The Hungry Mouse

Kourambiedes (pronounced koor-ah-bee-eds) are those little Greek butter cookies that are usually shaped like a moon or a half-moon and are covered in powdered sugar. They're buttery and melty and perfectly crumbly (and second only to baklava for messy cookies to eat). They're one of my favorite cookies of all time. They usually show up around Christmas, but honestly, they're...

Nothing quite makes me feel like I've landed in the middle of an episode of I Love Lucy like putting on an apron. I have a pretty big collection of vintage aprons from Duckie, my grandmother. (And by vintage, I mean the aprons that she used to use.) There are a bunch of pretty hostess-y aprons, that look like you would...

Baking bread is one of my favorite things to do. There's something really satisfying about the process—the kneading, the waiting, the watching, the cozy smell in the house when it finally goes into the oven. I made this loaf for a New Year's party this year. It's a pretty basic egg bread, dressed up for the occasion in fancy, braided...

Fresh fruit + vodka = summer in a glass, all year round. I've been making fruit-infused liquors for about 10 years. I get it from my mother, who makes jars of lemon verbena liquor and blackberry brandy (and amazing Irish Cream in the winter). I know the whole fruit infusion thing has been done to death in higher-end bars the last...

Wait, I'll settle for 180 feet up. Seems like folks are always looking for new and unusual dining experiences. The Boston Globe ran an article today about Dinner in the Sky, a global dining concept (I really can't think of any other way to describe it) that a few Boston-area entrepreneurs have brought to the U.S. They serve dinner-180 feet...

Country-style pork ribs are just about one of my favorite types of ribs. They're meaty and big, and absolutely fall apart when slow cooked. The recipe below is a basic one (again, the one my mom used). I change this a lot, depending on who's coming to dinner and what I have in the house. Country-Style Pork Ribs 1.5 lbs. pork ribs 1...

This is another one from my mother. It's just the right kind of tangy frosting to top any kind of apple or carrot cake. It's also really good on chocolate cake. I always make this a few hours before I'm going to want to use it, since it stiffens up quite a bit in the fridge once it gets cold. Cream...

First off, what the heck is a ratafia? (The short answer is a really, really yummy drink, but that probably doesn't help much.) Merriam Webster defines a ratafia as "a liqueur made from an infusion of macerated fruit or fruit juice in a liquor (as brandy) and often flavored with almonds." Now, this recipe doesn't have almonds in it, but the...

Seeing as it's summer, here are the pickles I remember from my childhood. They're the perfect complement to any BBQ. They're really crispy, and have just the right amount of bite that they don't overwhelm whatever you eat them with. Kosher Pickles 4 lbs. pickling cukes 1/4 cup salt 8 cups water 5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped 2 Tbls. pickling spices 1 bunch fresh dill 1 slice...

I should start figuring out what I'm going to do with all these tomatoes, which look like they're all going to be ripe at about the same time. Husky Cherry Tomatoes. I'll definitely plant these again. They're by far the sturdiest and lushest tomato plants I've ever had. Health Kick Tomatoes. I haven't tried this variant before, but the first fruit...