CHEWING THE FAT

When Andrew and I plan a dinner party, the menu starts to percolate once the RSVPs have been received.  We try to think of our audience and we try to make things interesting.  Generally that means doing something completely new.  We have a fair amount…

This week, I got an email from my cousin Simon who lives in Britain but who once lived with my family in Montreal while he attended McGill University.  I’d just seen Simon and his wonderful wife Martha on my recent trip to England.  But we’ve…

One of the best things to have in the refrigerator in summer is a large quantity of chicken salad.  You can serve it on a bed of lettuce or make it into sandwiches.  You make it once and you have it all week. And I…

I must admit to having been slightly taken aback when Andrew told me his weekend plans included making Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Not that I didn’t want one.  And when the smell of his dark chocolate ‘biscuit’ wafted through the kitchen, I could hardly wait until…

Pictured above… Northern Fried Chicken with a Watermelon and Arugula Salad There are times when I just don’t want to post a recipe because it’s just too good.  It’s not that I am trying to keep it from you.  It is just that once a…

Our Godchild hit a major milestone this month. Olivia graduated cum laude from Poly Prep Country Day School in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. For four years she has left her home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and  travelled to school, a considerable journey.  There…

When it comes to Buttermilk, I can come up with three recipes that require it: Waffles, Fried Chicken and Biscuits.  Buttermilk comes in quarts. The only recipe of the three that requires that much Buttermilk is perhaps the chicken marinade which is used to tenderize…

Salad lovers are in sheer heaven now and will be through the rest of the summer.  The ingredients for perfect salads are everywhere. And the earliest part of the season yields the tenderest of greens. Arugula has its bite but it’s far from bitter which…

I fell in love with this recipe in a heartbeat. It just looked so fresh, so complex and yet so simple to make. It’s the invention of Molly Baz who is a Senior Associate Food Editor at Bon Appetit.  She took her farmer’s market finds…

Pictured Above: All Italian from its San Marzano Tomato Sauce to it’s Mozzarella, Pizza Margherita at Simò The Meatpacking District’s New Pizzaria Is Just 90 Seconds from Napoli Jun 4, 2018 | 1:52 pm By Monte Mathews Staff Writer Highend Chef Simone Falco opens Simò…

A couple of weeks ago, I returned from “A Cheddar Odyssey”, an offering from Cheese Journeys, who, as their name implies, runs tours that combine Culture, Exploration and Cheese. Lots and lots of cheese.   It’s one of those trips that beguiles you long after you’ve…

It’s getting close to Crab Cake season which I would define as soon as the Summer Cocktail Party Circuit gets into gear.  So any mention of a Crab Cake recipe gets my attention.  Most Crab Cakes fall far short of expectations. They are larded with…

I realize I am a bit late to this party.  For a while I thought Martha Stewart had given up cooking any other way than by using a sheet pan. She created 17 sheet pan suppers for Pork alone. She made everything from Pizza to…

This weekend begins what is always called “The Unofficial Start of Summer”.  Never mind the Equinox is over three weeks away and it’s been horridly cold and rainy this month.  Nevertheless, this is the weekend that New Yorkers give up their weekends in the city…