Author Archives: heritagerecipebox

About heritagerecipebox

I am named after my great-grandmother, who only prepared two dishes, according to anyone who remembers. Somehow I ended up with a cooking gene that I brought with me from Richmond, Virginia to my current home in Boston, Massachusetts. I have worked as a journalist and published three cookbooks plus a memoir and a novel. This blog gives me a chance to share family recipes and other American recipes with a past.

Southern Comfort: Cheese Biscuits

Growing up in Virginia, I ate my share of biscuits, but never took seconds unless they contained cheese. My New England friends can’t quite cotton to a salty, savory combination of cheese, flour, and butter. They expect my homemade version … Continue reading

Posted in Food | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Traditional Cookies with a Peppery Kick

Though more than 150 years have passed since my mother’s ancestors came to the U.S. from Germany, traditional recipes continue to migrate down through the generations. We are Jewish and light the Hanukkah menorah, but I also grew up making … Continue reading

Posted in Food, history, memoir | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

For Mother’s Day: Grandma’s Apricot Bars

Though I didn’t spend much time in the kitchen with either of my grandmothers, I enjoy remembering them by making the recipes that they left behind. For Mother’s Day this year, I wanted something sweet and brightly flavored, so I … Continue reading

Posted in Food | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Maple Sugar Season in March

Warm days and cold nights keep the sap in sugar maple trees flowing. In New England, Native Americans  taught settlers how to slash tree trunks and extract the sap to use as a sweetener. These buckets from a local farm … Continue reading

Posted in cookbooks, Food, history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vodka with Old-World Elegance

In between a one-two-three punch of snowstorms, I pulled out The Russian Tea Room: A Tasting (Clarkson Potter, 1993), a book of recipes and reminiscences from then-owner, Faith Stewart-Gordon. I never went to the Manhattan restaurant but its tea (and … Continue reading

Posted in cocktails, cookbooks, Food, history, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Sweet Ending

For a dessert to end 2018, I found a recipe with just eight ingredients, all of them pantry staples: butter, two kinds of sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, chocolate, and nuts. The shortbread base with melted chocolate and nuts on top … Continue reading

Posted in cookbooks, Food, memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Here We Come for Cider Wassail

Who remembers the English folk song that starts, “Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green”? That’s what I hummed when I saw the recipe for Cider Wassail in The Blue Ridge Cookbook.

Posted in cocktails, cookbooks, Food, history, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cranberries in a pie crust

Just in time for Thanksgiving, my neighbor organized a pie swap. Each of us baked a pie, then sliced it up and shared a sample with the other participants. For ideas, I looked through handwritten recipes from my grandmother and … Continue reading

Posted in Food, memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gardening in a Time of War

You won’t find too many sumptuous meals in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy in the Civil War. You will find two women gardening to supplement their meager larder in Secrets in a House Divided, the historical  novel I just … Continue reading

Posted in Food, history, History | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Egg Nog in August: Pieathlon Time!

These dog days of August make frozen custard more inviting than a pie with a custard filling, but I couldn’t resist the call from Yinzerella of Dinner is Served 1972 for competitors in the 5th annual Pieathlon.

Posted in cookbooks, Food, history, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments