From Away

Cooking Dinner For My Husband

by Jillian Bedell January 31, 2011

He came home at six from a hard day at the office, I handed him an ice-cold gin martini and the evening newspaper, perhaps his pipe and slippers. In reality, Malcolm walked out of his office, down the hall from mine, which doubles as the guest room, and I handed him an oil can of [...]

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Homemade Cheez-It Crackers

by Malcolm Bedell January 28, 2011

There are definitely foods that I used to enjoy, that I have had to stop having around the house. Cheez-It brand snack crackers are one of the foods I have had to simply give up, such is my devotion to them. You can keep your Goldfish, your Cheese Nips, and your Better Cheddars. Cheez-Its are [...]

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Today’s Sandwich: Henry VIII (Henry VIII Carvery)

by Malcolm Bedell January 27, 2011

Today’s sandwich is the “Henry VIII” from the Henry VIII Carvery in Monument Square. It combines fresh, hand-carved roast beef and horseradish sauce on an herbed, buttered, grilled hero roll. Location: 15 Monument Square Price: $6.75 (small) Notes: On this, my third go-round with Henry VIII’s namesake sandwich, my number one question still remains: “How [...]

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Ribollita

by Jillian Bedell January 26, 2011

It was a winter’s day almost twenty years ago. I was in the kitchen with a peasant. I was far from home. The old lady’s face was weathered by sun, toil and time, all of which end eventually. I did not speak her language, so we worked in silence. Or rather, she moved quickly around [...]

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America! Presents: Taco Bell Beefy Crunch Burrito

by Malcolm Bedell January 25, 2011

A few weeks ago, I received a request on Facebook from an old friend to sample and review something new, something that Taco Bell was calling a “Beefy Crunch Burrito.” “Have you seen the Beefy Crunch Burrito, man,” he asked, “I’m probably not going to try one, but I’d sure like it if you would.” [...]

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Skillet Cornbread

by Malcolm Bedell January 24, 2011

When we lived in Mexico, cornbread was one of the things we missed from our lives back home. We had never given cornbread much thought; we gobbled it up happily when it happened to be served with chili, or, as my mother served it, with plenty of butter and honey drizzled on top. It wasn’t [...]

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Classics: American Chop Suey

by Malcolm Bedell January 21, 2011

Everyone who lives west of Massachusetts thinks they know what this dish is, when I try to describe it. “Oh,” someone from Florida will say, “We eat that, too. It’s called Chili Mac.” Or someone from Arizona will say, “That’s easy to make; that’s Cheeseburger Macaroni.” No… no, it’s not. American Chop Suey is a [...]

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Today’s Sandwich: Egg, Cheese, and Prosciutto (Ohno! Cafe)

by Malcolm Bedell January 20, 2011

Location: 87 Brackett Street Price: $3.99 Notes: After the recent writeup in the Portland Daily Sun, we decided to revisit the Ohno! Cafe. We hadn’t visited since this Summer, when we were instantly charmed by the place and the people running it, if not a tiny bit underwhelmed by their sandwiches. The piece in the [...]

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You Think You’re Alone Now: A Casual Survey of Idiosyncratic Eating

by Jillian Bedell January 19, 2011

I have already admitted a fondness for creating and devouring what my husband has termed “garbage food bowls” at least once a week, when mostly no one is looking. Those of late inevitably involve quinoa, selected veggies, such as Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, broccoli and spinach, as well as representatives from the compulsory onions and garlic [...]

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Haddock Ragout with Mussels

by Jillian Bedell January 19, 2011

There was only one cookbook in our kitchen cupboard in my childhood home on Partridge Lane. A whiteplastic, spiralbound Junior Women’s Club collection, with typewriter written recipes and mimeographed pages, tattered and stained and dog-eared. My mother was not a good cook. Her most famous and fondly-remembered dishes including the monochromatic chicken in white sauce, [...]

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