Hi and happy new year. This may not look like apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah–a tradition that helps bring about a sweet new year. No, my recipe has been transformed by my research into Middle Eastern cuisine. This, friends, is an Iranian Kuku, a baked omelet made with greens, herbs, and–get this–walnuts and raisins. […]
Cooking for Others
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings with Tomato Chutney
Wings are fun. Know what’s not fun? Going back to school. Worse yet is not going back to school at all, the realization that summer is just another passing couple of months of Real Life. Or maybe, real life is better. Summer weather is going to continue for another month or so, and those of […]
How to Host a Biergarten Party
Mini Potato Pancakes with Chive Sour Cream • Bite-Sized Zucchini Cakes with Chive Sour Cream • Cheese Plate • Hot Pretzels • Honey Mustard • Bratwurst, Weisswurst & Chicken Bratwurst • Vegetarian Sausages • Mustard • Simple German Potato Salad • Sweet Red Cabbage Slaw • Tomatoes & Cucumber Wedges • Vegan Black Forest Cakes • Hot Fudge Sauce • Vanilla Ice Cream • Dairy-Free Chocolate Sorbet
Italian-Style Tuna Melts with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Arugula & Hot Peppers
Hello from sunny and cool New York City! We’re having what a friend deemed “August spring,” but we’re all terrified to talk about it, lest the hellish July temperatures return. To me, it’s Maine weather: in the morning, we wear sweatshirts. At night, we sleep without air conditioning. For dinner, I’m once again okay with […]
Polenta Steaks with Multi-Colored Peppers, Red Onions & Smoked Mozzarella
When you cook at home every single morning, for most lunches, and for dinner nearly daily, you become a whiz–and a bit obsessive–at saving money, time, energy, and extra dishes, and at 7:30pm, after work and grocery shopping, you’d have a tough job convincing me to make a meal that uses more than one pan. […]
Summer Udon with Heirloom Tomatoes, Avocado & Shrimp
As soon as tomatoes appear at the farmstand, I rush to make summer pasta salad. Have you ever made it? It’s just chopped heirloom tomatoes marinated with tons of garlic, fragrant basil, a good pour of olive oil, and minced red onion. As the tomatoes sit on the counter, the scents of garlic and fruity […]
Banana & Peanut Butter Baked French Toast
Yesterday, in an uncharacteristic move, I served a pair of French toast dishes for brunch. I made two pans of baked blueberry and strawberry French toast, both rich with half and half and butter. Then I made a third pan of dairy-free baked French toast, that one rich with peanut butter and flavorful with bites […]
Asparagus Chipotle Quesadillas
The other Tuesday night I did the thing where I invited friends over before thinking about what I would serve them for dinner. Four and a half years after moving to Brooklyn when everyone I knew lived in Manhattan, and a year after I wrote about these Brie and Red Pepper Crostini as bites I […]
Asparagus in a Phyllo Blanket with Brie and Thyme
We were talking again about Brussels sprouts recently, their transformation from weak-kneed punishment vegetable to coveted gourmet side. How did it happen? The answer, I argued, is roasting. Even if you like steamed asparagus (unlike steamed sprouts), you’ll love asparagus that’s been roasted like sprouts. Oil, high heat, and salt turn almost any vegetable into […]
Lamejun, an Armenian Pizza
Yesterday, my sister Kate texted me to say she had made kibbeh for Lebanese Easter. Kibbeh is one of the dishes I’ve come across in my research on Middle Eastern cuisine, and it’s on my to-make list. But Kate lives in Arkansas, and she’s neither Lebanese nor Christian. Apparently, she’s on her own Middle Eastern […]