• AGTV: Latte Art

    I am proud to announce a new ambitious venture here at The Amateur Gourmet: maybe I’m crazy, maybe I’m naive, but I am making a pact–signed in blood–to produce for you, my loving audience, a weekly video to be released each Wednesday for what will become our very own Amateur Gourmet food channel–AGTV. Our first…

  • A Killer Breakfast

    A Killer Breakfast

    There is no greater triumph for a home cook than to make something spectacular out of food you already have on hand. Case in point: the dish you see above, Chorizo scrambled eggs and fried fingerling potatoes–assembled, with no premeditation, in a matter of minutes. How did I do it? Easy. I took Chorizo that…

  • Virtual Book Tour Wrap-Up

    I can’t tell you how grateful I am to the various bloggers who hosted me during the month of September for my Virtual Book Tour. Now that it’s officially over, I thought I’d do one big post with all the links in case you missed any. Thanks again to all of my hosts: it was…

  • Perry Street

    Perry Street

    If you leave a restaurant happy, does it matter if the meal itself was anything but perfect? Yesterday I had this very experience at Perry Street, Jean-George’s oft-ignored Greenwich Village outpost where savvy diners can enjoy a three-course lunch for $24. I’d been meaning to try Perry Street for a long time–ever since it opened–but…

  • The Secret To A Successful Dinner Party Is A Big Pot of Food and Dessert

    The Secret To A Successful Dinner Party Is A Big Pot of Food and Dessert

    Friends, I’ve made a discovery. If you want a fun evening of food, camaraderie, and drinking, you needn’t fuss over a really lavish dinner. You need only do two things: (1) make a nifty, crowd-pleasing dessert; and (2) prepare a big, simmering pot of something delicious.

  • Me in the Window & WOR

    Me in the Window & WOR

    Tonight, I went with Craig to see “Superbad”–my second time, his first–and on the way we passed the Park Slope Barnes & Noble and saw this in the window: Hey, that’s me! I guess this reading is really happening. So, just another nudge: come on out tonight–Monday at 7:30 PM–and see me in the flesh…

  • LIVE Book Reading this Monday in Park Slope

    Mark it on your calendar: I’m reading from my book this Monday at the Park Slope Barnes & Noble at 7:30 PM. You’ll get to hear the words straight from the horse’s mouth, plus you’ll get to meet my friends, ask me questions, and have me sign your book. It’ll be tons of fun: I…

  • Seasonal is the New Pink (An Essay with Visits to BLT Market, Park Avenue Summer and Blue Hill Stone Barns)

    Can you imagine going to a restaurant 10 or 15 years ago, sitting down at the table, glancing at the wine list and enjoying the surroundings, only to have the server set down a plate–no, not a plate, a wooden box–with spikes jutting out and on the top of each spike a tiny tomato? That’s…

  • Welcome Home Pie

    Welcome Home Pie

    HIs favorite dessert is cooling on the counter (for the record: apple) while he rides a taxi back from the airport. Craig’s been gone for two and a half months shooting his movie and tonight he returns. If the blog goes neglected for the next 48 hours, you’ll understand why: we have to hunt down…

  • Speaking of pie…

    I had the best day on Monday with Julie of A Finger in Every Pie who took me to Arthur Avenue for my “virtual” book tour. Click the link and read all about our adventure. Thanks, Julie, for a great day and especially for this cannoli, the best I’ve ever had in my life:Where did…