This weekend was glorious. The days had that gilded-blue look to it, like the sun was dripping its essence onto the cerulean sky. I stepped into shorts for the first time this year. I pulled weeds in a positively meditative state and cleared away dead branches and leaves, awed at all that was already alive beneath […]
February 5, 2009 – 8:38 am
I’ll admit it. I’m a wimp. One day of rain (which we desperately need here!) and I get an insatiable craving for comfort food. Specifically, the dish we turn to again and again any night of the week—Orechiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage. It’s packed with soul-satisfying greens, boasts a zesty zing of sausage, and plays […]
January 30, 2009 – 3:06 am
I was going to hold off on this for a later date, but I’ve heard from so many very cold people out there that it just felt wrong to keep it under wraps. Earlier this week, I had a bowlful of roasted butternut squash with onions on hand. An open sheath of bacon in the fridge […]
January 26, 2009 – 6:48 pm
I’ve just spent three days at the Culinary Institute of America’s Worlds of Healthy Flavors retreat that was put on in cahoots with the Harvard nutrition department and, oddly enough, I’m craving carnitas. That may have something to do with the fact that a) I’m talking to Rick Bayless tomorrow, b) Iliana de la Vega, former […]
January 13, 2009 – 8:56 pm
Or at least it is in my house tonight. I’ve just about had it with hearing about the crumbling this and the crumbling that . . . so I decided to make a crumble of my own. With my favorite fruit (thanks to somebody tweeting about a cherry orchard). That will make my family smile instead […]
January 7, 2009 – 9:48 am
This time of year I feel full of contradictions. It’s gray and cold (really . . . it’s been in the FORTIES here, for Pete’s sake) and I crave comfort and home. Yet right about now my wanderlust kicks into high gear too (it doesn’t help that certain friends—ahem—are heading off to Italy in ten […]
December 30, 2008 – 10:46 pm
This is a super, super simple recipe that we brought to our Christmas day (eve) gathering and it was such a hit that I’m going to add it to my permanent party repertoire. I thought it would be a good one to share with all of you as an hors d’oeuvre (accompanied by bubbly, of […]
December 12, 2008 – 6:33 pm
I’ll have you all know, despite being a not-so-great baker, I started in first thing this morning on what was to be a fantastic persimmon bread recipe to share with you all. I even ran out to get butter when I realized my stash was gone, rather than just postpone the creation of this triumph […]
December 9, 2008 – 12:19 pm
This past weekend our friends—who always seem to have the coolest parties—had, well, a very cool holiday party. They invited a bunch of people over, asked them to bring a bottle of wine, fed them some (really, really good) soup and put them to work decorating their Christmas tree.
It never ceases to amaze me how much […]
November 25, 2008 – 9:07 pm
It’s got to be the second most popular question circulating these days—just below, “how do I brine a turkey?” You guessed it, “what wine should I serve with the Thanksgiving bird?”
The answer? It depends on which flavors will predominate your poultry. But in any case, it’s a great opportunity to delve into another pairing primer […]
