THE LATEST FROM FRAN BERGER
Food & Recipes
The Art of ordering from a menu
Don’t covet your neighbor’s dinner – order for flavor and experience! Reading a menu at your favorite restaurant can be a lot of fun (especially if they’ve added new items that you haven’t tried) unless you’ve waited too long to...
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From Ordinary to Extraordinary: A Journey into the World of Salt and Pepper
Time to refresh two cooking ingredients that we often take for granted. “Salt is what makes things taste bad when it isn’t in them” – Anon. Salt and pepper are two of the most important ingredients in cooking – and...
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A new way to prepare and serve onions?
Tried everything to stop the weeping and smell from onions? Try this! I happen to love onions: red, white, yellow, green – it doesn’t matter which one, I love them all – when they’re in my food as part of...
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Serving Caviar for a Tasting?
Handy tips for serving caviar at your next event. When you own restaurants, as I did for more than twenty years, you learn quite a bit about serving all kinds of different food. Caviar is a little unusual in...
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Unraveling the Mystique of Caviar: A Comprehensive Guide
A little ‘what’ and ‘where’ about caviar, and how you can enjoy it. In the twenty years that I owned my restaurants you wouldn’t believe how many times I was asked, “What is caviar?” It’s a delicacy, to be sure,...
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Drinks and Snacks for Your Super Bowl Party!
Cool Drinks and Great Snacks for Your #Superbowl – #SB51 I’ve tried all kinds of ways of hosting a Super Bowl party. You can go the route of a big meal – one or two big dishes. Another way is...
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Perfect Chili or Stew, for your Super Bowl Party
Hot Recipe Ideas for your Super Bowl Party I can’t tell you how many Super Bowl Parties I have thrown (too many to count!) but I can tell you my secrets to making sure your guests have the best time...
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A Different Friendsgiving
Take your Thanksgiving Dinner to a New Level – In 5 Easy Steps! When I was growing up Thanksgiving was always at our house. We had a very small family, just 5 of us and no cousins anywhere close by,...
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5 Rules for Throwing a Dinner Party That Never Ends
Have a party that they’ll be talking about for years. One of the best dinner parties I ever went to started at a normal hour, 7:30pm, but no one left until well after 1am! Nobody wanted to leave. The best...
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7 Best Places to Pick Pumpkins for Halloween!
America’s Best Pumpkin Patches For many of us Halloween means carving pumpkins. But the problem starts with where do you find the absolute BEST, most perfect pumpkin ever to showcase your carving talents? Here are my 7 best suggestions across...
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Let’s Talk About Halloween!
Halloween is not just for kids! Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays (just after Chanukah – presents – duh!). It’s been that way since I’ve been old enough to go Trick or Treating. Oddly, even though I’m not...
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Tomato and Cabbage Tabbouleh
In Tomato Heaven with Cabbage Tabbouleh I love tomatoes – served any way that is possible. I’ve been known to simply salt them and eat them like apples – one bite at a time (I always remember my Father eating...
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Crispy Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto
A Brilliant Crispy Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto Peas are a wonderful spring vegetable – absolutely delicious freshly shelled – but equally as delicious even when they’re frozen! The great thing about frozen peas is that you never have to...
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Sparkling Tarragon Gin Lemonade
Time to Spice Up Your Lemonade Many of my best party food memories are from Sunday BBQs when the kids were growing up so when the weather changes and it begins to get hot outside I start thinking about those...
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Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Cherry Tomato Panzanella
A Fond Food Memory in the Making with Panzanella Chicken cutlets are great for a week night dinner as they cook quickly and with the colorful cherry tomato salad served on top you’re basically done with dinner preparation and you’ve...
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A Simple, Easy Treat: Great Golden Oven Fries
Wanna Enjoy a Pan of Deep Golden Fries? Did someone say you could get great French fries from the oven? I’m in! I am a serious potato lover in any form, it’s kind of pathetic- I can’t leave them alone...
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More than a Traditional Panzanella: With Beet and Rye
Beet and Rye Panzanella Salad – a Recipe with a Dash of Tradition I love a good traditional Panzanella Salad and will order it every time at my favorite Italian restaurants. But, when I saw the picture of this recipe...
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Thinking Big with Beer-Braised Carnitas
More than One Food Memory from Carnitas: Delicious Pulled Pork I love Carnitas on anything – only one problem – you can’t ever make a small amount of it. But, the great thing about bulk recipes is that they can be...
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Easy Recipe for Gnocchi with Sausage and Tomatoes in a Skillet
Food Memory in the Making: All you need is your favorite skillet. This recipe for gnocchi on a skillet is so quick and easy. The big plus is that it looks beautiful on the plate – color in the dish...
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Light and Easy Recipe for Spaghetti al Limone
Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil This recipe for a light citrusy spaghetti from Smitten Kitchen’s post from February 24, 2011. It looks wonderful and reminds me of a pasta I loved in Florence on my last trip there –...
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