Lovely spring ingredients are just starting to appear at the markets in New York City, but you couldn’t really tell by a peek inside our vegetable crisper. Aside from fat bunches of kale and overwintered broccoli rabe—destined for meals later in the week—all I’ve got to work with at the moment are broccoli and carrots. Those […]

Deviled chicken, deviled eggs, and now … deviled ham. This is not a rut. It’s a trilogy, and my inspiration this week is the Easter ham still commanding pride of place in the refrigerator. From Lobel’s butcher shop (since 1840), it’s a stellar example of a city-cured*, or baked, ham. There is enough tender, juicy, rosy-pink […]

I wrote about deviled chicken just a couple of weeks ago, but never mind: There is no better hors d’oeuvre for Easter or other springtime celebration than deviled, or stuffed, eggs. I am exceedingly fond of them, especially those made by our good friend Rick Ellis. A food stylist and culinary historian who crafted the […]

It took me a long time to come around to the idea of turnips. Although the root vegetable has always been part of the southern culinary repertoire, I’ve often found it tough and woody, preferring instead its spicy greens, added to whatever other pot greens I had on hand. Eventually, I acquired a taste for […]

Nothing delivers brightness and body faster than Dijon mustard. I learned this at a young age, when a family friend brought my mother a big ceramic jar of the condiment from France. It was so noble looking, it probably would have remained untouched on a pantry shelf for years if it hadn’t been for the […]

I am not an ambitious seafood cook. I would rather keep it simple and fast, which is why I don’t often turn to actual recipes for inspiration. Last week, though, when I was pruning a bookshelf—a donation to the Housing Works Bookstore was in the offing—I came across Leslie Revsin’s Great Fish, Quick: Delicious Dinners […]

Salad in winter is a tricky proposition. Tender, young greenhouse lettuces are all well and good, but we all know that most other salad swear-bys—tomatoes are an obvious example—are disappointing out of season. But more importantly, this type of salad doesn’t suit the heartier, richer food we crave this time of year. A plateful of […]

Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras. Both terms are far more cheerful and indicative of tomorrow’s excesses than the term “Shrove Tuesday,” from the word shrive, meaning “confess.” The only thing I feel like confessing the day before Ash Wednesday is that I prefer cane syrup or sorghum—something with a little whang to it—to maple syrup on […]

Better than a box of chocolates. That’s what I thought, at any rate, when I found the dried egg fettuccine in the kitchen cupboard. DeCecco smartly packages theirs in a box, which protects the nests of delicate golden noodles from getting crushed in the pantry supplies. Tucked away in the back of the cabinet, this […]

Barley is the oldest cultivated grain in the world for good reason. Because it’s a hardy crop with a relatively short growing season, the Barley Belt stretches from the Arctic Circle to northern India. And its mild, nutty flavor, appealing texture, and fuss-free, relatively short cooking time—it takes about 45 minutes to become tender, with […]