Claire Saffitz The bones of this great recipe are from a Bon Appetit writer named Claire Saffitz.  Ms Saffitz has an intriguing background.  She is a graduate of both Harvard and McGill Universities.  At both places she studied History but by the time she got…

David Santos and Melissa Clark   While I’ve been familiar with heirloom tomatoes for several years now, this year was my introduction to heirloom carrots in, of all places, Trader Joe’s.  It was there that I first saw a 2 lb. bag labeled Rainbow Carrots.  …

         Jason Weiner with an un-Monte’s Ham From the moment Almond Restaurant opened 12 years ago in an old roadhouse in Bridgehampton, it’s been a smash hit.  (It’s also been featured here before http://chewingthefat.us.com/2011/06/roasted-asparagus-with-lardons-and.html).  We quickly became regulars drawn by the consistently great food that comes…

         I just came back from the Thousand Islands, a natural wonder that occurs where the Great Lakes pour into the St. Lawrence River.  These islands range in size from tiny outcroppings in the river to islands where there are farms and…

         Recipes that other cooks invent should be treated with great respect.  I’ve mentioned before that few things put me off more than someone commenting on a dish—very often negatively—that they have ‘doctored’ beyond recognition.   Still, if you do delve into the comments, you can…

Our Farmers’ Markets are brimming with more and more produce every week.  The carrots and beans, tomatoes and radishes are in and the Red Bliss potatoes are still baby-sized and beautiful.  So you can imagine my delight at opening Joanne Chang’s latest cookbook, “flour,too” (Chronicle…

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…

                    The Un-Official start of summer officially starts this Friday. Out our way, that generally means a lot of premature wearing of summer clothes because we’ll still have a couple of weeks before it gets warm. The cool nights won’t stop…

The Cape of Good Hope, the very tip of Africa          In my past life I was fortunate to travel to six continents for work.  And of all the places I’ve been, South Africa is at the top of my list for sheer physical beauty. …

        Today I wanted to share three recipes that are fast and fun and amazingly delicious all at the same time. A true Molcajete, sold at Williams-Sonoma         First up, a recipe for that great summer favorite, Guacamole.  Every year, we look forward…

          It was hard to imagine the depths of despair that a lot of people felt when, in the middle of last winter, one of our favorite restaurants abruptly closed their doors.  Not only that, but they auctioned off the contents of the place,…

A perfect way to beat the heat… Today’s recipe requires no cooking at all, takes under 30 minutes to get on the table and the taste?  Lime makes this the most refreshing of dishes.  You can serve this tonight which is likely to be one…

        This recipe will add to your Chicken repertoire with an easy weeknight preparation that packs a lot of flavor into any BLSL* chicken breast you come across. It’s from the most recent issue of Bon Appetit (May 2010).  But the really wonderful discovery for…

          I am always on the lookout not just for recipes but for cooking techniques to share.  I thought we had shrimp completely under control with Ina Garten’s Roasted Shrimp recipe.  The oven roasted results beat any boiled shrimp we’d ever tasted.  We’ll never…