Writing about food since 2004.
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Writing School
Today I graduate writing school and I officially become a writer. The words you’re reading now are not sanctioned yet–give it a few hours and suddenly you’ll realize how un-degreed these sentences were. I kid, of course, because graduating writing school is not like graduating medical school or (ahem) law school–you can be a practicing…
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Ramps and Green Garlic and Pasta, Oh My!
The word on the street is: “Ramps.” “It’s ramp season,” people will say. “You better buy them now: they don’t last long.” So on this obviously bountiful trip to the farmer’s market (see two posts below this), I couldn’t ignore the several stands selling ramps to innocent bystanders like me. I chose a bunch with…
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Crème fraîche and other words with funny punctuation [PLUS: Creamy Lemon Risotto]
![Crème fraîche and other words with funny punctuation [PLUS: Creamy Lemon Risotto]](https://amateurgourmet.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/cremefraiche.webp)
Should you have read the post below this first, you will know that on Saturday I visited the farmer’s market–specifically, the Ronnybrook stand–where I procured a jar of milk and a small tub of crème fraîche: Believe it or not, this would be my first crème fraîche ever. (Pronounced, I recently learned the hard way,…
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Milk and Cookies
Looking at Martha Stewart’s Baking Cookbook a few days ago, I suddenly had the urge to make chocolate chip cookies. “These cookies,” writes Martha, “have a higher butter to sugar ratio so they’re crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.” (I paraphrased that quote because I’m too lazy to go look it up.)…
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(My Thesis Went Well)
Thanks for all your well wishes! Guess what? I’m officially done with school. Graduation’s on Monday. Then I’ll officially be a WRITER. Woohoo!
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My Thesis Reading Is Tonight!
I changed a major character two days ago from a Foodie to a Parking Lot Attendant, I cut almost 30 pages, wrote another 40 and still wound up with only 64. The entire beginning is new, the entire ending is new, though there is still a sequence where a woman has a five-course meal inserted…
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The Worst Meal I’ve Had Since I Moved To New York
“Calm down, Adam,” said Patty. “You can take it all out on your blog later.” I have rarely ever used my blog to seek revenge on dining establishments that perform poorly when I’m out to dine. Usually, I’m very generous about bad situations. If a friend takes me to a favorite restaurant and there are…
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Sophisticated Salading
Endive is one of those words where how you pronounce it says as much about you as the word itself. There are two camps: ON-deev and end-IVE. I’m sure one of them is correct and one of them isn’t (my guess is ON-deev is correct since that sounds more authentically French) and I am guilty…
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Devil’s Chicken Thighs with Braised Leeks and Dijon Mustard
Take a good long look at that picture. Study it, embrace it. What you are about to see, when you click ahead, are all the steps that went into making this dish–the crusty, golden exterior, the deep resonant sauce below: the braised leeks, the browned chicken, the herbed crumbs. This dish was an undertaking but…
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Allow Me To Astound You With My Kitchen Prowess and the Recipe I Made from my New Favorite Cookbook: Devil’s Chicken Thighs with Braised Leeks and Dijon Mustard from “Sunday Suppers at Lucques” [Plus: Bread Pudding!]
![Allow Me To Astound You With My Kitchen Prowess and the Recipe I Made from my New Favorite Cookbook: Devil’s Chicken Thighs with Braised Leeks and Dijon Mustard from “Sunday Suppers at Lucques” [Plus: Bread Pudding!]](https://amateurgourmet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/133849822_e6567a489e-1.jpg)
Take a good long look at that picture. Study it, embrace it. What you are about to see, when you click ahead, are all the steps that went into making this dish–the crusty, golden exterior, the deep resonant sauce below: the braised leeks, the browned chicken, the herbed crumbs. This dish was an undertaking but…
