In the kitchen, as in life, a little finesse goes a long way. And when you are simultaneously in front of the stove and behind the eight-ball, nothing proves my point faster than a pan sauce. Unlike voluptuous egg- or butter-based sauces such as hollandaise or beurre blanc, a pan sauce is an extension of […]

The first local asparagus stops people in their tracks. They bend over to get a closer look and marvel in the voice they usually reserve for newborns. At the Union Square Greenmarket, where I do a good bit of my shopping, asparagus usually arrives with lilacs and lilies-of-the-valley, a flower to which it is closely […]

My husband drinks coffee, and I prefer green tea. I’m not taking any moral or health-related high road here; I simply lost my craving for coffee* a few years back after a nasty bout with the flu, and it never returned. That said, if I find myself in a place with wonderful coffee (Seattle! Miami! […]

“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 […]

  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 […]

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 […]

I love my wok. I really love it. I’ve just never actually used it. Until today, it resided, still in its box, in the hall closet. Sam and I would roll in, stuffed, happy, and inspired after a visit to Chinatown. “We really need to season that wok,” one of us would say. “Is it […]