Writing about food since 2004.
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A Eureka Pasta Moment with Butter, Parmesan and Nutmeg
In the course of working on my book proposal, I had the privilege of interviewing a food celebrity who told me to stock my pantry with Parmesan and nutmeg (among other things). Around this time I began cooking a pantry staple: pasta with butter, parmesan and nutmeg. The thing that makes this dish wonderful is…
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Florida on a Fork: Bice, Johnny V, and Prime 112
At the top end of Florida you have Jeb Bush shouting “yeehaw” wielding pistols on his gubernatorial tower, on the lowest tip you have gay men riding scooters near Ernest Hemingway’s favorite bar; in between you have grown adults dressed in mouse costumes, suntanned tourists stepping off cruise ships in sombreros and wrinkled gray-haired senior…
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Vote Your Heart Out
Ok, so I decided I’m not going to do a massive end of the year “Best Of” post because…well…I think I missed the boat on that. Instead, I’m going to point you over to The Accidental Hedonist where I’ve been nominated for not one but two Food Blog Awards: Best Food Blog Humor and Best…
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Amateur Gourmet 2nd Anniversary Party Feeler
On January 14th, this site will be TWO YEARS old. [*Wild cheering.*] I’d like to celebrate by having some kind of get-together in New York. If I did have a get together on Saturday the 14th, who could be there? Would you want to meet for drinks, a meal, a pastry? How much would you…
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New Year’s Eve at Billy & Kate’s [Featuring: A 6-Course Vegetarian Feast] **PLUS: Fireworks on the roof!**
![New Year’s Eve at Billy & Kate’s [Featuring: A 6-Course Vegetarian Feast] **PLUS: Fireworks on the roof!**](https://amateurgourmet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/80614643_ddc5c78bd1-1.jpg)
Making plans for New Year’s Eve is a stressful endeavor. “What are you doing for New Year’s?” is a question one hears several times in the week leading up to it. For me, I didn’t have a very good answer until Billy and Kate (my friends through Lisa and Annette) invited me to their New…
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Congrats to Martha, Pim and the Food Blogging Community
Pim’s Menu For Hope II raffle raised an astonishing $17,101.32 for victims of the Kashmir earthquake. So a huge congrats to Pim and all the foodbloggers who participated and then an extra special congrats to Martha, winner of my raffle contribution: the opportunity to star in a video tour with me and one of my…
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Five Important Moments From 2005 As Interpreted By Eggs in Lisa’s Microwave
Ladies and gentlemen, gather around, please. The year is drawing to a close. Tomorrow night, in fact, a great ball will drop in Times Square and we’ll ring in a New Year. Before that happens, shouldn’t we reflect on the year that’s passed? News shows do it, so why can’t eggs in my friend Lisa’s…
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Hey Mama, Nice Empanada
“What is an empanada?” This question lingered over Lisa and I like a thought bubble in a New Yorker cartoon. “I think it’s like a doughy packet,” I said. “Stuffed with stuff.” “Like an eggroll?” Lisa queried. “Yes, sort of like an eggroll.” This was the talk on the way to Empanada Mama, just a…
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Revelations of the Oven Thermometer
The Revelation of The Amateur Gourmet, which his new oven thermometer gave unto him, to shew unto his readers a new way of baking: blessed is he that readeth, and they that readeth will baketh better forevereth more… For I, The Amateur Gourmet, have seen the light. Many a baker, many a cookbook has told…
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Ven’ll You Roast Fennel?
The Barefoot Contessa, that wily vixen, she’s just so smart. She told me (via her TV show) to roast fennel and did I listen? Never. “The fennel,” she says, “gets caramelized as it roasts and it’s so delicious.” Did I heed her advice? Not at all. Until yesterday. Yesterday I was roasting chicken and instead…
