CHEWING THE FAT

A year ago March, I had the good fortune to travel to Bali.  I stayed at both Four Seasons Resorts Bali, one high in the mountains near Ubud and the other on the shores of the Indian Ocean at Jimbaran Bay.  Recently a new Executive…

When Andrew and I were in Portugal last month, we went on a wonderful picnic.  It was part of an optional shore excursion offered by Viking on our 10-day Douro River Cruise.  We left the ship and traveled high up into the hills to the…

Our peaches out on the East End of Long Island are outstanding this year.  They’re glorious to look at—all those colors from deep golden yellow mottled with shades of orange and red, almost to purple. It seems almost a shame to peel them, let alone…

We were serving lunch outdoors this weekend. I was looking for something simple to do. We’d planned a weekend of several different dishes in the “chicken or fish” categories. Cruising through August’s Bon Appetit, I saw a stunning salad.  Beautiful cherry tomatoes, thin slices of…

        A couple of years ago, I read a very detailed recipe for a tomato Tarte Tatin in Bon Appetit. I worked with the recipe and came up with two versions of the dish. Now that Tomato season is in full swing, I revisited this…

Sailing The Douro On Viking’s Newest ‘Baby’ Longship, Viking Helgrim August 4, 2019 By Guest Post Leave a Comment Guest post by Monte Mathews The Douro, The River of Gold, is Portugal’s gift to river cruising. Viking Cruises is bringing its formula of absolutely top-notch…

For all their most recent history as a summer resort for the rich and famous, the East End of Long Island has been farmland from the arrival of the first English settlers in 1640.  The land and the climate here are extraordinarily good for growing. …

The Food World suffered a great loss last month.  Molly O’Neill, one of the best food writers in the country died at just 66 years of age.  Molly O’Neill was the heir to a great legacy of food journalism that includes such luminaries at M.F.K.…

My friends at www.Travel-Wise, where I am a Contributor, sent me K.C. Dermody’s incomparable guide to America’s Dinner Trains. If your summer travel plans put you near any one of these four culinary-focused Restaurants on Rails, be sure to add them to your itinerary.  You’ll…

Chicken Cacciatore, that Italian classic Chicken Stew, seems an odd choice for a summer meal. However, not too long ago, I was craving it and having just loaded up on Chicken thighs and with 8 people coming to dinner, I went with my craving and…

The annual article about the $100. Lobster Salad here in the Hamptons has just hit the press. But since it’s been at that level since 2008, it no longer makes the “paper of record”, the Times.  It’s now relegated to the tabloid New York Post. …

If you’re looking for a great cooking magazine, you really should look into Fine Cooking. It’s a wonderful learning tool. It would make a great gift for the Graduate or anyone starting out on their own. Its recipe directions are not shorthand. They’re written to…

Main Visual: Photo Courtesy Bon Appetit. Strawberry season has arrived and this year’s Hampton’s crop reminds us all why we wait for these heart-shaped, bright red, sweet and juicy berries all year.  The question is what to do with them and the answer is right…

I am crazy about Asian food for so many reasons.  There are so many flavors at work in Asian cuisine and so many ways of putting them together.  Asian Food generally requires as much cooking time as it does prep time. It works best when…