• Say Hello to Fall: Spiced Pork Stew with Polenta

    Say Hello to Fall: Spiced Pork Stew with Polenta

    It was so hot here in L.A., last week, I couldn’t bear to go outside. Then, quite abruptly, the heat went away and this morning I found myself turning off the A/C early, chilly under our light summer blanket. A change of season is afoot–especially in places that aren’t L.A.–and mood-wise, that might be kind…

  • Rejoice! Everything Bagels from Scratch

    Rejoice! Everything Bagels from Scratch

    Like a dying swan, I came to L.A. and watched as, feather-by-feather, all of my bagel-eating genes fell to the ground. I tried, I really did. I made bagel bombs, which were a nice alternative, but not the real thing. I stood and ate a bagel at Brooklyn Bagel and thought, “Oh man: this doesn’t…

  • Dinner at Alma, The Best New Restaurant in America

    Dinner at Alma, The Best New Restaurant in America

    Imagine being 27 years old and on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard when you find out that your relatively new restaurant in downtown L.A. has just been named by Bon Appetit the “Best New Restaurant in America 2013.” That’s precisely what happened to Chef Ari Taymor in August and his restaurant Alma is now on the…

  • Cook A Pot of Chickpeas, Eat For A Week

    Cook A Pot of Chickpeas, Eat For A Week

    Here’s an idea for your weekend, and really there’s not much to it. While you’re sitting around on Sunday, reading the paper or doing a marathon of Orange is the New Black, bring a big pot of water to a boil. Drop in half an onion (leave the skin on), a carrot, a piece of…

  • Emergency Frittata with Spanish Chickpea Salad

    Emergency Frittata with Spanish Chickpea Salad

    Imagine a glass case in the part of your brain that houses recipes: inside that glass case? There should be a frittata and a little sign that says, “Break in case of emergency.” A frittata is a terrific thing to know how to make because, on a weeknight where you have nothing in the house–nothing…

  • Let’s Make Profiteroles

    Let’s Make Profiteroles

    What does it profit a man to make profiteroles? Turns out: it profits a man a great deal. A woman too. Profiteroles are happy little puffs that you slice in half, fill with ice cream and then drizzle with chocolate sauce. Sort of like little ice cream sandwiches, except they’re not sandwiches; they’re more like…

  • Two Years in L.A. (A Reflection)

    Two Years in L.A. (A Reflection)

    Today’s the Jewish New Year–Happy New Year, you Jewish people, you–but it’s also, basically, our two-year anniversary of moving to L.A. Last year, around this time, I wrote a post called “One Year in L.A.: A Reflection.” It’s a pretty fascinating thing for me to re-read because, at the time, we were about to go…

  • Cro-Not

    Cro-Not

    If you read my newsletter (and really, you should; subscribe here), you probably saw that this weekend we attended the L.A. Times Taste festival which was a terrific event–despite the heat–and had the coolest venue of any such festival I’ve ever been to, being hosted, as it was, at Paramount Studios. Here’s a picture so…

  • These Grapes Are Crazy! Some Taste Like Cotton Candy, Some Look Like FINGERS

    These Grapes Are Crazy! Some Taste Like Cotton Candy, Some Look Like FINGERS

    There’s no denying that L.A. is a strange place–juice bars everywhere, Scientology–but sometimes the strangeness manifests itself in grapes. This wasn’t something I knew about, but the other day I found myself at Gelson’s (my favorite supermarket here) and a man in the produce department said, “Would you like to try a grape?” Now my…

  • Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad with Chickpeas and Goat Cheese

    Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad with Chickpeas and Goat Cheese

    Please take your computer screen–this may be tricky, if you have a laptop–and detach it from the base. Good. Now nail it to the wall with this post prominently featured because DANG, isn’t this salad that I made yesterday a work of art? I’m mighty proud of it. In fact, I’m so proud of it,…