Memoir

When I was but a boy, the West Side Market in Cleveland was a place of great mystery. My mother spoke of it in hushed awe as if it were sacred, or at least nearly sacred. The vendors there carried the run of the mill produce and meats of any market, but also some of … Read more

I have never had good luck playing practical jokes. They generally backfire, and I feel awful. I feel awful right now. When I was four years old, my mother took me along shopping. I thought it was great sport to hide from her while she shopped. I would duck in and out of the clothes … Read more

The house where I grew up was small, but we were happy. Relatively happy, I should say, because we didn’t know any better, and pretty much everybody we knew lived in the same size house. There was, however, a problem that was difficult to ignore: one bathroom for five people. Looking back, I now believe … Read more

I caught the ending of “Big” the other day as I was flipping through channels. To quote a wiser man than myself, “Big” is one of those movies that, if you happen to stumble upon it as you are getting dressed, even if you are just-out-of-the-shower-bare-ass naked, you will sit on the edge of the … Read more

This is the recipe for my grandmother’s (Gizella’s) torte cake, scaled down for eight inch pans… Top and Bottom Layers 8 egg yolks8 Tbsp sugar1 tsp vanilla8 egg whites4 Tbsp flour Preheat oven to 375. Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla for 12 minutes (and we mean BEAT). Fold the flour into the beaten … Read more