pie

A Fund for Jennie

August 23, 2011

Two and a half weeks ago—actually, on Sunday, August 7—I was in Hawaii with my family celebrating the wedding of my brothers-in-law. I had no idea that thousands of miles away in New York, my friend Jennifer Perillo’s world was falling apart. Her husband, Mikey, father to their two beautiful daughters, died suddenly of a [...]

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When Is a Pie Not a Pie?

July 5, 2011

When it’s made by me. In fact, much like its creator, the dessert you see above hovers between two heritages, Italian and American. It began life as a typical Italian jam crostata—a rustic tart of sorts, made with tender, buttery pasta frolla (pastry) and filled with good blueberry jam.

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Crostata all’Uva

January 24, 2011

We are in the middle of a deep freeze here in Virginia. We have not had the snow that has hit other states, but temperatures have been unusually cold, dipping down into the low teens at night and reminding me of the years I spent trudging around in a parka as a reporter in Detroit–and [...]

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