This weekend marks The Splendid Table’s 20th anniversary show. Lynne Rosetto Kasper launched the famous radio food show with a conversation with Julia Child about the 4th of July which you can listen to here. I am THRILLED to be included on the roster for this special show (talking about fresh cherries), along with Mario Batali (talking…
Read More16 Super Fast, Easy, GREAT Recipes for July 4th + All Summer
Everyone is heading out-of-town early for the 4th of July weekend, and we’re just wrapping our heads around the fact that it’s HERE! Since we’re unprepared for the celebration, we figured others may be, too. So we compiled our best quick n’ easy, truly do-able recipes — from cocktail to dessert— with ingredients you can easily pick…
Read MoreStrawberry Shortcakes (with our Foolproof Biscuit Recipe)
This Sunday is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and we can’t think of anything more celebratory of the first day of summer than strawberry shortcake. So here’s our improvisation on a traditional shortcake recipe, made with a sublime, foolproof cream biscuits. Our friend Sarah brought them by one day after the classic butter-based biscuits she’d…
Read MoreWild Ramp’s Short Season is Almost Over: Cook ’em NOW
Thirty years ago, ramps, the delectable leeks that grow wild throughout the Appalachian and Catskill mountains, were virtually unknown except to locals of those areas. Since them, chefs across the country have fallen in love with them, spreading the word of their delicousness, and their availability in markets. Ramps’ season is short, just a few…
Read MoreStage a Rooftop Party with Modest Means
When Ikea’s Livet Hemma posted this compelling image of rooftop party preparations, we ran the Swedish description through our language translator to discover that Ikea’s copywriters left out the best parts for DIYing a rooftop space.
Read MoreBirthday Wishes for a Beloved Improvised Life Contributor
Today is photographer Maria Robledo’s birthday. We have been secretly celebrating her birth all day, counting our blessings that we got to know her and enjoy all the beauty she finds and sends so generously our way, like the wondrous riff of instragrams we published a few days ago. In her honor, we send her this fabulous, little virtual…
Read MoreOde to Eggs: Our Favorite Ways to Cook + Decorate ’em
Eggs are an ancient symbol of new life emerging, which is what Spring and Easter are all about. So here is our compendium of our favorite egg strategies, both to eat and to decorate. Photographer Tessa Traeger took the beautiful image at top; her portfolio of gorgeous egg photographs is, in itself, a wondrous Ode to the egg…
Read MoreWines to Drink with Easter/Spring Dinner, via Anthony Giglio
We’ve long relied on our friend Anthony Giglio for advice on wine-and-food pairings. Here are a handful of Anthony’s “Pasqua Picks” to pour with any roast on Easter, chosen with help from his friends at Super Buy Rite Wines & Liquor in his hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey.
Read MoreStage Your Own Balloon Invasion, Installation, Party Decoration
When we saw artist Charles Pétillon‘s magical installation “Balloon Invasion” —architectural spaces and landscapes spilling with white, inflated balloons — we thought “What an instantly surprising, fun, inexpensive way to totally transform a space”, for a party or otherwise. (Video link here.)
Read MoreEaster Dinner: Herb Salt Lamb, (or Pork, Chicken, Cookies WhatEVER…)
Inspired by Anthony Giglio’s instagrams using my herb-salt on pork, here’s the basic herb salt method and a recipe for Herb Salt Lamb, whether racks or leg (or cookies for that matter), along with a dazzling presentation…Enough in advance of the coming holidays to get shop and enjoy a stress-free celebration.
Read MoreCelebrating Spring with Dark Ambiguity of Maximón
Easter, Passover and the innumerable rites of spring used to make me anxious and defensive. Tales of death, rebirth, joy and sorrow, suffering and salvation, history recited, vows reaffirmed, sacred foods eaten: traditions created to allow tribes to regroup, bond, and go forth again into an uncertain world. Part of me bridled; I wanted to…
Read MoreHoli: Throw Happiness Around Like Confetti!
The Hindu traditional day of festivity known as Holi, celebrated on March 5th, is a religious celebration that has come to signify a lighthearted goodbye to winter and joyous welcome to Spring. Celebrants throw vibrantly colored powders on each other, as though blessings, in a jubilant day of transformation. Spring is literally in the air!
Read MoreUse Heavy Italian Crepe Paper Like Fabric
When we saw these curiously chic oversized streamers, we thought: what a lovely design element, not realizing they were party decorations. They are so UNLIKE any crepe paper we’ve seen before. The secret is extra wide Italian crepe paper, a whole other order of magnitude than the vin ordinaire stuff. It looks more like fabric.
Read MoreGuest Books…Walls…Chairs…to Spark Memories
I recently came a diary of sorts that I kept long ago: notations of dinner parties, what we ate, the wines we drank and the guests that were there. I’d bought it on a trip to Venice —a handmade book of days, no year — which I filled in with pencil, interleaving it with thank…
Read MoreValentines: Digital, Analog and Otherwise
Creating a one-inch expression of love to be utilized by millions is no slam dunk as seen in this short conversation with designer Jessica Hische, who created a Forever stamp for the U.S. Postal Service. (Video link HERE.) I love the harmonious convergence of digital and analog as seen in her workspace with computer cum hand…
Read MoreFestive Holiday Beards + Little Richard’s Inspired Do
Beard Baubles, tiny ornaments to festoon a holiday beard, have become such a rage, they’ve completely sold out! Who knew that beard decorations would become a sartorial expression. We’re thinking it may have been fueled by Will It Beard, a brilliant tumblr devoted to ingenious beard apparel. We’ve found a set 30 Small Glass Mini…
Read MoreKitchen Repertoire’s Homemade Marshmallows
If we wanted to knock off an easy and utterly charming holiday food gift tonight, we’d make the beautiful homemade marshmallows we saw featured on Kitchen Repertoire, our friends Francis Boswell and Dana Gallagher’s lovely food site. For kids or adults, there is nothing like homemade marshmallows,
Read MoreRethinking and De-stressing “Last Minute Holiday Gifts”
Yesterday while on the way to an appointment, we found ourselves in a frenzy of people shopping for gifts to meet the Christmas deadline. The tension in the air was palpable. Although we are not immune to the pressure —some people, like little kids need to get a gift on time — over the years…
Read More15+ Quick Hors d’Oeuvres and Delish Snacks
Over the years, I’ve devised a number of hors d’oeuvres that I can throw together at the drop of a hat. All are made with readily-available ingredients and take little time to assemble. Some involve my hanging out at the stove of my open kitchen, pan-frying or assembling the little bites. I find that my…
Read MoreHoliday Wrapping Paper: Found, Made, Bought
One of our favorite times in the holidays is wrapping gifts, usually done last-minute before flying out to a party, with whatever is on hand. We have some closet space dedicated to found papers, ribbons, fat hunks of rope and interesting colored twines, a vast variety of colored tapes, salvaged boxes as well as Dollar Store shopping…
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