CHEWING THE FAT

My Inspiration. It was a night I wanted to cook something special just for the two of us.  I opened the pages of the book and there in front of me was an utterly attainable plate with a single crispy-skinned chicken breast, some very green…

Marc Forgione’s Crab Cake….          Larry Forgione’s Smoky Onion Remoulade A great crab cake is not easy to find.  Many versions of this Maryland classic are purposefully stuffed with as much bread as there is crab.  Sometimes this is to compensate for the price of…

After the Storm…          If you watched the news anytime in the past 72 hours, you undoubtedly heard that much of the Mid-Atlantic states are under a blanket of snow so deep, that Washington DC is shut down for at least another day.  Here in…

My Inspiration as it appeared in Food and Wine Last Fall, Food and Wine did a major article about roasts.  The one that immediately caught my eye was a picture of a Dutch oven in which, semi-submerged, was a pork shoulder roast swimming in cream…

Chef Thomas Keller Last week the unthinkable happened. Thomas Keller is surely one of the most famous of all American chefs. His  “The French Laundry” in Yountville, CA was called “the best restaurant in the world, period” by Anthony Bourdain. Chef Keller’s other offerings sealed…

As promised earlier this month, this blog has not heard the last of Ruth Reichl’s latest book (Random House 2015).   Completely coincidentally, while Ruth wrote of yet another snowstorm marooning her and her husband in their upstate New York house, we here in the city…

Amanda Hesser of Food 52 and The New York Times         This terrific recipe checks off at least 3 boxes on my list. First, nothing is more comforting on a winter night than a bowl of pasta with a really great sauce.  This fits that…

The 60 Minute Gourmet If your holiday has been anything like ours, I am sure you have had enough marvelously rich food to tide you over till, say, March. Between the gratins and the roasts, the puddings and cookies and cakes, the holidays encourage eating…

The Duomo all lit up on a Sunday night. Italy outside the Freccia’s windows Once I left the Viking Star in Venice, I travelled across Northern Italy by bullet train to Milano, or so I hoped.  Unfortunately, a World War IIbomb was discovered at Brescia,…

  I like cooking Chinese food at home.  And I had an overwhelming desire to do so after my stay in Milano last month.  My Italian ‘sister’, Sofia has a real problem with gluten.  This, unfortunately, removes a great deal of Italian food from her…

Chef Brian Luscher            We’re not eating nearly as much beef as we used to.  But that doesn’t mean we’ve given it up altogether.  These days, when I do cook beef, I like it to really give it flavor.  When I saw this recipe…

         The grill has long since been put away.  But the grill pan does an admirable job of crisping the skin and giving us, if not the real thing, a taste of summer.  In this easy dish that takes under 30 minutes to make, the…

         I have sung the praises of The East End Mushroom Company more than once.  I have the greatest affection for Jane Maguire and John Quigley who have put heart and soul into their company.  They now offer shiitake, maitake and blue oyster mushrooms grown…

         The last port of call on Viking Star’s Mediterranean Odyssey was Venice.  Beautiful Venezia, La Serenissima, so-called because the once all-powerful city state was referred to in Italian as the Most Serene Republic of Venice or Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia. No matter how many…