My Travels
Featherbed Inn in Vermont
Last weekend I attended my niece’s wedding in Waitsfield, Vermont. The fam and I stayed at the Featherbed Inn, a beautiful local spot. Every morning the hosts, Mick and Karen, cooked up an extravagant — and healthy — breakfast: three courses, starting with a scone, followed by a fruit dish, leading up to an entrée, all very tasty. This particular morning the…
The Gilda Pintxo
When I was visiting Bilbao, Spain back in May, the two members of a local gastronomy club who were teaching me to how to make Poulet Basque started my mouth watering with a serving of some Gilda pintxo, the Basque country’s most famous appetizer. This iconic San Sebastián bar snack,…
Bordeaux at Sunset
I was so lucky to spend two days in Bordeaux while shooting my show in Europe in May. We were on an Oceania cruise (full disclosure Oceania is a sponsor of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals”) and able to dock right in the downtown area. We all fell in love with the…
Cooking with the Locals on Guernsey Island
In May, when I was shooting Season 15 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” our last stop was Guernsey Island where I learned how to make a Bean Jar, a local specialty consisting of beans and pork layered and cooked low and slow for hours. Ours, was delicious. The Guernsey butter was…
Cheese Curds
When I visited the Alluitz Natura, a sheep farm in Basque Country, Spain, they showed me how they make cheese curds from the sheep milk. It is a very simple process. The curds are usually served as a snack or dessert with honey. The taste of the curds is unique…
Pollo a la Vasca
When I was in Bilbao, in Spain’s Basque country, I got to cook with two members of a txoko. A txoko is a traditional Basque gastronomic society — a private, invitation‑only club where members gather regularly to cook, eat, drink, and socialize. There are 1500 altogether in Basque country. They…
Dunes Blanches – Cream Puffs in Bordeaux
Stop 2 on our sweets adventure in Bordeaux France was a place called Chez Pascal Dunes Blanches, s pastry shop that only sold whipped cream filled cream puffs. They are crispy on the outside and explode in your mouth. There are several rotating flavors but I for one fell for…
Savory Crepes in Brittany
In Cancale, Brittany, I learned how to make one of the local specialties – a buckwheat galette (essentially a savory crepe) filled with local scallops and leeks, sauteed in butter and finished with a white wine creme fraiche sauce. My teacher, Mary Margaret Chappell, an expat American, gave us all…
I May Have Come Over to the Butter Side!
For years I’ve been reaching for the olive oil for just about everything -cooking, vinaigrettes, finishing drizzles, but now that I have visited this store and tasted this butter, I might have to reconsider butter. The butter from La Maison du Beurre, in St Malo France is considered by chefs,…
The Highlight of My Trip to Europe
Well, you can tell by the look on my face that I am a happy camper. On the last day of our shoot for Season 15 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” we visited the Golden Guernsey Goats in Guernsey https://www.visitguernsey.com/experiences/activities/golden-guernsey-goats-farm/ and the goat keeper, Peter Girard, offered to let me hold a…
The Best (Alcoholic) Chocolate Covered Cherries!
Who knew Bordeaux France was not only known for its wine but also for its incredible sweets? I got to taste a few of them while shooting Season 15 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” While in Bordeaux we checked out an amazing chocolate shop called Saunion where the specialty were these…
Here’s My Set For Season 15!
I just got back from shooting 8 new segments on board my cruise ship set in the Caribbean. Did I see much of the Caribbean? Heck no. Did we get some great work done? Absolutely. Here is the dream team I worked with: From left to right: Dave Ryan, our…
We’re Shooting “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” Season 15!
We start on Saturday when we get on Oceania’s Cruise ship Allura to tour the Caribbean for 2 weeks. Alas, we’ll be working so hard filming the show that we’ll not be able to really see the countries we’re visiting. Hopefully we’ll be able to take long walks on the…
Come Join Me on a Wine Cruise!
Come join me in May on a wine cruise from Portugal to Bordeaux (and several places in between). I will be on Oceania’s Marina ship both shooting my show (Oceania is a proud sponsor of Sara’s Weeknight Meals) and also – going on excursions with guests, teaching a cooking class,…
The Husband and His Cocktail
Here’s The Husband recently diving into a cocktail christened De Goldene B’Adler (a/k/a The Golden Eagle) — a drink he “invented” himself — at Alpino Restaurant in Detroit. Weirdly, the husband is neither a chef nor a bartender. He is, however, a fan of gin & tonic. He also happens…
Episode 1404: The Turkish Table!
Me and Damla Ugurtas, chef/owner Ciy In Episode 1404 which starts airing on October 23, I get to sample an extensive Turkish breakfast, cook lamb shanks with orzo at a beautiful inn/restaurant near the ancient ruins of Ephesus and visit a farm/cooking school on the Aegean where we harvest quince…
Cork and Fork – A Weekend Celebrating Women Chefs
Just spent a weekend at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island emceeing a culinary festival called “Cork and Fork” which featured 7 stellar chefs from the midwest. Their dishes were off the charts. And it is always a pleasure to visit the Grand Hotel particularly in leaf season. It will…
What Do You Eat When You are in Maryland?
Well, blue crabs of course! We were staying with some new delightful friends in Lothian and what did they make us? Steamed crabs. They were so sweet and delicious but oh, what a lot of work. The Husband gave up early but was very very happy to eat the picked…
Turkish Breakfast By the Water
When we were shooting Season 14 of my show in May I got to have breakfast at Digermen Diftlik https://degirmenltd.com/kahvalti/ an organic farm, cannery, restaurant and olive museum https://www.oleatrium.com/on the coast outside of Kusadasi, Turkey, where a women’s collective produces everything from cheeses to jams and canned olives. Turkish breakfast…
Casa Gispert – One of Barcelona’s Oldest Food Stores
Not only do they roast all kinds of nuts in house (the place smells heavenly), they also feature many Catalan spices and ingredients as well as foreign delicacies. I may or may not have bought a ton of small bags of freshly toasted nuts to bring back home. We visited…
The Best Thing I Ate on My European Trip!
It is called Bomba, literally “the bomb.” I ate it at a hole in the wall place in Barcelona, called La Cava Fumada. The Bomba is made of highly seasoned mashed potatoes mixed with some ground pork, shaped into patties, coated with bread crumbs, fried and topped with an extremely…
An Amazing Restaurant/Inn in Turkey!
I just shot a segment for season 14 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” with Damla Ugurtas, the chef/owner of this spectacular place in a little town called Caferli near Kusadasi Turkey. As Damla says on her website: “We like to call ourselves; a ‘Village Restaurant’ with rooms, cooking Mediterranean dishes with…
Lunch in Malta!
Took a day off from shooting season 14 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” to go to a lovely little fishing village, Marsaxlok, on Malta, that had these wonderful colorful boats floating everywhere in the harbor. I got to see a local chef cut up a whole swordfish and sampled the best…
Here I Am with My Stellar Crew!
On one of the many nights we took a break from shooting season 14 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” You can see that we know how to have a good time! From left to right: Jeannie Chen (culinary producer), me, Dave Ryan (sound), Natalie (producer), James Ogle (camera), Srael Boruchin (DOP).