• Parsnip and Rutabaga Smash

    Parsnip and Rutabaga Smash

    Snooki may like to smoosh, but when it came to the root vegetables that I brought home from the farmer’s market last week, I was in the mood to smash. I was making roast chicken (my go-to weeknight dish) and my standard practice is to stick some root vegetables under or around the chicken, to…

  • The Speedy Life & Tragic Death of My AeroGarden

    The Speedy Life & Tragic Death of My AeroGarden

    For my birthday this year, my brother Michael got me a very thoughtful gift. He got me an AeroGarden. In case you’ve never seen one, an AeroGarden is a black plastic contraption that holds a very strong light. You place little pods in little pre-set holes, fill the base with water, plug the whole thing…

  • The Corn Cookie

    The Corn Cookie

    Delaying gratification is an exercise few food lovers can comprehend. We nibble the hors d’oeuvres before the guests arrive, we gobble up the bread basket before the waiter puts pad to pen, we’re ready for seconds while most people are still on their firsts. Which is why I deserve some credit for not devouring the…

  • Saltie & Blue Bottle Coffee

    Saltie & Blue Bottle Coffee

    Last week I decided to take a field trip to Williamsburg. While working on my book, I did take a weekly sojourn to Park Slope, my old stomping grounds, to grab sushi at Taro and to do work at Gorilla, but I did that because it was comfortable and familiar (and I think Taro has…

  • European-Style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

    European-Style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

    Once I was at Murray’s Cheese with David Lebovitz and he stopped to admire the butter from Vermont. I’ll confess, up to that point, I hadn’t given butter that much thought. For years I’d been buying Breakstones–you know, the kind that comes in the red box–and using it pretty universally. But then, after David talked…

  • How To Soften Brown Sugar Without a Microwave

    How To Soften Brown Sugar Without a Microwave

    We’ve all been there. It’s 9 o’clock at night, dinner is over, and suddenly you and your loved ones are craving cookies. All eyes turn to you and you stand up–ready to do the dirty deed–and as you march into the kitchen, confident that you can churn out cookies lickety split, you grab a box…

  • The French 75

    The French 75

    When my friends Patty and Lauren came over for dinner last week, they brought the ingredients to make a cocktail. One of those ingredients–a simple syrup–spilled all over Patty’s bag in transit, but let’s not focus on that. Instead, let’s focus on the e-mail exchange that I had with Patty yesterday about the drink that…

  • Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

    Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

    Here are your tools–black pepper, spaghetti, water, salt, butter and cheese–now make something delicious. Ok? Go. Maybe it’s because these ingredients are so unglamorous that I shied away from spaghetti cacio e pepe for so long. Sure, it’s a classic Italian spaghetti dish, but I’ve always favored the ones with garlic and anchovies (see my…

  • Delivered!

    Delivered!

    Well, folks, today was the big day. At 9:30 AM I met with Lizzie, my constant companion and photographer over the past year, so she could hand over the discs with all of her pictures and the match prints (hard copies) for me to deliver, along with my manuscript, to my publisher, Artisan Books. And…

  • The Most Michael Pollan-ish Plate of Food in New York

    The Most Michael Pollan-ish Plate of Food in New York

    I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while, because I really believe in it. Like many of you, I’m a fan of Michael Pollan, his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (which I wrote about here) and his useful and helpful food rules. I’m also a big fan of Maury Rubin’s City Bakery on 18th…

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