The holidays are a great time to make Meatballs! If you want to entertain royally this year, consider the meatball. Made well ahead of time, these bite-sized hors d’oeuvres are a perfect addition to your repertoire.  As a center of the plate item for dinner…

THIS IS THE WORLD’S BEST LASAGNA. A symbol of Italian cuisine, this layering of an intensely flavored meaty Bolognese sauce with a silky-rich bechamel sauce, and a restrained sprinkling of cheese has made it our best lasagna recipe for years. It bears very little resemblance…

Shepherd’s  Pie or Cottage Pie…which one is it? Probably no food takes me back to my childhood faster than what we called Shepherd’s Pie. That saucy, flavorful filling of meat and veggies, those creamy mashed potatoes topping it, and its golden cheese crust are some…

This Meatloaf is one step away from a great Pate, high on the list of great comfort foods. My friend Larry Hui is one of the leaders of a group of volunteers who help out at a homeless shelter in our neighborhood. Finally, after the…

“Pairing a rich beef burger with pâte and a fig salad may sound like gilding the lily…” So write the authors of America’s Test Kitchen’s latest book ‘Modern Bistro: Home Cooking Inspired by French Classics” (America’s Test Kitchen 2022). They could have been listening to…

These are the most tender meatballs I have ever tasted. The meatball is made all over the world. There are literally hundreds of recipes for them. The Italians, however, make what may be the world’s best-loved meatballs. Originally, the meatball was made to be able…

Loco Moco and Holoholo make a Trip to Hawai’i even more appealing… I don’t need to go into the reasons why. I am sure you too would love to bury your feet in the sand—if not your whole head. So today, we’ll dream of the…

If you like the looks of this Beef  Tamale Pie, you’ll love how easy it is to make. When I first saw this recipe, I was immediately attracted to how it looked.  Rings of Jalapeno peppers sink into its crispy corn and cheese topping. The…

Cover Photo from “Ripe Figs” Credit: Matt Russell We’ve just returned from Greece with some great new recipes In case you don’t follow us on Instagram* or have wondered when our next post was coming, we’re back from one of the most wonderful trips we’ve…

Today, March 9th, the gods of whoever invents National Fill-In-the-Blank Days has declared in favor of the Meatball.  Who could think of a better day for Chewing The Fat to present our most popular meatballs ever?  In the past ten years, meatballs have been a…

We could ‘fancy-up’ the name of this dish by calling it Pasta al Forno. It still wouldn’t alter the fact that this might well be called Cheeseburger Pasta. Ooey gooey, cheesy, meaty.  This is Andrew and my idea of comfort food times three. Baked Ziti…

A Favorite Restaurant inspires a Home Cook’s Dinner Quest As New Yorkers, we’re bereft at the months-long lockdown of the Broadway theaters.  They’re a part of our landscape and no matter how many—or how few–times we see plays every year, they’re cultural treasures that are…

Four Fantastic Ways to Celebrate this American Treasure Andrew went back to work this week in Manhattan. No one was gladder to do so.  While I tap away on my keyboard blissfully year in and year out, he was less than enchanted with our endless…

Rao’s, the Iconic Italian Restaurant in East Harlem, is Working To Keep New York’s Partnership Schools Open and Thriving. Fifteen years ago, Frank Pellegrino Sr. of Rao’s Restaurant helped save a nearby small elementary school in Harlem – Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary – from the brink…