Author Archives: heritagerecipebox

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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.

A Mighty Mint Cordial

By this time of the summer, mint threatens to overrun my garden. The sprigs that I welcomed when they poked up through the icy soil now crowd my rosemary and parsley. What better way to thin them than to pick … Continue reading

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Texas Enchiladas That Fed a ‘Giant’

When the cast and crew of the movie Giant came to Marfa, Texas in 1955, they traded Los Angeles glitz for an arid, desolate landscape. “[Marfa] is located somewhere south and west of El Paso in a region of the … Continue reading

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An Icy Dessert from Garden Ingredients

  From Eden to Babylon, gardens for thousands of years have inspired legends. In America, the U.S. Botanic Garden opened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in 1820 and still operates nearby. Michelle Obama revived gardening on the White … Continue reading

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‘Something a Little Exotic’ to Grill

Americans have long celebrated July 4 with picnics but they didn’t always grill hamburgers and hot dogs. The Food Timeline reports that at various times in history, Americans served whole, broiled hogs; cold meats; salmon with new potatoes and green peas; and “temperance” … Continue reading

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A Cocktail From the 50th State

Hawaii, coveted for its sugar plantations and its strategic location in the Pacific, didn’t become the 50th of the United States until 1959. Just six years later, history does not creep into Vincent and Mary Price’s A Treasury of Great … Continue reading

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Cucumber Soup from a ‘Culinary Landmark’

When I participated in the Vincent Price Treasury Cookalong with Silver Screen Suppers and many other bloggers in the fall, I had yet to pick up a copy of the 50th Edition of the Treasury of Great Recipes that Vincent … Continue reading

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‘Shake Until Frost Forms’

In the 19th century, British sailors used to mix their rations of lime juice (to prevent scurvy) with rum, creating the gimlet and other gin-lime cocktails. This Cool o’ the Evening cocktail from the Charleston Receipts (The Junior League of … Continue reading

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Hurry Up Curry: Convenience from the 1930s

In this age of microwave dinners and mail order meal kits, we all seem intent on erasing every extra second from food preparation. My Richmond grandmother, Hanna, was attracted to the same idea in the 1930s.

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Peach Cake Rushes the Season

A week of gloomy weather in Boston means it’s time for a sunny recipe. This peach-almond kuchen does double duty for Mother’s Day

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Baseball Cocktail with Global Appeal

The Boston Red Sox just returned to Fenway Park for the 2016 season with concession stands awash in expensive beer. It’s easier, though certainly less rowdy, to watch a game from the living room couch nursing a Cooperstown Cocktail. I discovered … Continue reading

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