What to serve? We were hosting 12 of our family for brunch to celebrate the visit of our Philadelphia cousins and their 2-year-old daughter. Some of the guests were vegetarians, some gluten-free, everyone loves to eat, and I wanted lots of time with the relatives. I decided to make 2 big frittatas as the centerpiece of the occasion.

I like to feast on domestic white truffles a couple of times during the holiday season. These gems may come in small nuggets, but are compellingly aromatic and are easy to find at several Los Angeles county farmers’ markets.  For breakfast or brunch, I slice them over farmers’ market eggs softly scrambled with Parmesan cheese, shallots, and chives. For lunch or dinner, they top a simple risotto. The heat of the warm creamy scramble or rice releases the truffles’ mysteriously earthy aroma, transforming the simple dishes into luxurious holiday meals.

The cold, windy weekend weather drove me into the kitchen to bake something comforting. In less than 15 minutes I had mixed together a cornbread batter, and in 10 more minutes enticing aromas accompanied the welcome heat radiating from the oven. It was only minutes longer and a golden, crusty loaf was ready to serve with the maple-molasses butter I had whipped together. 

Williams-Sonoma Cooking at Home is a big, beautiful cookbook, filled with timeless recipes for classic dishes seasoned with modern flavors, food that is perfect for weeknight cooking and entertaining. The book is packed with helpful tips, hints, and charts too. Many of the recipes in the book were developed by excellent writers I worked with during my long tenure as food editor for Bon Appetit magazine, so I feel comfortable saying the recipes in the book are really good.

During the 4 years I lived in Vermont, I developed a hunger for maple syrup and cool, crisp fall days. Come September, I always experience a deep longing for New England, and couldn’t resist an invitation to visit Nova Scotia in northeastern Canada last week. The weather there satisfied my yearnings, the crenellated coast line was dramatic, and the maple trees were just starting to turn red, purple, and gold. Lobster, mussels, and scallops were abundant, as were just picked blueberries.

We visited a maple factory where I learned that northeast North America is the only region in the world that produces maple syrup. Canada is responsible for 85% of that syrup, and Nova Scotia is one of only four Canadian provinces that are rich in maples. Maple syrup is graded according to its color. Canada, the US, and Vermont each use their own rating system, which can be confusing. For details of the classifications, click on this link and then scroll down to "grades", or for ease keep in mind that the lighter the color the milder in taste, the darker the more intense. One more tidbit I found interesting, the color of the syrup darkens as the harvest progresses, the lightest syrup being the first collected, the darkest coming at the end of the season.