CHEWING THE FAT

If you read my last post about my trip to Vietnam, you will remember my going to Cooking School in the town of Hoi An.  The class began with a visit to the Central Market, a hurly burly of a place with vendors selling everything…

Silversea Cruises Introduces Culinary Voyagers to Vietnamese Cuisine Apr 25, 2018 | 11:15 am By Monte Mathews Staff Writer Both aboard ship and ashore, this cruise line brings its passengers great Vietnamese food Vietnam is a perfect country for cruising.  It hugs a 1,600 mile…

Boulud Sud’s Happy Pasta Hour Is About Both Food and Fun Apr 16, 2018 | 12:01 pm By Monte Mathews Staff Writer 5 pastas are served nightly for half price Photo by Georgina Salter One of five pastas on offer every night, Rigatoni alla Carbonara…

At this year’s Easter Celebration, one the guests was also celebrating Passover which overlapped this year for the first time in ages. For those of you who may not be familiar with Jewish dietary laws, leavened bread is forbidden during the 8 day celebration of…

I spend an inordinate amount of time seeking recipes for that workhorse of the weeknight meal, the boneless, skinless chicken breast. But let’s face it, we could all overdose on chicken breasts. In a writing class I took before launching Chewing The Fat, one of…

10 Best Things About St. Barth’s Right Now Mar 26, 2018 | 12:10 pm By Monte Mathews Staff Writer Not even Hurricane Irma could keep this island down for long As Hurricane Irma slammed the Caribbean last fall, dozens of islands fell in her path. The damage…

Andrew’s sister Lauren and I have an ongoing contest to find people who comment on a recipe they’ve so radically altered it bears no resemblance to the original. Despite having tinkered with the ingredients, the quantities, the cooking time until the recipe is unrecognizable, you’d…

Hurray for Harry’s at 1 Hanover Square Mar 27, 2018 | 11:26 am By Monte Mathews Staff Writer The epitome of a New York institution: Harry’s at 1 Hanover Square Harry’s New York Newly refreshed interiors are just the start of what’s happening at Harry’s…

Food and Wine’s April 2018 edition was called “The Spring Wine Issue”.  One particular article by the author of “The Flavor Matrix”, James Briscione caught my eye.  Well, actually, what caught my eye was the wok filled with strips of chicken, green peppers and cilantro. …

Did you know it was National Nutrition Month?  Neither did I.  But as I was putting together this recipe, which is my own invention borrowed from several sources, one of my fellow recipe writers informed me.  In a holdover from Michelle Obama’s time in the…

When I lived in Rome, Saltimbocca was an introduction to the cuisine of the city itself.   “Saltimbocca alla Romana” featured veal, topped with Prosciutto and Sage in a Marsala and butter sauce.   It was very good and, because of its ingredients, more expensive than most…

I am making a concerted effort to put some great vegetarian recipes together for all kinds of reasons—health, being eco-friendly and just giving us all more options for terrific meals.  And there’s another great reason to cook this right now.  It’s Lent!  Aside from its…

What I love about this recipe, which is from Bon Appetit Magazine, is that it’s the perfect escape from winter.  The dish looks like it was made in high summer with its cherry tomatoes, pickled red onion and fistful of parsley leaves.  Then there’s the…

Sam Sifton is the Food Editor at The New York Times.  If you aren’t a subscriber, you’d be astonished at his weekly output.  Sometimes it feels as if his emails come hourly. Daily he extolls the virtue of various recipes that have appeared in the…