What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love & Peanut Butter?

Culinary Tradecraft, A Cook & Tell-All and a Retro Cinco de Mayo Menu

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In this week’s issue, I’m sharing my kitchen tools of the trade and a sweet peace offering; a trio of fiesta favorites and my Portland Press Herald interview on the Cook & Tell legacy.

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Crockpots & Cookie Sheets: The Essentials

Whoever said all you need in the kitchen are three knives (chef, serrated, paring); two skillets (cast iron and ceramic); and a set of mixing bowls may be right, but my list of kitchen essentials is a bit more expansive.

My grandmother’s wooden ladle, a whisk. Two sets of mixing bowls, both red, because one of anything is never enough; a pair of plaid oven mitts, sporting burn marks like a badge. Parchment paper. Waxed paper. Tin foil. My mother’s cookbook. A rubber spatula. The Betty Crocker Cookbook. The wooden block of self-sharpening Henkels’ knives. A battered electric wok from the ’80s, candy apple red. Nutmeg, flour, dark brown sugar, molasses. A tea towel from Paris, from the riverboat trip with my father and stepbrother purchased the day Notre Dame burned down. A jar of rainbow-hued toothpicks for cake testing. Cooling racks, the kind that make an annoying clatter when they collapse. The blue pie plate for my annual Thanksgiving cranberry walnut and raisin pie. Three sets of measuring cups: stainless steel, mismatched plastic, and the almond-colored Tupperware set missing the ¾ cup measure. A basil plant on the windowsill, its earthy scent a meditation. The maple leaf-shaped spoon rest I made one agonizing afternoon at the DIY pottery shop and gave to my mom for Mother’s Day the year I quit my job to take care of her. The one I inherited along with all her equally eclectic kitchenware; the one she broke that summer; the one still held together by Krazy glue and faith.

my kitchen talismans: the Paris tea towel fading into near-oblivion; my grandmother’s century-old ladle; the Thanksgiving pie plate

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Bombs Away

These treats are the perfect peace offering for any negotiation on your agenda. Plus, they meet the 2026 Cook It Easy mandate.

PEANUT BUTTER PEACE BOMBS

• ¾ c. melted butter or margarine

• 2 c. graham cracker crumbs

• 1 12-oz. jar peanut butter

• 2 c. confectioners’ sugar

• 1 12-oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

In medium bowl, combine everything but chocolate with wooden spoon til well mixed and crumbly. Press firmly and evenly into 9 x 13” pan and set aside.

In top of double boiler over hot water (or in microwave, being careful), melt chocolate chips. Spread evenly over PB mixture.

Let stand at room temp until chocolate hardens, then cut into small squares. Share them with any warmongers you know. It just might restart a stalled peace talk.

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Fiesta Forever (Literally)

Here’s a throwback Mexican menu to jump start your Cinco de Mayo festivities. It’s a Cook & Tell readers’ favorite, from the easier, softer times when the price of filling your tank wasn’t the equivalent of a down payment on a car.

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Extra! Extra!

Cook & Tell was featured in a recent Portland Press Herald story!

And if you’re in Maine, pick up a copy of the Maine Sunday Telegram (5/3/26) and read it analog-style.

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See you next Tuesday for an early Mother’s Day celebration.

Your Pantry Pal,

Amie

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