09/20/12 • THE REAL-DEAL RATATOUILLE From Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking When I was growing up in Philadelphia in the 1970s, the French/Mediterranean vegetable casserole known as ratatouille seemed to be everywhere—sort of the way kale salads or pot pies are today. Or maybe it’s just that my mom was heavy into Julia Child’s the Art of French Cooking at the time, and that particular dish quickly be

09/13/12 • DREAMING IN EMPANADAS From the May, 2010 Cook’s Illustrated (click here to view the recipe) It’s taken me a while to get this recipe to you, but it’s one that’s been on my mind since early summer. Remember those weeks in the beginning of June, when you still couldn’t quite believe it was light at 8:30 PM and it seemed like those long, warm days would stretch on forever? Well it was around that time that I

09/06/12 • END OF SUMMER BLUEBERRY CAKE From America’s Test Kitchen I should probably start by acknowledging that the above title is a little misleading, since strictly speaking the recipe I bring to you here is for a cake that can be made (and enjoyed) at pretty much any time of year, and is not just limited to those waning days of summer such as we’re experiencing now. Still, there’s something about the simple, cel

08/30/12 • SAVORY SUMMER TART From the Sept., 2012 Elle Decor (click here to view the recipe) If you’re the sort of person who reflexively slows down whenever a roadside farm-stand comes into view, then you’ve officially entered whiplash season. That was my conclusion last weekend, anyway, as I tooled around the East End of Long Island and found my head repeatedly swiveling right, then left, then right again. Farm-st

08/23/12 • THE HAPPY CLAM SAUCE From the Sept., 2007 Fine Cooking (click here to view the recipe) In the last few weeks I’ve begun to notice a subtle shift in peoples’ attitude towards the summer. Gone is the air of anticipation that was everywhere in May and June. So, too, is the vibe of communal celebration that marked the month of July, when people across the city seemed to be gathering at outdoor cafes until the

08/16/12 • SIMPLE CORN SALAD From the Aug./Sept. Fine Cooking One of the questions I’m constantly asking myself when deciding what to post each week is whether a particular recipe falls within that sweet spot that will make it either so ridiculously easy that you don’t need me to tell you about it, or so complex that you’ll immediately dismiss it as unrealistic. This recipe for corn salad falls squarely in the former

08/09/12 • PIECE O’ (PEACH) CAKE From season 12 of America’s Test Kitchen (click here to view the recipe)  At its best, eating can be a kind of adventure—a chance to put your comfort level on the line and experience something that will either have you running for the safety of the nearest ham sandwich, or that can turn your life just a little upside down. That’s something I first discovered many decades ago, wh

08/03/12 • STREET EATS, ASIAN-STYLE From the May, 2012 Food & Wine (click here to view the recipe) Greetings from the Olympics!! . . . Well, not really, although in some ways my head is still at “the games” (or maybe I just left it in Heathrow’s Terminal Three, while making a mad dash for my flight to the U.S. late Tuesday). In other words, I may technically be back at my desk in New York City, but I don’t feel e

07/26/12 • BEST (COLD!) BEET SOUP From Canal House Cooking, Volume No. 1 When it comes to hot weather dining strategies, some people advise that the best approach is to turn up the heat—be it in the form of spiciness or of temperature. And as counterintuitive as that may sound, these heat-seeking advocates may well have a point. (For my self, there seems to be a direct correlation between a spike in temperature and a

07/19/12 • RAISING THE GRANOLA BAR Adapted from Baking Illustrated, published by the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook Collection. Granola bars have never really been a big thing for me. Sure, like most everybody on the planet I’ve eaten my fair share of them, but it’s pretty much been limited to occasions when I was traveling and everything else available at the airport kiosk or highway rest stop was out-of-the-question.