All of my favorite culinary newsletters and magazines have officially proclaimed September “prime oyster season,” and that statement would normally elicit nothing more than a disinterested shrug from yours truly. Despite the repeated claims of chefs who’ve declared oysters the food of lovers, I could never really get excited about [...]
No disrespect to Boston, the king of clam chowder (or more accurately, chowda), but this bowl from Hog Island Oyster in Napa pretty much changed my life a couple of weeks ago. I liked it so much, in fact, that when we visited San Francisco’s Ferry Building, I had to [...]
After watching Jon Favreau whip up some Spaghetti Aglio E Olio (that’s Italian for spaghetti with garlic and olive oil) for Scarlett Johansson in the movie Chef, I knew I needed to make some for Will (and me, too, of course). So last Sunday, I decided to see what all [...]
In terms of broadening my culinary horizons, my post-college move to Nashville back in 1998 pretty much changed everything. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t collard greens or black eyed peas or the glories of fried chicken that left the most memorable impression. It was the red curry at Siam Cuisine off [...]
I always love spending time in NYC and with such a limited amount of it, I hit the ground running once I got settled into my hotel. This is a view from the 36th floor, by the way. I stood on the couch (barefoot, of course) and got some pretty [...]
I’ve always been a sucker for a good travel memoir, and since Ann Mah’s Mastering the Art of French Eating involved Paris, Provence and the like and the country’s most celebrated cuisine including crepes, cassoulet and all matters of cheese, well, it was practically a no-brainer. Even if I’d just [...]
Until a couple of years ago, I didn’t know just how easy it is to make homemade cranberry sauce. In the past, Crate & Barrel used to sell an incredible cranberry conserve the Barefoot Contessa whipped up, so that was easy. Open the jar, put in pretty serving dish, and [...]
I’m not quite sure how it happened so fast, but we’re now only nine days (!!!) from chowing down on turkey celebrating Thanksgiving. Considering how all the stores transitioned to all things Christmas weeks ago (yes, I actually heard “Silver Bells” while shopping the day after Halloween—absolute craziness), I think [...]
There’s nothing better than when two of your favorite foods come together and make something even tastier. Case in point: this homemade pumpkin granola. In what won’t be a surprise to anyone who knows me well, I’m a pretty ardent pumpkin enthusiast. Whether it’s in a pie, scone, latte, ravoli, [...]
I'm embarrassed to say that I got this for Christmas and (gasp!) finally got around to flipping it open this past week. Better late than never, right? Yes, I'm one of those people—the kind who practically devours cookbooks like good fiction. Like most things, I admittedly jumped on the Smitten [...]
