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The latest from Chewing the Fat...

Smoked Salmon and Potato Breakfast Casserole

Smoked Salmon and Potato Breakfast Casserole

       The food pantry that our church sponsors is called The Brown Bag Program and provides lunch for about 80 people a day.  It costs about $3.25 to fill a bag and, like every other charity in the City, we’ve been feeling the pinch…

Braised Pork Chops

I love a good braise almost as much as I love a good Pork Chop.  And in a November ‘09 column in the New York Times, Melissa Clark put the two together to create this dish.  If you follow Melissa at all, you know she…

Review of Bill’s Bar and Burger and a recipe for Chicken Parmigiano Burgers

 This weekend for the first time in what seems like months, we were finally able to walk anywhere without feeling that we were in a race against the cold.   So we jumped on the opportunity to visit the High Line. This is an only-in-New York…

Bouillabaisse with Garlic Aioli and Croutons

             When I want to cook something as well known as this dish, I love to haul out the cookbooks that contain the recipe and read all of them before I do anything else.  Almost inevitably, when it is a signature…

Butternut Squash and Duxelles, a vegetarian main course or a great new side dish to try.

I remember when my Mother got her first Cuisinart in the 70s.  They were about the same price they are now but in ’70s dollars, they weren’t cheap.  But my Mother was notorious for buying any labor-saving device that would get her out of the…

From a Visit to Baltimore, recipes for Maryland Crab Cakes with Basil Aioli and a Basil, Tomato and Potato Salad

From a Visit to Baltimore, recipes for Maryland Crab Cakes with Basil Aioli and a Basil, Tomato and Potato Salad

About the only thing I miss about my last job is the travel. I really enjoy getting out of New York, seeing something different, learning something new.  So I was pleased when a recent assignment took me to Baltimore, Maryland, a city I’ve been to many…

Rustic French Pate

           I discovered this wonderfully different paté almost by accident as you will read in this story. But in casting about for our 12 days of Christmas recipes, I realized it’s just the kind of dish that has Holiday written all…

Lamb and Tomato Curry and Indian Asparagus

  Above: The ingredients of a great curry even look beautiful.              Indian curries are a favorite of mine.  While the Indians eat them to keep cool in their hot climate, I eat them to keep warm in ours—especially with this winter’s record-breaking low…

LASAGNA VERDE AL FORNO

LASAGNA VERDE AL FORNO

        This is emphatically not your 30 minute dinner.  It is one of the great treasures of Italian cuisine.  And despite the length of time it takes, this version is not entirely labor-intensive.  A great part of the time is the slow simmering…

Review of Resto, a Belgian restaurant on E. 29th St.

       Restaurant Week in New York City is getting stranger and stranger.  First off, it lasted for 2 weeks before ending its run last Sunday.  When it started, the prix fixe made infinite good sense.  In the 1999, lunch cost $19.99. In 2007, it was…

Papparedelle con Salsiccia, Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmigiano and Crostini

There’s something really gratifying about finding a new recipe for something you’ve just run out of ideas for. In this case, I’d caved in to Costco’s Premio Sausage packages. My son, Alex, tells me there are 12 step programs for Costco shoppers and I may be…

Sesame Chicken with Orange and Soy Glaze from a magazine that’s a new favorite

        Even with the demise of “Gourmet”, our mailbox isn’t exactly empty of food magazines. I still subscribe to at least 6 of them.  And since I started a course called “Food Writer’s Boot Camp”, our house is practically a library for food…

Gratin of Bay Scallops from Ina Garten’s Back to Basics.

          I have a confession to make.  I was having lunch with my dear friend Barbara at one of our favorite spots.  Aperitivo at 780 Third Avenue at 48th Street (212-758-9402) is sleek and reasonable. They make an amazing Pizza Bianca with figs, prosciutto and gorgonzola…

On the menu today: Chili Rubbed Flank Steaks, Duck Fat Hash Browns and Austrian White Asparagus

          Lately, we’ve been loving flank steak.  What’s not to love about the supremely beefy flavor of this chewy cut of meat—especially when it’s one of the great bargains at the meat counter?  It’s currently less than half the price of a New York strip—but…