The Culinary Cellar

If you live in or around a large metropolitan area, you learn to avoid trucks at all costs on the highways.  But not this truck.  Not a truck named “Sugar,” aka, “The Treats Truck.”  This is a truck you want to find and follow.  The happy face you see hanging out of Sugar is Kim […]

After viewing Julia Child’s kitchen at The Smithsonian last summer, the first place I headed for was the museum’s gift and bookstore.  The selection of cookbooks in the store are inspired by American kitchens and the sale of the books support the educational purposes and activities of the Smithsonian Institution.  There you will find Julia’s […]

I can still recall someone telling me that the 37th Bake-Off grand prize would be one million dollars. One million dollars.  I thought it was a joke.  No cooking contest has ever come close in prize money.  The iconic Pillsbury Bake-Off has continuously captured America’s attention since 1949, but now all bets were off.  American cooks headed to the kitchen […]

During the ongoing renovation of my Culinary Cellar, I think the most fun is finding little items I had placed between pages, or special thoughts written by the giver, if the book was a gift.  Friends, and everyone in my family know that if they don’t know what to buy me for Christmas or a […]

I have made some wonderful friends through this blog, and one of the first was Madonna, from Indiana.  Madonna is a wine connoisseur and is in the process of developing her wine blog.  When I saw this recipe in a January 1982 Cuisine magazine, it had her name written all over it.  Happy Birthday, Madonna!  You […]

Here is a lovely and creamy spinach soup with a hint of cumin, cayenne pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Creamy Spinach Soup 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter1 cup chopped onion1-1/2 pounds fresh spinach; stemmed, rinsed, dried, and finely chopped6 Tablespoons all purpose flour1 Tablespoon Dijon-style mustard3/4 teaspoon ground cumin1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg1/8 teaspoon ground red (cayenne) […]