My obsession with rye bread began when I was a little girl. My grandmother would help me make dainty sandwiches on pieces of cocktail rye and cut them just so. I served them with tea on the lawn to a motley collection of dolls and stuffed animals. Other offerings included corn-silk or asparagus-frond spaghetti and […]

Recently, our stove, an increasingly temperamental 35-year-old Imperial range, busted. I mean, really busted. My husband, Sam, and I were philosophical about this turn of events, having seen it coming a mile off. In fact, we’ve talked about a modest renovation of our postage stamp–sized kitchen (it’s 6 by 8 feet, minus appliances and counter) […]

When does collecting become hoarding? At what moment does ripeness slip-slide into decay? Funny, the things that go through my mind while editing the contents of the refrigerator, especially when I get to the designated cheese corner. It’s heaped with rather too many odd-shaped little parcels—our entertaining and general all-around indulgent spree began at Thanksgiving—and […]

I would rather labor over cassoulet for 12 than bake Christmas cookies. The very idea makes me want to run screaming out into the street. Don’t get me wrong: I greatly admire the people who carry on this tradition, willingly or under duress. I’m just not one of them. Cheese biscuits, however, are a different […]

A great pan gravy is not difficult to make, but attention must be paid, and at the last minute, too. That’s why so many examples of this noble subset of the sauce realm are truly god-awful. I know this for a fact, because I feel compelled to order gravy if I see it on a […]

Many people believe that the Thanksgiving bird is merely the means to an end: gravy. I don’t count myself among them—I enjoy the flavor of roast turkey, both white meat and dark—but there’s no arguing about the fact that you can never ever have too much rich, velvety gravy. It gives the entire meal a […]

The pecans above may look small and pale, almost drab. But I’d give anything if I could offer you some to taste. A plump, deeply grooved variety called Elliott, they are rich and buttery. Sweet. They have finesse. Most importantly, they are new-crop pecans—that is, just harvested—and their fresh, pure flavor is a world apart […]

When I was a child, no one I knew cooked pasta (what we called noodles) with tomato sauce at home. In our part of the South, that sort of food was considered not just ethnic, but positively exotic, enjoyed as a special treat at the lone Italian restaurant in town. So although a college roommate introduced […]

Most Saturdays, you’ll find me on the prowl for ingredients to turn into a dish with staying power, one that improves in flavor when made in advance and that will get us through part of a hectic week. In August, you might find an eggplant tian on our table (leftovers can be worked into pasta or provide […]

October is a swing month. The trees are reluctantly turning red and orange and yellow. Kitchen gardeners are sowing fast-growing radishes and lettuces while simultaneously harvesting pumpkins and cauliflower. Even when the weather is fine, there’s an edge to the air, a sharpness, when you take a deep breath. October, with its fat-bellied letters, is […]