Sam Sifton  As fond as I am of the current food crew at The New York Times, I still miss Sam Sifton.  He was the Deputy Dining Editor in 2001 when he was almost instantly tapped to become the Dining Editor a position he held…

What is it about St. Barth that we made our 23rd trek there a couple of weeks ago?   Were it not a very misguided decision to try Nevis about 5 years ago, we’d have an unbroken string of March vacations on the island dating back…

We’ve brought you a post featuring the Banh Mi, the signature sandwich of Vietnam, once before.  We’ve shown you how to make one with ground pork http://chewingthefat.us.com/2012/09/our-325th-post-melissa-clarks-quick.html.  But just before we left New York for our annual stay in St. Epicerie Boulud’s Banh Mi Barthelemy…

         At the risk of people believing I must be going steady with Melissa Clark, I am rushing this out in advance of the latest winter storm.  Even though I just shared Melissa’s superb Pork Chop recipe the middle of last month, I could not…

                    As most of my readers know, I am Canadian by birth and mighty proud of it.  I am also mighty proud that Canada racked up a total of 10 Gold Medals at the Sochi Olympics.  This…

Mark Bittman, “The Flexitarian” Mark Bittman calls himself “The Flexitarian”.  He writes about his food philosophy in The New York Times Dining Out Section once a month.  I am happy to report that from the start Bittman promised that, first and foremost, his new column…

Dinner by Trader Joe’sOrganic Brined Chicken in Many Cloves Garlic Sauce,Reduced Gilt Mac and Cheese, Asparagus with Garlic Salt           My gorgeous daughter-in-law Kym introduced me to Trader Joe’s long before it ever came east. Kym was thrilled with TJ’s because it helped her out…

           The craving for ribs doesn’t end the minute the grill gets garaged for the winter.  Fortunately, Bobby Flay developed an oven/broiler combination that takes the place of the backyard barbecue and delivers, in no time at all, an excellent rack…

Melissa Clark Melissa Clark, one of our favorite New York Times Food columnists, has just started a new Wednesday feature. Called “The Restaurant Takeaway” it is ‘devoted to restaurant dishes you can make in your own kitchen, tested and tweaked for home cooks’.  If the…

Cooking is often the most Zen activity of my day. Especially when I come across a recipe that is elegant in its simplicity, beautiful to look at as I am preparing it and finally, a wonderful experience when it is eaten.  This recipe, which came…

         As I pointed on Monday in “The 12 Best Burgers…Part 1”, New York Burgers fall into two distinct camps: The “Classic” Burgers which stick to the same pattern of beef patty, American Cheese, soft bun, ‘special sauce’, lettuce and tomato.  From there we move…

“Greek” Lamb with Orzo “Greek” Lamb with Oricchiette          Amanda (l.) and Merrill (r.) Food 52 is a food ‘community’ headed by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs.  Amanda is likely most famous from having edited the Essential New York Times Cookbook, the 2010 revision of…

         I love a great burger.  Juicy, perfectly cooked medium rare prime beef oozing with flavor, layered with cheese, topped with ‘special sauce’ and sandwiched between a bun…this is when food takes me to my happy place.  I will go out of my way for…

Mark Bittman Recently Mark Bittman used his Sunday NY Times Food pages to extoll the virtues and utter simplicity of making Pate a Choux. This dough is the basis for both Gougeres, bite sized cheese puffs that melt in your mouth and Chocolate Eclairs, my…