02/16/12 • A SUPER BOWL OF CHILI From America’s Test Kitchen (click here to view the recipe) As you might have guessed from the title, this posting was intended to serve as my contribution to your Super Bowl Sunday, which, of course, has long since come and gone. I confess I got a little jammed up in my planning, plus I wasn’t happy with the photos and felt compelled to do a reshoot. So here’s my recipe recommendatio

02/09/12 • CHOCOLATE-LOVERS CAKE From the Feb., 2011 New York Times Magazine (click here to view the recipe) I feel a little guilty about bringing this one to you. For one thing it’s early days in 2012 and many of you are still committed to those New Year’s resolutions — the ones that have you stepping up the gym routine or eliminating carbs and sugar from your diet (and I want to support that… seriously, I do!). For

02/2/12 • GLAZED PORK ROAST From the Dec., 2003 Fine Cooking (click here to view the recipe) For the last several years my preferred means of transportation around the New York City has been a scooter. The benefits (easy parking, rarely having to sit in traffic, speed!) are such, that even when the weather is wet and miserable and I know that riding will be no fun, I’m inclined to say the hell with it and brave whate

01/26/12 • CHEESY VEGGIE PIE From Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi, by Yotam Ottonlenghi Like much of the country, my Sunday nights have been taken over by the characters of Downton Abbey and their various trials and tribulations. Will valet John Bates succeed at shaking off his vindictive wife so he can marry true love (and head housemaid), Anna Smith? Will Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley fin

01/19/12 • HOT AND SOUR CHILL-CHASER From America’s Test Kitchen (click here to view the recipe) Short and sweet will be the M.O. for this week’s posting . . . though given its subject, perhaps short and sour would be a more apt description. You see I’ve got a cold — not so bad that I’m stuck at home in bed, but bad enough that I can’t seem to string a coherent sentence together. I’ve arrived at this conclusion somew

01/12 /12 • CUBANO COTTAGE PIE After nearly twenty-five years of being partnered with a Miami-born Cuban American, I’ve come to have a certain proprietary feeling for many of the national dishes he grew up with. Okay, maybe ropa vieja and arroz con pollo don’t have the same nostalgic pull for me as they do for Alfredo, but when it comes to the what-to-eat-on-a-Sunday-night-because-you’re-feeling-blue test (the ultima

01/05/12 • GOOD MORNING! From the Feb., 2007 issue of Gourmet (click here to view the recipe) I love the idea of a big breakfast, even if I rarely eat one. Come to think of it, that might be why I love a big breakfast — because it’s not part of my ordinary weekday routine, and because it tends to be something I associate with weekends or holidays when the alarm isn’t set for 6:00 am, or when friends and family are st

12/29/11 • THE SUNSHINE CAKE From the June, 2011 issue of Bon Appetit (click here to view the recipe) Cake was never a big thing in either of my parents’ houses when I was growing up. I mean it was a big thing in the sense that anytime one appeared it brought on plenty of excitement on the part of us kids, to say nothing of a creeping anxiety that we might not get our fair share (a sentiment that led to a good deal o

12/22/11 • LIGHTS, ACTION, . . . LATKES! From the Oct., 2007 issue of Fine Cooking (click here to view the recipe) Many years ago I wrote a piece for a women’s magazine about growing up with two mothers — my biological mom and my step-mom. The two households were vastly different and shuttling between them presented some challenges at times, but those differences also offered a lot of benefits. That’s something I’m p

12/15/11 • BRACIOLE From Lidia’s Italy in America On Monday night I was part of a small group that was treated to a private tour of the Elizabeth Taylor collection (jewelry, clothing, doo-dads) being auctioned off by Christie’s. The sale itself kicked-off the following night with some of Taylor’s most famous baubles (among them the Elizabeth Taylor diamond, formerly known as the Krupp) and while I wasn’t surprised to