• What Your Food Says About You

    What Your Food Says About You

    Recently, I synched my Apple TV with my Flickr account so that when the screensaver comes on, all of my pictures on there–over 28,000–dance across the screen. And, wouldn’t you know it, most of those pictures are pictures of food. In fact, when I open my iPhoto and try to find pictures of me and…

  • Psychedelic Purple Risotto

    Psychedelic Purple Risotto

    Cooking is a lot like writing in many ways; the further along I get as both a writer and a cook, the more I notice the similarities. For example, in both writing and cooking, clarity is key. You can fill a sentence with lots of high-falutin words, just like you can fill a dish with…

  • Growing Up Rent

    In case you’ve missed my voice this week over here on the blog, check out this not-food-related-memoir piece I wrote for Medium called “Will I Lose My Dignity? Growing Up Rent.” And prepare to have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

  • I Roasted Some Vegetables And They Were Good

    I Roasted Some Vegetables And They Were Good

    It’s so funny to think about how recipe-obsessed I was when I started cooking. I mean, seriously, if a recipe called for a teaspoon of salt, I’d practically count the granules. Now I rarely cook with a recipe and it’s hard for me to imagine following a recipe to the letter. Which is why getting…

  • Shirtless Ryan Gosling Cookies

    Taking liberties with a recipe is one thing, taking liberties with a recipe name is another. When Dorie Greenspan first published the recipe for Pierre Hermé’s famous double chocolate cookies, they were called “Korova Cookies” for the restaurant where they were served in Paris. Then, one day, Dorie’s neighbor told her that the cookies were…

  • Vitamix Winner

    Congrats to Eloise whose simple, straightforward recipe for cauliflower celeriac soup with Dijon thyme croutons won her a brand new Vitamix blender. Thanks to everyone who entered; you made me hungry for soup!

  • Mastering The Art of Roast Chicken

    Mastering The Art of Roast Chicken

    Here was the deal: my favorite roast chicken recipe is this one from Thomas Keller. (Sidebar: I’m currently in San Francisco and last night I ate at Zuni, and as I was leaving the bathroom who did I lock eyes with? Thomas Keller. Turns out he goes to the bathroom too; food gods are just…

  • Happy Birthday, Grandma

    Happy Birthday, Grandma

    Today’s my grandma Ronnie’s 85th birthday. And though she doesn’t have a computer, my grandfather gets my blog on his Kindle; so hopefully he’ll read this to her tomorrow morning when she wakes up. For most of my life, my grandmother has been a major presence. Legend goes that just as I started speaking, she…

  • Lunch at Petit Trois

    Lunch at Petit Trois

    Is it possible to go to Paris with your friend Diana, eat yourself silly, then come back from Paris to L.A. only to have a French meal just as good as, if not better than, anything you ate 6,000 miles away? The answer is yes and it happened at Petit Trois where Diana and I…

  • The Best Apple Pie I’ve Ever Made

    The Best Apple Pie I’ve Ever Made

    Memorize this fact about apple pie making, and you’ll be set for life: it’s not about the recipe, it’s about your state of mind. That nugget comes from Craig’s dad, the master of apple pie (see here), who’s said to me, in the past: “I think you’re overthinking it.” And in the past I had…