Category

advice

  • Ten Things You Should Never Serve At A Dinner Party

    Ten Things You Should Never Serve At A Dinner Party

    Let me begin by saying that anyone who invites you over for dinner is doing you a favor. Without question, hosting dinner is hard work–the shopping, the prepping, the actual cooking, plus the cleaning–and anyone who takes it upon themselves to do all of that for you deserves your gratitude. That said, sometimes somebody invites…

  • Things You Can Do With A Big Pot of Beans (Or: My Take on the Mediterranean Diet)

    Things You Can Do With A Big Pot of Beans (Or: My Take on the Mediterranean Diet)

    The New York Times recently published an article with a powerful first sentence: “About 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even drink wine with…

  • 10 Food Blog Posts That’ll Get You Traffic

    10 Food Blog Posts That’ll Get You Traffic

    This past weekend I gave a lecture at Food Blog South in Birmingham, Alabama. The title of my speech was “10 Food Blog Posts That’ll Get You Traffic” and though I was slightly nervous going in–this was my first time both attending and speaking at a food blog conference–I felt validated, after it was over,…

  • How To Support Yourself As A Food Blogger

    How To Support Yourself As A Food Blogger

    In 2006, I graduated N.Y.U.’s dramatic writing program and moved to Brooklyn with my friend Diana. At the time, I’d been food blogging for two years and had just sold a book to Bantam/Dell that came with a pretty decent advance. Before I sold the book to Bantam, I had ads on my blog—Google Ads,…

  • 10 Things That You’re Doing Wrong Hosting a Dinner Party

    10 Things That You’re Doing Wrong Hosting a Dinner Party

    One of the best things about being a home cook is the opportunity to show off your cooking chops to family, friends and loved ones at a dinner party. Some out there plan dinner parties meticulously; every detail is accounted for, from the crystal that’s to be used for the wine, to the palate cleanser…

  • How To Always Get A Seat at a Crowded Coffee Shop

    How To Always Get A Seat at a Crowded Coffee Shop

    Every day I go to a coffee shop to work on my book. And every day I witness the same phenomenon: people poke their heads through the door, look at all the crowded tables, sigh a heavy sigh and leave. I want to yell out: “Don’t leave! You’re giving up too easily!” But since most…

  • Where To Eat in New York

    Where To Eat in New York

    At least once a month, I get the same e-mail. It’s an e-mail I like getting because it addresses one of my favorite subjects yet, often, the e-mail sits in my inbox for a few weeks before I can answer it. Then, when I do answer it, I shoot out a scrambled, sputtery response that…

  • How To Write A Book About Food

    It recently occurred to me that I wrote a book. Yes, almost a year ago my book, “The Amateur Gourmet: How To Shop, Chop and Tablehop Like A Pro (Almost)” was released by Bantam/Dell. The book, which will come out in paperback in the fall, has served me very well in its brief life. It…