Category

appetizers

  • Hand-Smashed Blue Cheese Dip with Stilton

    Hand-Smashed Blue Cheese Dip with Stilton

    Some day I’ll write a book about dinner parties, assuming books still exist and AI hasn’t cast writers into outer space like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. In that book, I’ll talk about balancing out a meal; how if you have a heavy main course, you’ll want a lighter first course, and a refreshing…

  • Cashew “Hummus” with Harissa

    Cashew “Hummus” with Harissa

    Back in my blogging bigshot days, publishers would send me free cookbooks. For me, that was better than having Ed McMahon show up at my door with a giant check. I love cookbooks. I have stacks and stacks of them in my kitchen right now because there’s not enough room left on my shelves. (“Maybe…

  • Julia Moskin’s Corn Fritters

    Julia Moskin’s Corn Fritters

    According to Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer Julia Moskin, “Corn is the One True Vegetable of American summer.” And though I sound like a broken record talking about trying to cook all of the summer things before it stops being summer (an unlikely prospect here in L.A.), I do have to make some time for corn…

  • Bruschetta with Homemade Ricotta, Roasted Yellow Peppers, and Green Garlic

    Bruschetta with Homemade Ricotta, Roasted Yellow Peppers, and Green Garlic

    So once you have your homemade ricotta, the next question is: what to do with it? Me, I decided to be ultra-spontaneous. Well mostly spontaneous. On Saturday, I bought a nice loaf of bread, made the ricotta, left it overnight in the refrigerator to drain. Then, on Sunday, with dinner guests coming at 5:30, I…

  • Perfect Deviled Eggs

    Perfect Deviled Eggs

    Any time I’ve ever made deviled eggs, I’ve basically spooned a gloppy mayo-yolk mixture into floppy egg whites and masked the ugliness with either smoked paprika (see here) or weird garnishes (see my Deviled Eggs Three Ways). The problem was always that filling: never stiff enough to pipe, always wet enough to spoon. This time…

  • Heavenly Hummus with Homemade Pita Chips

    Heavenly Hummus with Homemade Pita Chips

    One thing that I like about cooking is that even if think you know a recipe, there’s always a better version lurking around the corner. It’s always possible to make something better. So, for example, homemade hummus: I’ve been making it for a while. Generally, I just strain a can of chickpeas (reserving the liquid),…

  • Don’t Throw Out That Chicken Skin (Also: A Meditation on Self-Control vs. Self-Denial)

    Don’t Throw Out That Chicken Skin (Also: A Meditation on Self-Control vs. Self-Denial)

    At the grocery store, you may have noticed, you can’t buy skinless chicken thighs that have bones. You can buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs or you can buy chicken thighs with the skin and bones still attached. If you want your chicken thighs to have bones and no skin, you’ll have to remove the skin…

  • Yesterday’s Beans Are Today’s Bruschetta Topping

    Yesterday’s Beans Are Today’s Bruschetta Topping

    This post combines three recent posts into one scrumptious bite: (1) Rancho Gordo beans; (2) My Love Affair with Toast; and (3) My Very Own Herb Garden. Let’s start with the toast: instead of a jam-topped breakfast concoction, this toast moves in a more savory direction. I toasted it just like normal (I couldn’t cut…

  • Pimento Cheese

    Pimento Cheese

    Growing up, I hated mayonnaise and I hated cheese. Strange for a kid, yes, but the cheese-hatred had some basis: my dad hated it, so we never had it in the house. And I became so conditioned to hating cheese, it took me years (and a cheese-loving boyfriend) to get over it. As for the…

  • Sardines, Mustard & Triscuits

    Sardines, Mustard & Triscuits

    It all happened very quickly. My friend Jimmy IMed me and asked what we were up to, we said nada, decided to all go to a movie but first, I invited him over for dinner. “It won’t be fancy,” I warned. “Probably just some pasta.” (I had penne in the cabinet and cauliflower in the…