Recipes and food adventures with Adam Roberts

  • On The Precipice of Meat

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    On The Precipice of Meat

    11 days. It’s been 11 days of no beef, no pork, no poultry. I’ve had fish up the wazoo; sushi for lunch, seared salmon for dinner. In fact, last night’s salmon–which was very good salmon, from McCall’s in Los Feliz–made me a bit queasy, probably because, at that point, I’d become a human aquarium. Today,…

  • Writing Recipes Out By Hand

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    Writing Recipes Out By Hand

    If you go into the back of my car, which you can’t really do right now because it’s in the shop (car accident; see my newsletter for details) you’ll notice a layer of paper on the floor. On that paper, you’ll find handwritten directions to various destinations: Little Flower in Pasadena, the airport, etc. Why,…

  • Grilled Cauliflower Steaks with Kumquat Olive Relish

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    Grilled Cauliflower Steaks with Kumquat Olive Relish

    What is grilling? Does it have to happen outside? Why? These are questions I often ask myself, especially since I’ve yet to be able to buy my dream grill (a Weber kettle drum charcoal grill) to begin my own grilling education. In the interim, I’ve read–in fact, I’ve written in my own cookbook–that you can…

  • Crème Caramel

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    Crème Caramel

    Ok, enough with this healthy stuff. Bring on dessert. Very well! For a long time I’ve been curious about Crème Caramel but too wimpy to make it. It starts by making caramel, something I’ve done many times, but then you pour the caramel into ramekins, make a custard with eggs and milk and vanilla bean,…

  • How To Not Follow A Recipe

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    How To Not Follow A Recipe

    In this life there are rule-followers and rule-breakers. I’ll never forget the day that Mrs. Murley, my high school A.P. European History teacher, kicked Brian T. out of class for being impertinent. As he was leaving, Mrs. Murley said, “Don’t fall off your motorcycle this summer.” Brian T. replied, “Don’t fall off of your high…

  • Eggplant Dirty Rice

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    Eggplant Dirty Rice

    When I declared my pescatarianism last week, I was mostly being tongue-in-cheek because I was pretty sure it wouldn’t stick. I’m still not sure it’ll stick. But so far, it’s stuck, and at the same dinner party when I made that spring pea puree, I needed a vegetarian entree that would impress in a way…

  • Spring Pea Purée with Preserved Lemon

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    Spring Pea Purée with Preserved Lemon

    Spring peas require patience. You have to take the time to go to the farmer’s market to find them and then you have to remove them from their pods. If you have a lazy afternoon ahead and you want to sit on your front porch rocking in a chair and chatting with neighbors, by all…

  • Reasons To Make Granola This Weekend

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    Reasons To Make Granola This Weekend

    Wow, it’s Friday and boy did this week really fly by. Did you get through it ok? That’s interesting. Hey so you know what you should make this weekend? Granola! Have you ever made granola? You haven’t? My word. This is my favorite go-to granola recipe (it comes from the BAKED Cookbook) and many people…

  • 2 Deviled Eggs for 3 People

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    2 Deviled Eggs for 3 People

    Sometimes you have a negative restaurant experience that stays with you for a really long time after the fact. This is one such experience illustrated by a very talented illustrator: me. This fall I went to a hip new restaurant, here in L.A., with my friends Jim and Jess. You might ask, “Which restaurant?” but…

  • The Best Restaurant Bathrooms in New York

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    The Best Restaurant Bathrooms in New York

    This is my friend Justin, you may recognize him from his great work at Food & Wine Magazine. Last time I was in New York, I met Justin for drinks in midtown and afterwards we decided to grab dinner somewhere in Hell’s Kitchen. On the fancy end of the spectrum is Esca, one of New…