Lyon, one beautiful city Three years ago, my friend Kimberly moved to Europe from Montclair, New Jersey. Her husband had been assigned by his American company to run their European division which has its headquarters in the third largest city in France: Lyon.  Kimberly, Peter…

         A braise may not strike you as a Spring preparation at all.  Aren’t braises hearty affairs that build flavor by the hours they spend in the oven?  Aren’t they winter warmers and not something you’d expect to see any time after May 1st?  Well…

The creamy rich Burrata Cheese is completely hidden under the Asparagus The Bounty of the Comfort Family Farm on Lumber Lane in Bridgehampton starts with their first Asparagus crop of the season.          The first Asparagus of the season is about to make its appearance…

     A great bowl of pasta is one of my favorite comfort dishes.  I must admit that this particular variation hits the mark. The fresh asparagus and mushrooms seem made for each other and for the Italian hot sausage I combined them with. There’s cheese…

         A funny thing happened on my way to making this great salad. Two funny things actually, both of them involving Kale.  (But you’ll have to wait a few words to hear them.)  The basis for this wonderfully lemon-y salad recipe came Anna Stockwell from…

                 I have been a fan of Tyler Florence for years.  There are no fewer than 11 of his recipes on Chewing the Fat.  His cookbook, “Tyler’s Ultimate” (Clarkson-Potter 2006) is among the most dog-eared in our collection.  When Chef Florence…

         I could eat our local asparagus until it was coming out of my ears.  Thanks to growers in Mexico and Peru,  asparagus is now a 12 month a year vegetable in New York and almost everywhere else. However, nothing but nothing comes close…

Florence Fabricant Is the asparagus better than ever this year?  Or is it just more welcome than ever?  How did it manage to poke its heads through ground that remained frozen far later this year than last?  And, once thawed, how did those same shoots survive…

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…

         Spring has been notable here for tempting us to believe it’s actually arrived. This is followed by plummeting temperatures the next day convincing us all it has not.  In New York City, you can count on the oddest collection of outfits this time of…

         A few weeks ago, I told you about Pollen Ranch Spices (https://www.pollenranch.com), a remarkable company in the picturesquely named town of Lemon Cove, California.   My initial introduction to the company was their Fennel Pollen, a key ingredient in a recipe for Porchetta that I…

Asparagus season is here and we can’t get enough of the stuff. I’ve already served it in last year’s spicy stir-fry with chiles. http://chewingthefat.us.com/2011/05/spicy-pork-with-asparagus-and-chile.htmld. And then as a dinner salad that makes a meatless meal  http://chewingthefat.us.com/2011/05/spicy-pork-with-asparagus-and-chile.htmland then of course, there’s roasted asparagus which can be…

Sugar Snaps have joined the Asparagus at The Farmer’s Market           You may wonder how much more asparagus I can possibly eat this asparagus season.  The answer is I’ll eat as much as I can.  I love the fresh flavor and texture that asparagus brings…

          I am amazed at how many people ask me for menus with a maximum of five ingredients.  I do understand:  You look at a long recipe and think that’s too much work, or I’m missing one of the spices or…