The latest from Chewing the Fat...
Spicy Pork Chops with Green Chiles, Roasted Red Peppers and Onions Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine
Usually, I soft-pedal the whole issue of heat in the recipes I share with you. That’s because I think a lot of people are uneasy about any food that’s described as spicy. I do get it. What’s the pleasure in having your mouth feel…
Sausages and Potato Ragout a la Jacques Pepin
I wish you had seen the look on Andrew’s face when he asked what was for dinner and I told him “Sausages and Potatoes”. Was that a sneer or a recoiling? Was he horrified or merely surprised? You see, I had just that day…
New Year’s Day Black Eyed Peas, a delicious way to bring good luck and prosperity for 2012
When I was first learning my way around the kitchen, The New York Times Cookbook (Harper and Row, 1st published 1961) was my constant companion. Its editor was an immensely talented writer and cook named Craig Claiborne. So you can imagine my excitement when, quite…
Quebec’s Gift to the Holiday Table: Tourtiere du Porc Adapted from Martin Picard of Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon
In French Canada, Tourtiere, a wonderfully rich pork pie, occupies a place of honor that’s likely unmatched by any other dish. It is served ubiquitously on Christmas Eve. This holiday party even has its own name: “Reveillon“. In French the word means ‘awakening’. This midnight…
Joe Beef’s Big Beautiful Roasted Mushrooms
I’ve already waxed poetic over Joe Beef, that phenomenal Montreal restaurant where we craved everything we ate. Almost everything we tried was truly over the top. And Andrew and I were not the least bit surprised to see that “The World According to Joe…
Ina Garten’s Roasted Shrimp Cocktail with Spicy Cocktail Sauce
Flowers from the fabulous Bridgehampton Florist..where else? These shrimp are the center of attention on our Holiday Open House Buffett. Ina Garten is a goddess around here. She lives in the next town over and has for years and years. Before becoming the TV star and…
By Special Request: Monte’s Ham and Cheese Strata
Recently, I was in charge of a Church breakfast. I chose to make this wonderful dish: a gloriously cheese-topped casserole with crisp oversized croutons over a creamy egg and tender ham filling. Well the result was spectacular and the requests…
Three authentic Austrian cookie recipes from Her Ladyship, Martha Stracey
From top to bottom: Husaren-Krapferln (Cavalry Puff-balls) Marillenringe (Apricot Rings) Vanillekipferln (Vanilla Crescents) Lady Martha is a hands-on cook As Christmas approaches, the bakers come out in force looking for cookie recipes. By my count, Andrew has 6 new soft cover cookie cookbooks and magazines stacked up and ready…
Spaghetti with Crab Meat, Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula From Florence Fabricant by way of Nick and Toni’s Café, Manhattan
Of all the restaurants in the Hamptons, none is more reliably celebrity-packed than Nick and Toni’s (136 North Main St. East Hampton, New York 11937 Phone: 631-324-3550). But unlike so many haunts of the rich and famous, Nick and Toni’s has spectacular food. So between…
Baked’s simply incredibly delicious Sweet and Salty Chocolate Cake
There’s a new shop that just opened practically across the street from us. Across town, on the East Side, it’s called “The Best Chocolate Cake in the World”. Somehow, on the West Side, it’s morphed into “Choco Bolo” (2058 Broadway between 70th and 71st Streets). Perhaps the…
Thanksgiving Way Out West: Cornbread and Sausage Dressing
There are stuffing people and there are dressing people, but no Thanksgiving Dinner is complete without one of the two. Not even one in California. ( By the way, the only difference between stuffing and dressing is whether you put the stuff…
Thanksgiving 101: The Ultimate Cranberry Sauce
Jill Clark and I have been cooking together since she was in Dr. Denton’s. We’ve had so many great holidays together that The Making of the Cranberry Sauce is an annual event. And it’s taken place all over the map—even in Hong Kong. Several years…
Thanksgiving 101 – Brown Butter Pumpkin Layer Cake
The Comfort Family’s Farm on Lumber Lane in Bridgehampton. A great place to get your pumpkin if you are lucky enough to live on the East End. Beyond Roast Turkey and Stuffing, there’s nothing that says Thanksgiving more than pumpkin.…