The Crabby Cook - by Jessica Harper

Okay, so I made Bubbie’s Brisket this weekend and it was insane: EVERYBODY loved it.

A pollster’s analysis of the Brisket-Lovers revealed that some, but not all, were Jewish, some had bubbies and some not, all were pro-OBAMA Californians, fifty-percent were hybrid-drivers, and all were, obviously, carnivorous. Read More

Nowadays, my children are too old for trick-or-treating. They still obsess over their costumes, which have grown increasingly sexy over the years (you won’t see any teenage girl wearing a sheet). They gather for parties, driving themselves, no longer in need of parental participation in the Halloween rituals.

My friends and I, although saddened that, for us, this fabulous holiday is no longer kid-centric, all do the adult thing: we make our own Halloween party  and drink martinis. I always dress in my (menopause-appropriate) witch costume. I dust off my black hat, put on some scary shoes and a bad attitude, and, bearing a broom as a hostess gift, I go off into the night, to my friend Linda’s.

Linda decorates the bejeezus out of her house, and serves a wicked Witch Martini. Here’s how to make it: Read More

For those of you who are contemplating what you’ll be handing out to trick-or-treaters this year, I’d like to be the first to discourage you from going with popcorn balls.

When my siblings and I were young trick-or-treaters, we hated the people who handed out popcorn balls. I know these poor, well-meaning types spent all afternoon getting creative and actually hand-making these nasty corn-n-sugar chew toys, but their efforts were, shall we say, unappreciated. We felt strongly that Halloween treats should exclude anything that might benefit the body, like, say, corn fiber.

I would go so far as to say that the popcorn ball houses were the ones most likely to be TP-ed by the end of the evening. Read More

So, after I wrote the post about the Pigs Legs In Coca-Cola, I got some comments and emails from friends with more fancy-pants ideas about cooking with Coke.

You may have seen Arlene’s comment with a recipe that suggests you stick a can of Coke up the chicken’s butt and balance it upright on a grill. I will def try this. My cousin Wendy wrote about a southern recipe for ham glazed with it, and Suzanne says she is famous for her ribs cooked in Coke, although when I asked her for the recipe, she said she’d tell me but then she’d have to kill me. I opted to live and backed off.

Then I heard from Jeffy Lee. Jeffy Lee is a lovely mensch I know who cooks for his family (I know, dreamy, right?). He  emailed me his bubbie’s recipe for brisket baked in Coke. Read More