Archive for 'recipes'
CHICKEN MARBELLA: WELCOME TO THE CLUB
In 1978, the year I moved to New York, the Upper West Side was still gritty and rough around the edges. Except, that is, for The Silver Palate, a valiant little shop that had opened the previous year on Columbus Avenue, at 73rd Street. Its concept—elegant yet accessible take-home food for dinner parties, picnics for […]
Posted: October 14th, 2014 under autumn, cookbooks, cooking, people + places, recipes.
Comments: 5
ZUCCHINI: THE RAW & THE COOKED
Zucchini has quite the reputation. The plants are prolific as hell, and with the effortless pick-up of a sports car, their offspring zooms from the cute, almost-ready-to-pick stage to the size of a cricket bat (see above) in no time. Garrison Keillor, chronicler of the small, fictional town of Lake Wobegon on A Prairie Home Companion, has […]
Posted: September 30th, 2014 under cookbooks, cooking, culinary history, early autumn, kitchen equipment, people + places, recipes, restaurants.
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TOMATOES, BASIL, PASTA
In a few weeks, I’ll get around to turning the season’s abundance into late-season tomato sauce and slow-roasted tomatoes, as well as pesto, but right now, I still want supper to taste like the garden. That’s why you’ll find scalloped tomatoes in my current culinary rotation, as well as the pasta below, a keeper from my days […]
Posted: September 16th, 2014 under cookbooks, late summer, recipes.
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BLUEBERRIES IN GIN SYRUP
Labor Day weekend came and went, and guess what? It’s still summer! Gardens everywhere are galloping at full tilt, and even in our own little patch, something is ripening, ready for the picking, each minute. That doesn’t stop me, though, from braking at practically every farm stand I pass—especially when I catch sight of the blaze of sapphire […]
Posted: September 2nd, 2014 under cookbooks, Gourmet magazine, late summer, recipes.
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HOT BISCUITS & BLACKBERRY BUTTER
Compound butters—butter creamed with different flavorings—may be old-fashioned, but they are versatile as all get out—think of them as instant sauces that add finesse and another layer of flavor to very simple food. A classic French maître d’hôtel butter (softened butter mashed with chopped parsley and a little lemon juice and zest) ennobles just about anything, especially a […]
Posted: August 19th, 2014 under baking, people + places, recipes, summer.
Comments: 1
ICEBERG LETTUCE
For years, iceberg lettuce was the red-headed stepchild of the salad family, disdained by the food-obsessed for being watery, devoid of flavor and nutrition, and hopelessly common. Now, of course, it’s retro-chic, embraced by chefs who think nothing of charging top dollar (irony isn’t cheap) for a pale wedge wearing a mantle of (artisanal) blue-cheese […]
Posted: August 5th, 2014 under late summer, recipes.
Comments: 1
BARBECUE SHRIMP
For years, I’ve avoided buying jumbo shrimp (one of my favorite oxymorons), because I’ve never known how to bring out their best. My default method—a few minutes in a small amount of simmering water—is more suited to small or medium shrimp. In my hands, jumbos handled this way become simultaneously tough and mushy on the outside before […]
Posted: July 22nd, 2014 under barbecue, cooking, people + places, recipes, restaurants.
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STRAWBERRIES WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR AND BROWN SUGAR
They weren’t the most perfect-looking strawberries in the world, and truth is, some were a little overripe. Still, it was the end of the day, and I was amazed the farm stand had any left. Plus, after a few hot, sunny days in the field, they smelled like summer—and just what was needed after a supper that was going […]
Posted: July 8th, 2014 under people + places, recipes, summer.
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SHRIMP BUTTER
Most brides say they couldn’t eat a thing at their wedding reception, but I was not one of them—in fact, the food was so delicious, so absolutely right, it was one of the things I remember most clearly about the day. Sam does, too. We were married 16 years ago at my stepmother’s low, rambling […]
Posted: June 25th, 2014 under people + places, recipes, Savannah.
Comments: 1
FAST-TRACKING CHICKEN SALAD
Aside from the “fiesta” or “Oriental” versions found at some chain restaurants, chicken salad has pretty much been relegated to the Nostalgia Department: suitable fare for tearooms (of the Woman’s Exchange variety and otherwise), drug-store lunch counters (here’s a marvelous Lewis Hine image), and southern porch suppers, circa 1955. I don’t know why. I suppose people […]
Posted: June 10th, 2014 under cooking, people + places, recipes, restaurants, summer.
Comments: 1