Susan Manlin Katzman | Sweet Leisure

Author Archives Susan Manlin Katzman

BEST COFFEE IN ROME-again

TAZZA D’ORO I once watched an episode of Roseanne, in which Roseanne (Mrs. Conner) went into the bedroom that her daughters, Darlene and Becky, shared to tell them goodnight. Ignoring Becky, she sat on Darlene’s bed, looked at her intensely and said something like: “You know you are my very favorite child and I love […]

¶ Posted 17 September 2009 § COFFEE § DESSERTS § DRINKS § RECIPES § TRAVEL ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: COFFEE, granita, Italy, Rome

BEST COFFEE IN ROME

SANT’EUSTACHIO IL CAFFÈ Many places in Rome make good coffee, but Sant’Eustachio (in the Piazza Sant’Eustachio near the Pantheon) wins local accolades for being best of the best. Here is the quintessential Italian coffee bar/ shop that does everything right including purchasing beans from a variety of free-trade growers, roasting the beans over a […]

¶ Posted 16 September 2009 § COFFEE § DRINKS § TRAVEL ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: COFFEE, Italy, Rome

HEATHROW AIRPORT BREAKFAST

FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST AT V BAR Airport food can be dismal, but Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 provides some far-better-than-average options. I found one of the simpler outlets, V Bar, while trudging through the terminal at 3:30 a.m. Midwest time, transferring from a Chicago-to-Rome-through-London flight. “Morning special,” lured the chalkboard outside the bar, “Bacon sandwich on […]

¶ Posted 14 September 2009 § AIRPORTS § BREAKFAST § ENGLAND § LONDON § RESTAURANTS § TRAVEL ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: BREAKFAST, English, Heathrow, Terminal 5, V Bar

BEST EVER BROWNIES

My dog ate a brownie. He managed to jump on a table at a party and devour the sweet before anyone noticed. This was a disaster on several levels. As chocolate can be lethal to dogs (especially adored poodles like Mojo), I rushed him to the emergency hospital, where vets did icky things equivalent to […]

¶ Posted 01 September 2009 § DESSERTS § PETS § RECIPES ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: brownies, CHOCOLATE, dogs

CRUISE CONTROL

DIETING ON THE CRYSTAL SERENITY If there is anytime to dish the diet it is on a cruise where you can have food 24/7. And if any cruise overloads with quality as well as quantity, it is a Crystal Cruise, where the food is always a feast. So it is odd that Michael Falla, the […]

¶ Posted 27 August 2009 § CRUISING § DIETS § HELPFUL HINTS ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: CRUISING, Crystal Serenity, DIETS, eating well

COZUMEL COFFEE SOUVENIR

If you are lucky enough to visit Cozumel, that sunshine island off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, you’ll find, a cornucopia of souvenirs to tote home. But if you are a coffee devotee and/or want a remembrance more special than silver jewelry, onyx chess set and peacock colored hammocks don’t miss a stop […]

¶ Posted 25 August 2009 § COFFEE § RESTAURANTS ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: Cafe Optima de Chiapas, Casa Denis, COFFEE, Cozumel, shopping

BERRY STAINS

RASPBERRY BLUEBERRY BLACKBERRY Talking of berries—no need to worry about those red and blue bruise-colored stains juicy berries leave on your favorite shirt and best table linens. Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, co-author of The Recipe Writer’s Handbook (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2001), told me her mother’s secret for dissolving berry stains. (Disclaimer: proceed at your own risk; […]

¶ Posted 24 August 2009 § HELPFUL HINTS ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: berries, stains

FABULOUS BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Right now. Immediately. Blueberries are at their most succulent, plentiful and affordable best. Quick before the season wanes, stock up. Gorge. My single favorite blueberry recipe comes from my husband’s grandmother, Esther Milder. Esther would be about 120 years old if alive today, which of course she isn’t, but her recipe is, and it keeps […]

¶ Posted 05 August 2009 § BREADS ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: blueberries, muffins

EASY LAST-MINUTE DINNER PARTY

SHRIMP/SAUSAGE BOIL So let’s say in a fit of madness you invited the _________(fill in the blank: family, neighbors, office friends, beer-drinking pals) for an impromptu mid-summer dinner. You have less than two hours to shop, cook and otherwise get ready. Watta ya do? First head to a grocer that has it all: shrimp, plump […]

¶ Posted 04 August 2009 § ENTERTAINING § ENTREES § RECIPES ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: corn, easy dinner, potatoes, sausage, shrimp

PICASSO/SANGRIA/SPAIN

In his early years Picasso painted birds and flowers and sweet little landscapes (truly—you can see them at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona www.musupicasso.bcn.cat),then he started frequenting Els Quatre Gats (The Four Cats), a tavern/café in Barcelona, and his painting changed. Could be the influence of other artists who made the bar a bohemian enclave […]