born near Leominster,…

A few days after he was crowned the champion of Claw Down, Brown’s Wharf Inn Executive Chef Micah Jones said he was still surprised.

But his crowning was almost interrupted by his job.

Leading up to the September 19 Claw Down competition, Fiona Dunlap was nervous.

Newagen Seaside Inn and Restaurant’s executive chef had not yet tasted her completed creation. She had only…

I recently received a nice note from “Ginny” whose question inspired this week’s column. She said she has noticed that I often stipulate a mild flavored honey in some recipes and asked “just what…

Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta is pleased to again invite all chefs, bakers, and wannabe Food Network stars to enter the fourth annual Pumpkin Dessert Contest. This yummy event will be…

An August 19 article in PC World Magazine, “Smartphones Can Distract Diners, Prompting Restaurants to Act” by Christina Desmarais has pushed me right up onto my soapbox this morning, so bear with…

Was it really almost three months ago that I watched our neighborhood kids tumble out of the school bus shouting with joy at their summer freedom of no homework, later bedtimes and no more alarm…

This is one woman who cannot feel sad for a particular lost, wandering gentleman in Central Mexico.

No, you didn’t miss this bit of news, because it…

Running the oven for close to an hour to bake a pie in the midst of the dog days of summer is not my idea of fun, but sometimes a pie just seems to be the perfect dessert.

…

“Maine…the way life should be.” And our wonderful lifestyle includes some delicious foods often specifically associated with Maine: lobsters, haddock, diver scallops, strawberries, sweet corn and…

Ah, another personal rite of passage this season: I got to mark my gardening calendar this past Saturday with “FIRST RIPE TOMATO.”

Peter was doing some dead-heading in the cutting garden and…

My personal challenges are sometimes daunting (today is moving day for my mommy!), but a really fun challenge I face every summer is figuring out what to do with all the zucchini in my garden.…

I love the warm weather, but I’ll admit there have been a few days of late when I thought if our air conditioning conked out I might melt into a puddle like the Wicked Witch of the West in “The…

The year: 1696. The place: France. The rage: peas!

Oddly enough, there was a brief craze over green peas in Paris. The pleasures of eating peas were a hot topic even in the courts, and some…

A renowned oyster expert will join guests at a seven-course wine, beer and oyster pairing at The World Is Mine Oyster restaurant on Saturday, July 14, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Rowan Jacobsen,…

When I read last Thursday’s newspaper with the report that the strawberry season is winding down more quickly than usual, I whizzed through my morning chores, grabbed my recycled berry containers…

Happy 236th birthday to the United States of America! Parades, family reunions, fireworks, clambakes, picnics, and back-yard barbecues are all a fun part of the holiday celebration. Let freedom…

Turophile \TOOR-uh-fyle\ noun: a connoisseur of cheese; a cheese fancier; Paula Anderson – the ultimate cheese lover.

Given a choice between an ooey gooey chocolate something or a fabulous…

Okay, here we go with the only member of the veggie kingdom that I am not happy to see on my plate: the parsnip.

Closely related to both carrots and celeriac, parsnips have been documented…