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the life and times of J T Frey

Squash a'la Abigail

If I'm being perfectly honest, this should really be Squash a'la Pépin because Jacques Pépin made it as an accompaniment to a chicken dish on his Facebook page. But Abby did help me prepare it for dinner one night, and we made a few changes to the recipe so it's only fair to give her credit!

Written by Jeff Frey on Sunday July 19, 2020
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St. Lucian Spaghetti

At a lunch buffet in a villa in St. Lucia I tried two items together: spaghetti that was dressed with butter and (seemingly) curry powder, and lentils. The combination was delicious.

Written by Jeff Frey on Tuesday July 26, 2022
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Sweet Basil Sauce

Once upon a time at a pre-spring seed sale at either Home Depot or Lowes I found a pack of tomato seeds that were marked as being "San Marzano variety." Authentic San Marzano tomatoes are prized for their low-acid profile and are often used in sauces. In 2020 we had a fairly good crop from the few plants I cultivated in the garden beds around the yard. I also planted a fair amount of sweet basil herb.

Classico Sweet Basil pasta sauce is one of our favorite tomato-based sauces for pasta here at home. So with our home-grown San Marzano-esque tomatoes and sweet basil, I set out to make a tomato sauce that approximated Classico's.

Written by Jeff Frey on Sunday September 20, 2020
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Sweet Potato Casserole

This casserole was designed to please those folks for whom Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without some sweet potatoes, but to also please those who don't care for a large hunk of orange doused with a sticky, sweet sauce. Sure, in essence this recipe is like lumpy mashed potatoes. But those mashed bits will actually hold on to that tasty sweet sauce rather than letting it running all over your plate. And the unmashed bits have enough texture left that they'll remind those who crave a big hunk-o-yam of what they like best. Everyone's happy — except those who just don't like sweet potatoes, period.

Written by Jeff Frey on Monday December 12, 2016
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The Big P.B.

In many cookie recipes peanut butter is combined with an equal portion of (comparitively less flavorful!) shortening or butter, loads of sugar, and flour. Invariably I find most peanut butter cookies to be a disappointment: when it comes to peanut butter, more is better and I love the stuff. Just ask my family, who've observed me over the years putting P.B. on waffles, pancakes, pumpkin bread, celery, apple slices, bananas, ice cream...

This peanut butter cookie recipe takes the peanut butter very seriously. The addition of salt helps to tone-down the sweetness of the finished cookie, and the chocolate chips are just a classic foil to P.B. The cookie should finish with a crispy exterior and soft interior.

Written by Jeff Frey on Wednesday December 23, 2020
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