“I need fowl!” Susan announced, as she materialized at my side. “For chicken soup. It’s almost Passover.” She threw an icy blue stare at the unfortunate shopper who had just avoided tripping over the tote bags at our feet. It was Saturday morning at the Union Square Greenmarket. The sun hadn’t yet climbed above the buildings […]

My mother, an all-around sportswoman, loved to fish, and she didn’t mind scaling and gutting her catch. She was, however, less enthusiastic about cooking it. Uncomplicated was the name of the game. Both my parents felt that the mild fish they preferred—flounder, drum, sheepshead—was so pristine it didn’t need much fooling with, although things changed […]

    Italians have an uncanny knack for making something out of nothing, for making something that is simultaneously minimalist—austere, even—and luxurious. Think of the interiors, the clothes, the jewelry, in last year’s film I Am Love. In an Italian kitchen, this trick relies, in part, on impeccable ingredients that aren’t fussed over too much. But, […]

  Ever curious about the world at large, Gourmet published its first big piece about Japanese food, “Song of Sashimi,” in 1958. Beginning in the 1970s, the person most responsible for the depth, passion, and accuracy of the magazine’s Japan coverage was contributing editor Elizabeth Andoh, the leading English-language authority on the subject. Elizabeth is […]

Temperatures are creeping up, but March in the Northeast is still heavy going. And even though there is beautiful asparagus available at my local supermarket, it’s surrounded by bluff, hearty winter squash, rutabagas, and chard, and, consequently, it looks a little embarrassed to be at the same party. I walk past the showy spears without […]

Any connoisseur of hot sauce knows sriracha, the garlicky sweet-spicy chili sauce named after a coastal town in Chonburi Province, Thailand. The version produced by Huy Fong Foods, in California—sold in a clear squeeze bottle emblazoned with a white rooster and topped with a bright-green cap—became an instant icon. Its migration from street-food trucks in […]

This small, stocky Le Creuset saucepan—complete with a lid that doubles as a skillet—should be in the design collection at the Museum of Modern Art. Not only does it perfectly balance utility and beauty, it fulfills what Paola Antonelli, senior curator, department of architecture and design at MoMA, calls her litmus test: If the object […]

I am not an original cook, but I’ve learned when and how to follow my own instincts. Take soup, for instance. The brilliant thing about soup is that it can be anything you want it to be. Hot or cold. Substantial or brothy. A homey meal in a bowl or something more refined to kick-start a […]

I’m not an impulse shopper. But these fabulous melamine plates ($35 for a set of four) at the smartly curated Mxyplyzyk, in the West Village, were impossible to resist. I had to have them. And I’ll probably have to go back tomorrow for the oval platter ($28) enlivened by a very fetching whale. What sold me […]

My father’s favorite seafood dish was something he called “sweetheart oysters,” because it is best when made for two. To prevent the oyster meats from overcooking, he would stir them around in the pan with his finger, something he’d seen his mother and grandmother do. When it got too hot for comfort, he’d immediately yank […]