The story behind Olia Hercules’ A Case for Eating Herbs as if They Were Vegetables in the New Yorker is well worth reading. But the title conveys the vital message. A platter of herbs offered alongside other dishes in a meal is an invitation for guests to enjoy herbs primal and fragrant with abandon.
Read MoreOde to Eggs (Let Me Count the Ways…)
Although a lot of people complain about the price of eggs, we think they are a bargain. One or two can still make a mighty meal for under two bucks. And there are ENDLESS ways to cook treat them. To spark egg possibility-thinking, we reprise our edit of Renee Schettler Rossi’s “All Hail the Mighty Egg” that appeared in in Leite’s Culinaria some years ago: inspired ideas fueled by memory, passion and hunger.
Read MoreRustic White Bean Ragout with Embellishments To Satisfy Various Diets and Hungers
Entertaining these days often means being challenged with feeding a mix of carnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and people with specific prohibitions who can not eat something or other. Then I fall back on a strategy I devised years ago to feed a crowd.
Read MoreWhy I Can’t NOT Write about Persimmons Every Year
There are good reasons I cannot NOT write about persimmons every winter. I love all the ways that they seem defiant, wild, beyond my control… I want others to find their way to the rare experience they offer.
Read MoreSimple Genius Recipes and Ideas for Beginners, Busy Cooks & Curious People
Like all the best cookbooks, Food52 Simply Genius: Recipes for Beginners, Busy Cooks & Curious People is not just a collection of recipes but a teaching manual of systems-thinking and smart ideas from some really great cooks from Samin Nosrat to Yotam Ottolenghi. I’ve learned a ton from it.
Read MoreThe Soulful Evocations of Fried Green Tomatoes
Recently, a gift of two green tomatoes sparked a deep hankering: for fried green tomatoes and their elemental deliciousness, and their evocations of deep summer visits to the South long ago. So I cooked up a batch using the simplest method I know. I was startled by how intensely they made me feel the summer day. Here’s the method, and a few things to do with them, and a movie to watch while you eat them.
Read More‘The Whole Fish’ Will Change the Way You Cook
In the first few chapters of The Whole Fish Cookbook: New Ways to Cook, Eat Think, chef Josh NIland changed the way I view fish I’ve cooked my whole life. He’s made a years-long study, testing every assumption, to arrive at a point of view that seems radical at first, and then makes perfect sense.
Read MoreThe Ancient Wisdom and Never-ending Savor of ‘Soup Mother’
One of the best down-and-dirty cooking lessons I’ve seen is pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz’s vast Instagram Story about “soup mother”. And some wonderful writing about deep joys of daily impromptu cooking is woven through her instagram posts. So here are excepts from both: the very liberating wisdom of an inspired, busy, passionate cook.
Read MoreHow to Slice Garlic, Prison-Style with Poem
We love this clip from Martin Scorcese’s brilliant film Goodfellas for teaching us a way to do something we’ve done thousands of time — slice garlic — to make a little go a long way. As well as for reminding us of garlic’s bigger meaning….
Read MoreGiant Parmesan Popovers and Other Recipes for Improvised Holidays
Improvised Life has published A LOT of recipes in its long life, many geared to the holidays. We’re figuring that for many people, this year’s holidays are still going to be improvised and untraditional. Here are a few ideas for whatever form your fete takes. There are lots of ways to celebrate.
Read MoreWe Savor the Last Tomatoes of Summer (Neruda with Recipes)
In late September, as cool weather creeps in, I become aware that the waning moments of summer tomatoes are imminent. I hunger for a last bit of lusciousness that only food in its season can convey. I pick out some “real” tomatoes at the farmer’s market to savor the perfect, simple way I learned from my friend Anthony Giglio, and to preserve for winter enjoyment. And I read Pablo Neruda’s ode.
Read MoreJulia Child’s Life Lessons with Potato Pancake
Periodically I revisit this short clip of Julia Child flipping a potato pancake, “a daring thing to do” on her ’70s television show where flubs and mess-ups were left as-is. Child ad libs essential wisdom that applies to any daring endeavor, and life itself.
Read MoreApple Time Recipes: Crumbles and Freeform Tarts
We’re seeing apples everywhere and FEELING the yearly hunger for warm apple desserts…so we pulled out our most potent recipes…
Read MoreLucia LoPresti’s Secret to Perfect Tomato Sauce
I mark the day I started making great tomato sauce when I spent an afternoon in Lucia Lo Presti’s kitchen. The secret she taught me is simple and yields an astonishingly rich, silky sauce. With it came a glimpse of a unique way of life —Sicily in New Jersey— that her wine writer son-in-law Anthony Giglio first introduced me to…
Read MoreSandro’s Lemon Pasta Is Fast and Comforting
When I am feeling low, I often make NYC chef Sandro Fioriti’s lovely Pasta al Limone, It take no time or odd ingredients to make and is both comforting and divine.
Read MoreWays to Eat Cherries, With a W.S. Merwin Poem
Fruit eaten in its season is even better eaten with a poem. When we stumbled on this W.S. Merwin poem, we realized we were in the last moments of cherry season. It’s a perfect accompaniment to our favorite cherry feasts.
Read MoreHow to Eat an Apricot
Diane Ackerman’s poem “The Consolation of Apricots” gives a sense of just how far an apricot can launch you into reverie. It also gives instructions for how to eat one. I’ve added my own two-cents about how to find great apricots, and what to do if you can’t, along with a recipe for the effect of summer apricots all year long.
Read MoreMagic Trick: Divine Ice Cream Made In a Plastic Bag
At a dinner party New Yorker food critic Hannah Goldfield attended last summer, one of the hosts served ice cream that had the mind-blowing effect of a magic trick. Here’s how, with a recipe.
Read MoreKey Lime or Lemon Hand Pies for Desperate Times
Wondering how could I quickly create the effect of great key lime (or lemon) pie without actually making a whole pie, I devised this delectable stripped-down hand pie, made of a few readily-available ingredients. Fast comfort for desperate times.
Read MoreRoasted Lemons: 3 Ingredients Yield Mighty Dazzle
As my cooking gets simpler and simpler, I rely on easily-created hits of flavor to dazzle. A favorite of late is roasted lemons, which I often throw into the oven as I’m making the rest of the meal. They liven up ANYTHING. They are totally addictive.
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