I can (and did) choose to stop using Amazon. I don’t miss it. But the apartment full of millennials who are constantly receiving deliveries (last one was a carton of paper towels) kinda offsets anything I might do. I’m clearly outnumbered by a generation and a half who have always used Amazon and won’t change for…

I made some using Claire’s recipe, it’s quite remarkable stuff. Store the powder in the fridge, which keeps it from clumping.

Most of my kitchen is a gift, in one form or another. Over the years, my parents bought me cookware, knives, a mini and full sized food processor, a hand mixer. Recipes: My brisket recipe came from my mother’s mother. My first set of dishes and silverware were hand-me downs from my childhood. My cookbook collection…

A question about using a blender for the butter step. I have the hardest time getting all the stuff out without getting caught on the blades. Do you have a recommendation for a spatula or something that works well for you?

Psst, over here... Mascarpone & fresh blueberries.

Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe.

I haven’t bought anything from Amazon this year. I dropped my Prime subscription and decided not to buy from them. I try to buy direct from the company that makes the item if I can. B&H is really good for electronics, they matched every other site for the phone I wanted.

Again, The Takeout reminds us of what makes this country truly great. Immigrants who left everything behind to start over in a new country and make that country better. Some built bridges, some built subways, some cleaned, some repaired. Still more gave us wonderful things to eat. I had not heard of this marvelous…

Ladies, your timing is impeccable. Just this morning, I added a couple of fat teaspoons of Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix to my oatmeal. Poof, I’m six years old. I got to remembering how my mom used to make hot cocoa mix, it was less expensive than the packets. Come Christmas time, she would make gifts of cocoa mix, the…

Second this. The potato-cheese knish gets my vote for the single most carb-tastic food, ever. 

Hard candy always has a nostalgic component for me, maybe because they last longer than soft candy. Coffee Nips remind me of my grandmother, who always had a bowl of them in her living room. I loved the intense coffee flavor, with that milk and sugar note and they lasted a long time. A truly superb candy.

This is what makes America great. This, right here. This is the physical embodiment of that self-evident truth inscribed in the Declaration of Independence: The Pursuit of Happiness.

How in the name of Fannie Farmer did you think of using pretzels instead of bread as a binder? Inspired.

That’s what we did for Christmas! We spent 50 Christmases with our very best friends. We don’t eat ham, they didn’t like turkey so we did Duck! One year there were lots more people over and the kitchen was filled with roasted ducks. Wild rice dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, cranberry sauce, it was a sight to…

I love you all so much. Here is my island of sanity, the source of my joie de vivre, my fountain of youth. Your collective powers know no bounds. Go forth and change the world, one canapé at a time.

The hash brown “sandwich” at Art’s Cafe in San Francisco. Straight up diner food. Tiny joint, counter seating, I love it. Walk a couple of blocks north on 9th Ave, and you’re in Golden Gate Park. The Concourse Between the Academy of Science and the DeYoung is a wonderful place for a walk after breakfast.

Hi Claire-Where do you get your knives sharpened? How much does it usually cost (per knife)? I’m looking around, there are so many options in a big city.

If anyone questions the importance of The Big Bowl, you MUST watch Derry Girls Season 2 episode 1. “It’s a grand bowl.”

Given that I am deeply mathmatically challenged, may I highlight the best part of this article: “Hanna Pamula, a Ph.D. student in Poland who built it for The Omni Calculator Project”

Bite sized corn dogs? Yes, please. Thank the sweet baby Moses that there isn’t a White Castle anywhere in California.