Writing about food since 2004.
Category
Stories and Rants
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Warm Me Up, Cool Me Down (Your Serving Dishes, That Is)
There’s an eye-rolling threshold for home cooks when it comes to chef tricks. At some point, a chef will tell the home cook to do something that causes them (at least internally) to roll their eyes. “You want me to peel chickpeas before making hummus? REALLY?” That sort of thing. And I have to confess,…
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Frozen Yogurt Toppings Are Worse For You Than Ice Cream
An observation! The other day we were in West Hollywood, walking after eating sushi at Jinpachi. I saw a frozen yogurt place and I said, “Oooh let’s get some frozen yogurt.” That’s not something I often say; in fact, I’m much more likely to say, “Oooh let’s get some ice cream.” Only, this being West…
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Pink Grapefruit Halves and Those Who Love Them
2013 is the year of pink grapefruit halves. I don’t mean that in a broad sense, like a trend prediction, I mean that in a personal sense. This year is a year in which I’ve already eaten my weight in pink grapefruit halves and it all started, appropriately enough, on New Year’s Eve day with…
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The Day That I Baked 144 Red Velvet Cupcakes for Librarians in Anaheim
When my cookbook publicist Molly mentioned, earlier this year, that I’d be speaking at the American Library Association conference in Anaheim in June, she casually mentioned that I should bring samples of a recipe from the cookbook. I said, “sure,” and forgot all about it. Then the conference crept up and it was time to…
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My Very Own Herb Garden
Our neighbor Chloe is a godsend. Not only did she plant the Meyer lemon tree near our door, but when we go away on vacation, Chloe watches our cat, Lolita. If the list ended there, Chloe would still be a hero in my book. But then the other day, I received the following e-mail: “Hi…
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Bringing Good Food Home
If this post were a text message being sent to a modern-day teenager, the teenager’s response might be: “Obv.” That’s because this post basically says something that you already know: “Instead of cooking something good for dinner, you can buy something good and bring it home.” So why am I writing it? Because even though…
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My Love Affair with Toast
I’m about to make a scandalous admission, the sort of thing that usually requires a press conference and a disappointed looking wife standing next to you: I’ve been having a sordid affair… a sordid affair with toast. Now I know what you’re thinking. “Toast? TOAST? You’re having a sordid affair with toast? Couldn’t you have…
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Sneakily Expensive Drinks
It happens to all of us at one point or another; we order a drink without looking at the price and then find ourselves startled when the bill arrives. That happened to me TWICE last week. The first time I was at Franklin & Company, a cute restaurant near our apartment that serves sandwiches and…
