Happy Passover! I may have been raised Catholic, but thanks to my "Jewish Mother" Regina Barton, I can still cook a decent seder. My mother still teases me about my slurred summary of my first Passover, "You say a prayer, you drink some wine. You say a prayer, you drink some wine. You say a prayer, you drink some wine. I'm going to bed." I was twelve. more ›

Hanukkah is the one holiday of the year that celebrates oil. How could I not love it? Luckily for me, I grew up next-door to Mrs. Barton, an excellent cook and my "adoptive Jewish mother". Every year I remember her up to her elbows in the world's biggest Tupperware bowl, mixing up the potato pancakes. As a newlywed, I was terrified hosting my first dinner party. I went over to Mrs. Barton's house to... more ›