• Eat

    Pembrooke’s Pumpkin Bisque

    I blame the uncharacteristically warm weather in the northeast this autumn for my delay in composing a Thanksgiving menu. I found it challenging to think about hearty dishes, cozy fires, and Christmas trees while wearing flip flops. Even the orange and yellow leaves seemed reluctant to leave their branches this year. Now that November has barged into this extensive Indian summer, planning for the holidays must commence.    I subscribe to the Ina Garten philosophy when it comes to entertaining. Make-ahead dishes allow hosts to enjoy the company of family and friends during the gathering, instead of spending time in the kitchen. Enter soup. I remember as a child, picking…

  • Eat

    Mint Summer Refresher

    This may be the most refreshing drink ever as the three flavor ingredients shine better together than alone.  Mint, this wild child of the plant world is so cool, the smell of it brings the temperature down. Seasonal crispy cucumbers…

  • Eat

    Manono Hawaiian Salad

    Papaya trees grow in the backyards of many homes in the quaint town of Kailua on the island of Oahu. My son, who took up residence there two years ago, found this somewhat disappointing. Why couldn’t mango trees, spiky pineapple…

  • Eat

    Penne alla Cognac

    I remember standing before the huge glass windows of Restaurant Taormina at a time when Mulberry Street in Manhattan’s Little Italy bustled and breathed. Our favorite waiter always sat us by those floor-to-ceiling windows, sometimes even squeezing a table into…

  • Eat

    Apple Crisp

    The trees in the Northeast hung onto their colorful leaves far longer than usual courtesy of a very rainy summer. Finally, pops of red, orange and yellow dance to the ground as the leaves are released from their branches. Now…

  • Eat

    San Diego Salsa

    It’s funny how the twist and turns of life can take you to places you may never have gone. If you frequent these destinations often, the familiarity breeds a sense of belonging. I spent so many summers at my parents’…

  • Eat

    The Pembrooke’s Greek Burgers

    If you want to take a detour from the traditional cheeseburgers served on the Fourth of July, these Greek burgers may be worth a try. They’re simple to prepare, and the flavor from the briny feta and creamy freshness of…

  • Decorate

    The Easter Table

    Easter decor may indeed be the most uplifting of all the holidays. The first flowers of the season—tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths—are the harbinger of warmer days ahead while bunnies, soft fluffy chicks and a basket of soft pastel eggs mean…

  • Eat

    Peppers and Eggs

    As a child, Fridays in Lent meant Stations of the Cross after a tuna sandwich lunch in the church basement. I can still cite the fourteen stations as well as become nauseated when recalling the incense that permeated the air…

  • Eat

    Baked by Emma

    Would it surprise you to know the most amazing custom cookies are produced in my hometown of Chatham, New Jersey, by a high school senior? Eighteen-year-old Emma Hartnett launched Baked by Emma in August 2021, after her cousin gave her…

  • Decorate

    Time for Tapers

    When Hurricane Sandy pummeled the northeast in October of 2012, candles became a necessity. We no longer regarded them as a decorative or mood-altering element of a space. With many hours spent in the dark after the storm, we depended…

  • Eat

    The Pembrooke Tangerine Martini

    This cocktail represents my favorite flavors of the season-orange, thyme and rosemary. It also pairs beautifully with sparkles, noise makers and Ould Lang Sine. Here’s to 2023. The Pembrooke Tangerine Martini 1/4 cup orange vodka 1/4 cup tangerine juice. (Tangerine…

  • Inspire

    The Case for Santa Claus

    I doubt eight-year-old Virginia understood the New York Sun’s answer to her query about the authenticity of Santa Claus. I read the famous article countless times as a little girl trying to grasp the editor’s justification that Santa Claus did…

  • Eat

    Herbed Potato Chips

    Chips or nuts have always paired perfectly with cocktail hour. It doesn’t take long to elevate them either. This simple recipe utilizes all the wonderful herbs of the season. Using ridged potato chips ensures the flavorful herbs adhere to the…

  • Eat

    Stilton and Prosciutto

    We’ve all fallen for the charcuterie board. The basic smoked meat and cheese appetizer has been elevated to masterful presentations boasting an array of cheese, fruit, breads, olives and slices of meat twisted and turned into flower-like petals. However, if…

  • Eat

    Sparkling Thanksgiving Sangria

    If the holidays were a track and field event, then Thanksgiving is the gunshot that starts the race. How better to begin the season than the way we will conclude it on New Year’s Eve….with bubbles. This sangria, with notes…

  • Eat

    The Pembrooke’s Focaccia

    Flashback 1997. For the past two weeks, upon my arrival at work, I am greeted by a tower of styrofoam containers set on the receptionist’s desk and the heavenly smell from the bacon that they hold inside. One of the…

  • Eat

    A Taste of Asia Salad

    I remember my mother bemoaning she “didn’t know what make for dinner this week” on many occasions. My sister, father and I offered ideas that were often dismissed by terse comments such as “I made that last week” or “We’re…

  • Inspire

    Have a Heart

    The anatomy of the human heart bears no resemblance to the red and pink hearts so prevalent on Valentine’s Day. Curious? Galen, known as the father of medicine in the second century, described the heart as a “three-chambered organ shaped like…

  • Decorate

    Christian’s Room

    The design concept for a room begins with a simple idea. It may be a paint color, a light fixture, a rug or a piece of furniture. Here in my son Christian’s room, the idea was always literally staring me…

  • Eat

    Sandwich Night at the U

    Thank God for the sandwich. Think of the possibilities. From tuna melts to pastrami on rye to Italian subs to bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel to peanut butter and jelly on soft white bread, this meal can be…

  • Eat

    Blue Devil Soft Tacos

    You can’t get any easier than this one kids. My son made this dish when he was a student at Duke. The packaged pulled chicken or pork is already cooked, so you simply have to heat everything up. It’s the…

  • Eat

    Stag Orecchiette

    I consider the four years I spent at Fairfield University, one of the best times of my life. Those carefree days spent with friends who I still hold dear often included sharing meals. We ordered in, dined out and cooked…

  • Eat

    Holy Cross Tortellini Soup

    For the Students at the College of the Holy Cross, the winter months bring bitter cold weather to beautiful Mount St. James. Nothing warms the body like a hot bowl of soup. This super simple tortellini soup recipe is as…

  • Eat

    Blue Hen Roast Chicken

    I’ve often wondered how a simplistic thing like roasting chicken can be so utterly satisfying. This recipe for the students at University of Delaware uses chicken breast with the bone in. You can also use thighs or drumsticks, but the…

  • Eat

    Arthur Avenue Panzanella Salad

    My housemates and I ate dinner together almost every weeknight at our townhouse at Fairfield University. We each took turns cooking, and the meals we prepared provided more than nourishment; they were a window into our childhood and a nod…

  • Decorate

    The Bed

    Saturday mornings meant eating my dad’s blueberry pancakes followed by the requisite “stripping of the beds.” The previous week’s sheets were torn away from our mattresses and thrown onto the laundry room floor where they awaited their turn in the…

  • Eat

    The Pembrooke Nachos

    Nachos are the ultimate ice breaker. One cannot be polite as your hands try to contain the triangular chips bathed in a myriad of messy toppings from chili to melted cheese to Pico de gallo. Immediately we notice who prefers…

  • Eat

    Hot Peppers

    Heat. It warms us on cold days, pours from our bodies in the form of sweat when we tax them, and embraces us when we walk from a cool air conditioned space into the sultry summer air. The feeling of…

  • Decorate

    Symmetry

    Symmetry is defined as the quality of being made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis. I recall those dreary days of Geometry class where such definitions were memorized mindlessly never realizing that the concepts…

  • Decorate

    The Ginger Jar

    The ginger jar hails from the Ming Dynasty of China. These beautiful vessels transported salt, oil and eventually spices thus earning their moniker from the wonderful fragrant ginger that often filled them. A testament to the craftsmanship and pottery-making skills…

  • Decorate

    Woven

    The cool blue hues, sandy sisals and breezy fabrics of coastal decor provide tranquility even when not overlooking a body of water. Wicker and rattan accessories and furnishings always complete the look, but perhaps there is a place for them…

  • Eat

    Lemon Fettuccine

    March marks my official adieu to winter. Fur pillows are packed up, stored in the attic and replaced by their pastel linen counterparts. Tulips fill vases around the house and the aroma of gardenia- and peony-scented candles permeates the air.…

  • Eat

    Pear Salad with Truffle Oil

    Perhaps one of the most romantic, precious gifts in the world is a pear. I think of the scene in The Godfather II when a dashing, but poor Robert DeNiro gives his wife a pear that she takes gently into…

  • Decorate

    The Desk

    Before there was the home office, there was the kitchen table. When I was in grade school, my afternoon routine consisted of grabbing a snack and parking myself in front of our television to watch General Hospital. After my date…

  • Eat

    Autumn Banana Bread

    The utterly unique flavor of banana defies description. One could not call it sweet, nor tart. It’s the fruit devoid of juice with a texture that is only wonderful when eaten perfectly ripe. One of baby’s first foods, the banana’s…

  • Inspire

    K-ROD’s Jewels

    I shall never forget my ninth birthday for on this day, my mother took me to get my ears pierced. A young girl no more than 20 years old marked a little dot with a blue felt pen on my…

  • Decorate

    The Boys’ Bathroom

    I began the renovation of our first home in the master bedroom where the former owner painted over the wallpaper, but as soon as my husband Adam began to scrape away the thick paper, chunks of plaster came crumbling down…

  • Inspire

    Fast Forward

    On a warm October evening about two years ago, a group of friends from Chatham, New Jersey boarded a late afternoon train on route to Manhattan to celebrate the launch of Madeline Niebank’s first book, Fashion Fwd How Today’s Culture…

  • Eat

    Candy Sushi

    When I finally landed a job as a fashion assistant, my young mind never thought about the uneasiness that would accompany it. Steaming clothes and packing shoe boxes with stilettos that never fit back into the box the same way…

  • Eat

    Mussels with Tomato and Wine

    My paternal grandmother refused to eat any fish with a shell referring to them as the “scum of the sea.” I could not understand her distain as often these dishes were the most expensive items on a menu. Indeed, shrimp,…

  • Eat

    Lou’s Pink Squirrels

    In early March, when the thought of being relinquished to our homes seemed incredulous, a group of neighbors gathered outside to chat. We joked that if liquor stores closed, we’d have to dust off the créme de menthe and peach…

  • Eat

    Drew’s Bananas Foster

    Thoroughbreds restaurant sits on the main drag known as Highway 17 in North Myrtle Beach where traffic perpetually crawls in the summertime because of the vacationers that descend upon this popular South Carolina shore. Our family has frequented this dining…

  • Inspire

    Maria’s White Gloves

    My grandmother arrived in America in December 1930 after a horrific, vomit-inducing voyage on the rough Atlantic sea. She set sail from her homeland in Italy just three weeks before leaving her mother, father and four sisters behind. Barely twenty-years-old…

  • Eat

    Pasta with Sausage, Tomato and Cream

    Now our families gather around the kitchen table discovering each other again. There is no where to rush off to, and time stands still. The calm preparation of a meal feels foreign, but utterly wonderful. This recipe has been a…

  • Eat

    Escarole and Bean Bruschetta

    It is not uncommon to see escarole floating in my kitchen sink so the sand that stubbornly clings to its leaves drifts to the bottom. After a couple of hours soaking, the escarole is subjected to a vigorous rinse with…

  • Inspire

    Love

    I love this day solely dedicated to love in all its forms…..romantic, friendship or familial. Many poets and writers have tried to define love to no avail. St. Paul resorts to defining love by telling us what it is not….envious,…

  • Decorate

    Spring

    If Punxsatawny Phil could guarantee an early spring, shovels and bags of rock salt would be banished to a corner of the garage until they are resurrected again next winter, and we’d dig out our flip flops and outdoor decor.…