Every time I go to a grocery store and, while making my merry way down the produce aisle, I see leeks, a little jolt of suspicion and hesitation runs through me. My shoulders tense up a little, my eyes get shifty, and I keep walking. What are those giant, oversized green onions? What steroids have they been fed? Are they from a Jonathan Swift novel? And why do these arm-length veget...
Lately I’ve been going to restaurants and leaving with ideas for what to cook at home. A previous post , a salad of roasted squash and dandelion greens, was inspired by the restaurant 360 , an unpretentious little spot where you can eat for $25 and the wine list, which emphasises organic, is very reasonable. My version of the squash salad wasn’t nearly as good--I didn’t have the...
To make a grill week interesting, you have to move beyond the basic hamburger, steak, boneless skinless chicken breast, and the occasional fish. We've done steak twice before , and as we espoused during the Shake Shack Alternative week , we're not big fans of the charred-on-the-grill burger (naysayers and defenders, feel free to comment away). Leave that business to dad. So,...
And like that, it's over. Summer's stronghold has disappeared. The days no longer top out in the 90's, the sweat only beads down my face around noon, and that funk has actually started to lose it's grip on the 14th Street Station. Last week I only walked on the side of the street completely covered in shadow, and now I can walk wherever I choose. Really, I'm not sad.
But I just got a gr...
There comes a point in our party-going lives when throwing a Saturday night get-together does not entail gathering up all the expensive things around the house and stacking them nicely in the bedroom behind lock and key. No portraits need be taken down, no glassware gathered. Laptops need not be stowed away so as to avoid the deluge of spilt drinks. A party can be thrown where people act...
I’m a sucker for simple, easy-to-prepare pasta dishes that depend on an inspired combination of good, fresh ingredients. The last revelation was from Diana Seed’s The Top 100 Pasta Sauces and involved, similar to this dish, a smoked fish (salmon) and heavy cream. The way cream binds everything together and lends a richness to envelope the smokey-yet-fresh taste of the fish--to th...
Our own version culled from a few different recipes, an emulation of the classic recipe of homemade tortillas, lightly fried tempura-style fish, a dairy-based white sauce, and fresh, crunchy, gently spicy cabbage.
Real Baja fish tacos are nothing like what you're used to eating when it comes to Mexican food. In fact, true Mexican cuisine might be our biggest missed chance. Satisfied...
I came across a book at the Strand Bookstore some time ago called The Top 100 Pasta Sauces , and was intrigued. Slapped on a cover was a gold circle that declared it had sold “Over 1 million copies,” and I felt a bit like I’d missed the boat, as this was an old used one that somebody was through with. Flipping through it I found beautiful colored pencil sketches, which gave th...
Happy Mother's Day, Mom. We know we might not be lawyers, stock brokers, or those people that have "money" or whatever that's called. But we can cook. And had we been able to be with you today, and, had we awoken (most likely by you) at the absolutely absurd hour that you rise, this is what we would have done. So, please. Stay in bed, read some of that paper and enjoy a full menu dedi...
When’s the last time you went to a butcher or fish guy and ordered six pounds of anything? “Hey, I was wondering if you can give me six pounds of salmon.” “Sure thing, bub. That’ll be a hundred and eight dollars.” “Um, thanks.” With mussels, you can. They're like $2.50 a pound. Three of us devoured (and I mean devoured : mussels are a sensual, hands-on affair) two pounds each of thes...