• Cecchi’s

    Cecchi’s

    [From the 9/8/25 newsletter] We went to Cecchi’s for the first time on Friday night and it was gorgeous inside — the Art Deco, old-school, New Yorky restaurant of your dreams — only, it was so pretty out, we decided to eat on the patio. This weather is so wonderful, I wish I could bottle…

  • Win Son Bakery

    Win Son Bakery

    [From the 9/11/2025 newsletter] I met my pal Diana this morning for breakfast at Win Son Bakery in the East Village. She had the scallion pancake bacon egg and cheese — I named it my #1 restaurant dish of 2023 — but I’m trying to be good about exercising, and that’s a bit of a…

  • Penny

    Penny

    [From the 9/18/25 newsletter] Let’s talk about the incredible dinner we had last night at Penny. Craig and I have been meaning to try Penny forever and last night he was in the city so we made a plan to meet up there for some seafood. And some seafood we got! This is only half…

  • Seared Butternut Squash with Crispy Curried Chickpeas

    Seared Butternut Squash with Crispy Curried Chickpeas

    Some married people cheat when their husbands go out for the evening; I eat chickpeas.Craig doesn’t like chickpeas. He’ll eat them if they’re ground into a hummus, but presented in its original form, he’d almost rather eat anything else. I, on the other hand, adore them for their versatility: you can stew them, you can…

  • Fig Leaf Cordial

    Fig Leaf Cordial

    A few Sundays ago, I spied fig leaves at the farmer’s market for five dollars. I’m not the type of person who usually buys ingredients that I have no idea what to do with, but on this particular occasion, I figured: why not?

  • Bucatini with Swiss Chard, Raisins, and Parmesan

    Bucatini with Swiss Chard, Raisins, and Parmesan

    Sometimes sharing a recipe is like playing a game of telephone. Take, for example, this recipe for Bucatini with Swiss Chard, Raisins, and Parmesan. It’s based on a recipe that I saw on Nigella Lawson’s website; but it turns out that she got the recipe from Joshua McFadden’s Six Seasons. I’m sure Nigella changed the…

  • Sweet and Sour Tofu with Corn and Tomatoes

    Sweet and Sour Tofu with Corn and Tomatoes

    I’m old enough to remember when “tofu” used to be a dirty word; like in an eighties movie where the bad guy in a bandana says about the hero, “He probably eats tofu.”

  • Smoky Eggplant Dip

    Smoky Eggplant Dip

    The best recipes are both simple and effective. The least amount of steps for the most amount of impact? That’s my idea of a good recipe.This recipe is inspired by a recipe from Paul Kahan’s cookbook, Cooking for Good Times. Paul Kahan is the chef at The Publican in Chicago and I know his name…

  • Stone Fruit Party Pie

    Stone Fruit Party Pie

    September is the perfect month to learn how to bake a pie. If you’ve never made one before, you’re still straddling two seasons: summer fruit tastes best in September and then, as the weather cools, you’ll transition into making apple pies, pumpkin pies, pecan pies, etc. So if your first few crusts are disasters, you’ll…

  • Roasted Halibut with Burst Cherry Tomatoes and Salsa Verde

    Roasted Halibut with Burst Cherry Tomatoes and Salsa Verde

    When I’m cooking for a group, fish is probably the last thing I’ll usually make. Unlike chili or a stew or a sheet pan pizza, fish is fussy: overcook it, and you’ve ruined it. Plus fish is expensive: if you’re cooking for six people and you buy six salmon filets, you’re out at least fifty…