Alright, I am aware that many readers have come to believe we simply do not eat any meal that does not feature asparagus.  And to look at our most recent posts, you wouldn’t be that far off.  We just love the vegetable at this…

           There are times when I crave a bowl of pasta. And in miserably rainy and surprisingly chilly New York, this may be one of them. But then I crave pasta no matter what the weather.         Only a few days…

     Di Palo’s is irresistible if you’re an Italian food lover          I think I am on to the marketing secret of DiPalo’s, the venerable Italian Market in New York’s rapidly vanishing Little Italy.  I’ll get to that but first a little about Little…

            Right down the street from us at 1900 Broadway, Daniel Boulud has carved a little fiefdom for himself.  It consists of two restaurants—Bar Boulud, which leans heavily on charcuterie, and Boulud Sud, Chef Boulud’s salute to Mediterranean Cuisine.  And…

Bobby Deen’s Light Baked Spaghetti versus…. Pasta Puttanesca from Ellie Krieger          Unless you live under some media-free rock, you have likely heard of the kerfuffle surrounding the announcement that Paula Deen, the Food Network’s Diva of Southern Cuisine, has contracted Type II diabetes.  The…

         Of all the restaurants in the Hamptons, none is more reliably celebrity-packed than Nick and Toni’s (136 North Main St. East Hampton, New York 11937 Phone: 631-324-3550).  But unlike so many haunts of the rich and famous, Nick and Toni’s has spectacular food.  So between…

This gorgeous photograph is by Karen Wise.            Once in a great while, a cookbook transcends just being a repository of recipes and becomes something more:  It tells the story of a place and its people, of its unique culinary heritage and the food…

        The Emilia region of Italy has long been considered the country’s gastronomic epicenter.  Similar to the position Lyons occupies in French gastronomes’ hearts, Bologna is said to be Italy’s gastronomic capital.  Given that such universally recognizable names like Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggianohail from…

        Before making this dish, I checked on the status of one of my most favorite of all seafoods, Swordfish. By 1999,  the North Atlantic swordfish was on its way to oblivion.  Years of overfishing had led to dire predictions.  Undaunted by high mercury levels,…

        I’ve yet to find a recipe that comes close to the Shrimp Scampi that I grew up with. It was a dish that was so resolutely garlic-y, you could smell it coming up the driveway.  Later, when I lived in Italy, I found out…

Ina’s Version as photographed for House  Beautiful Almost everything I write about and cook is done to the letter of whatever recipe I want to share with you. It’s not that I don’t have a spirit of adventure; it’s just that if I’m going to…

Chicago’s Stephanie Izard was the winner of the 4th Season of Top Chef.  She was the first woman to win, and thus far, the only one.  During the course of the show she won 4 Quick Fire challenges and finished at the top of elimination challenges…

      The old expression ‘while the cats away’ certainly applies to this particular dish.  Andrew was off in Texas visiting his family and I was here in New York playing away in the kitchen.  Now Andrew is not a picky eater but there are…

        Eataly, in case you haven’t heard, is a 42,000 square foot grocery emporium that’s just opened at 200 Fifth Avenue.  And everything in it hails from or owes its existence to Italy from the on-premises cooking school to the rooftop beer garden.   The original…