Category

SNACKS & APPETIZERS

03/14/13 • FIG AND OLIVE TAPENADE

03/14/13 • FIG AND OLIVE TAPENADE Adapted from the March, 2013 Food and Wine I’m not really one to complain about the weather. I grew up in Philadelphia, so winters that are cold, damp, and gray strike me as being part of the natural rhythm of things—the bargain you make for those warmer, sunnier months. This is actually a source of some conflict between Alfredo and me. As a child of Miami’s sunshine he tends to take
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01/24/13 • SUPER SQUASH SPREAD

01/24/13 • SUPER SQUASH SPREAD Adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi Last week a group of friends came over to watch the Golden Globes and the squash purée you see before you is one of the things I made. I’ve always loved hummus and thought this recently discovered recipe might offer a nice alternative to that Middle Eastern classic. Here the use of butternut squash and the date (or m
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11/15/12 • PATÉ TO THE HIGHEST POWER!

11/15/12 • PATÉ TO THE HIGHEST POWER! Adapted from the Nov., 2003 Gourmet Since this is a posting in which the star ingredient is none other than chicken livers, I should probably start by acknowledging one important detail: I’m not much of a liver lover. In fact, “not much” is putting it mildly—it would be more accurate to say I have a powerful aversion to the stuff. As someone who’s always been happy to eat pretty
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11/08/12 • CRACKING THE PESTO CEILING

11/08/12 • CRACKING THE PESTO CEILING Adapted from the Oct., 2012 Bon Appétit In the days leading up to last week’s big event, otherwise known as Hurricane Sandy, my big concern was the sort of food I’d need on hand once the storm blew in. Unsure whether the power would stay on, I doubled my money (or rather my outlay of it), filling the fridge with things like milk, cheese, eggs, and chicken parts, and the cupboards
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09/13/12 • DREAMING IN EMPANADAS

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
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07/19/12 • RAISING THE GRANOLA BAR

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.
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04/12/12 • EASY CHEESE SPREAD

04/12/12 • EASY CHEESE SPREAD From Canal House Cooking, vol. no. 6 It’s still hard to believe that Spring is here already. And by “Spring” I don’t just mean the official, calendar-defined season, but rather the one marked by the appearance of small green buds on just about everything — even that sad little shrub I pass on my way to work each morning that I figured was surely destined for the trash heap. Here in NYC t
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12/01/11 • ARTICHOKE CHEESE SPREAD

12/01/11 • ARTICHOKE CHEESE SPREAD With Thanksgiving still in the rearview mirror and the double header of Christmas/New Year’s looming on the horizon, food has been on my mind a lot lately. Actually, since food is pretty much always on my mind, perhaps I should say that it’s been on my mind more urgently lately. “Urgently” both because this is the time of year when I feel compelled to turn out somewhat more elaborat
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08/25/11 • ZUCCHINI FRITTERS

08/25/11 • LATE SUMMER FRITTER From the August, 2011 Food and Wine (click here to view the recipe) I wish I could tell you that this recipe demanded my attention because I had a bumper crop of zucchini sitting in the fridge and here was a way to call all that late summer bounty into service. But no, I have not been trawling the local farm-stands or stocking up at the farmer’s market — the simple truth is much less ad
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08/04/11 • WICKED-GOOD DEVILED EGGS

08/04/11 • WICKED-GOOD DEVILED EGGS From the Jan./Feb., 2011 Saveur (click here to view the recipe) Have you ever noticed the way dinner guests grow suddenly quiet when presented with a platter of deviled eggs? Just enter a crowded room carrying a tray loaded with these little flavor-packed egg cups and watch the way the buzz of conversation suddenly dims. It’s not necessarily that anyone is overwhelmed by your culin
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