As the acorns pile up on the lawn and the trees begin to turn, it feels like the food we eat should change along with the color of the leaves. It’s time for a hearty meat pie, like this toothsome beef-and-mushroom variety. I love one-dish dinners, and this stick-to-the-ribs meal does involve more prep time than I’m usually willing to do, but you can make them in quantity, freeze them, and have a special treat waiting in the freezer for […]
I’ve been making these chicken potpies since my girls were little, and, over the years, I started getting special requests for the fillings in the pies. My husband wanted extra peas and pearl onions but no potatoes, one daughter is allergic to carrots, another liked the original version, and it became fun, and a special treat, to ‘customize’ the potpies. I marked the top of each with the initial of the person whose pie it was using a small cookie […]
Lyndon Johnson had a good grasp of the perils of the presidency. He once said, “Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There’s nothing to do but stand there and take it.” There probably hasn’t been a president who didn’t feel the same way. Johnson’s extraordinary grasp of the art of legislating made him one of the most consequential presidents of modern times. He came into office with a nation in shock and mourning, and presided over […]
Louisa Adams was the sixth first lady of the United States, the daughter-in-law of John and Abigail Adams, and the wife of John Quincy Adams. She was one of the most experienced and formidable hostesses the White House has ever seen, living in Prussia, St. Petersburg, and London while her husband was in diplomatic service, and then entertaining frequently when her husband became Secretary of State and later President. When I found her four-ingredient recipe for clam chowder, I was […]
It’s Tex-Mex Thursday again, and I’m thrilled to pass along a recipe that puts a cheerful zing into what can be a traditional, but ordinary, Thanksgiving side dish. Matthew Wendel’s sweet and spicy sweet potatoes elevate a Thanksgiving staple to new heights: he uses chipotle chiles tempered with the soothing richness of Greek yogurt. If Matthew’s name is familiar to you, it’s because he worked for President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at their ranch in Texas and at […]
