• The Marion Cunningham Tribute Dinner at Lucques

    The Marion Cunningham Tribute Dinner at Lucques

    “Who’s Marion Cunningham? Isn’t she the mom from ‘Happy Days’?” That’s what the guy next to us asked the server upon seeing the menu at last night’s Sunday Supper at Lucques. As Cunningham (who passed away last week) said herself in this 2001 article by Kim Severson, “I’m not trying to be modest, but it…

  • The Recipes We Leave Behind

    The Recipes We Leave Behind

    Marion Cunningham’s death is a sad occasion, one that’s fostered many loving tributes from distinguished food writers like Kim Severson and Michael Bauer. Many of these tributes make mention of her recipes, in particular her raised waffles (which I’ve made before, see picture above) and her baking powder biscuits (which I haven’t but plan to…

  • How To Cook Fish For A Crowd

    How To Cook Fish For A Crowd

    Our friend Emily (who also happens to be Craig’s awesome manager; she’s in the apron on the right) had us over for dinner the other night and she pulled off something I would never be brave enough to attempt at a dinner party: she cooked us fish. Fish is so tricky and temperamental, I’m nervous…

  • Hummus For Dinner

    Hummus For Dinner

    Hummus is many things: a party snack, a sandwich filler, a way to use up leftover chickpeas. But dinner? Hummus for dinner? Preposterous! Hey: I understand where you’re coming from. Hummus is a glorified dip and who eats dip for dinner? But ever since I left New York, I’ve been missing my lunches at Hummus…

  • Blue Plate Oysterette

    Blue Plate Oysterette

    See the way the light is hitting the white wine in my glass? That’s a summer moment, a California moment; it’s a moment that transcends anything critical I might say about the restaurant where this moment took place. Not that I have anything critical to say. Blue Plate Oysterette is situated on Ocean Blvd. in…

  • Yes, I Fried Leftover Cornbread in Bacon Fat

    Yes, I Fried Leftover Cornbread in Bacon Fat

    Ok, so you read the last post, you read to yourself “vegetarian chili, sweet corn bread” and thought “eh, I’m not that impressed, I’m moving on with my day, I’m going to read about Anderson Cooper’s gayness and Katie Holmes protecting her kids from Tom Cruise’s Scientology.” That’s your prerogative. I won’t judge. But you…

  • Summer Black Bean Chili with East Coast Grill Corn Bread

    Summer Black Bean Chili with East Coast Grill Corn Bread

    My cookbook photographer Lizzie Leitzell is in town for a wedding and, of course, I had to have her and her fiance Kyle over for dinner to catch up, to reminisce about our cookbook travels and to talk about what we’re working on now. The nice thing about having Lizzie over for dinner is that…

  • Joe: The Coffee Book (Plus, an Interview with Jonathan Rubinstein)

    Joe: The Coffee Book (Plus, an Interview with Jonathan Rubinstein)

    I hate repeating myself on my blog, so if you’ve been reading for me a while, you know that Joe is my favorite coffee shop in New York. The location on Waverly is where I wrote my first book and most of my second; it’s where I’d meet friends to chat about projects or lives,…

  • The Day That I Baked 144 Red Velvet Cupcakes for Librarians in Anaheim

    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…

  • Brooklyn Bagel & Mexicali Taco

    Brooklyn Bagel & Mexicali Taco

    As many of you know, since moving to L.A. I’ve been coping with a loss of decent bagels. My coping led me to Everything Bagel Bombs (which were an enjoyable but unrealistic substitute) and to frozen Murray’s bagels, over-toasted in my toaster to compensate for their cross-country staleness. Commenters in both posts asked if I’d…