The other day I was on the lookout for something quick to cook, which Chinese food almost always is. I like cooking Chinese food at home.  You can keep the notoriously high fat counts down and never worry for a moment whether…

Pork is the world’s most widely-eaten meat.  It accounts for 38 percent of meat production worldwide.  You’ll have trouble finding it in the Middle East and most of the Muslim world because both Jewish kosher and Islamic halal diets ban it outright.  But almost everywhere…

          The stalks of Brussels Sprouts made their appearance at the farm stand a couple of weeks ago.   Because the weather here has been unusually warm, Brussels Sprouts seemed a little out of season.  But with the temperatures falling, it was…

Ina Garten’s French Toast — jumping off point for our casserole I’m always on the lookout for a great breakfast casserole for a crowd. This is because a couple of times a year I am called upon to help out at a Church breakfast.  I am…

  Salmon is a true workhorse in the world of seafood.  It is on menus everywhere and seems to come from an endless number of places around the world.  On my most recent visit to the market to pick up the fish to make this…

                    I’ve always been a huge fan of Saveur Magazine and not just because, over the years, they’ve published more of my food pieces than anyone else.  To me, the magazine broke the mold.  The relentless publication of Celebrity chef’s…

A few years ago, I got a call from a guest who was about two hours away from coming to dinner.  He’d called to tell me that he and his new wife had become vegetarian.   Quite frankly, my initial impulse was to continue cooking the…

Every autumn, some primal instinct arises and I feel compelled to ‘put up’ my farm stand finds so that, as they shutter for the season, I’ll have a winter pantry of homemade tomato sauces and chunky tomatoes to put into pasta sauces or, at their…

Inspiration and Photo Courtesy of The New York Times and Sarah Ann Ward Suvir Saran         The moment the thermometer drops below 60 degrees, I cannot wait to put some Indian food on the table.  This makes very little sense since the…

Victor and Marcella Hazan There is a sad anniversary this week.  It’s been a year since the world lost Marcella Hazan, that wonderfully giving Italian food prophet with whom I struck up a friendship over the internet.  Fortunately, when you are as good as Marcella,…

 Top Left: Sweet and Savory Bacon Jam.  Center: Toasted Walnuts and Raisins Right: Fromage Fort           Simplicity itself: Toasted Walnuts and Raisins Fromage Fort with Garlic and Pepper I am always on the look-out for ways to freshen the tried and true.  …

The Pool was tented for the occasion. What makes a dish perfect for a dinner party?  I’d suggest something that keeps the cook out of the kitchen so that he or she can really enjoy their dinner guests’  company as much as possible.  Last weekend,…

         Melissa Clark is one of my all-time favorite recipe makers. I look forward to her weekly columns in the Times one of which is called “A Good Appetite”.   I sometimes think it also be called “Playing with Your Food” because Melissa…

The Bridgehampton Florist’s Personal Table under the tent at the Classic Edible Centerpiece! The Heirloom Tomato Soup from the Centerpiece Even Horses show up for the Grand Prix The Hampton Classic is the season capper to what has been an extraordinary summer out here.  The…