Posted in Europe, French, Italian, Jacques Pepin, Jeffrey Steingarten, Recipe, Recipes, butter, crimini, easy, egg, food, mushroom, mushrooms, quick meal, truffles on May 3rd, 2009
In several of his well-known paeans to Provence, Peter Mayle describes, both lyrically and at great length, his love affair with the black truffles of that region. Sometimes couched as a cloak-and-dagger chase involving bizarre and nervy rendez-vous’ along dimly-lit back roads, or illicit dealings with “men with dirt under their fingernails and yesterday’s garlic [...]
Read Full Post »
During last fall’s McCain-Obama Presidential election season, TV channel Comedy Central’s website had a feature called “remember when you cared about…” which reprised some of the now (& then) farcical action from the previous Presidential campaigns of W. Bush and John Kerry. The 2004 race was my first such campaign-season as a resident of this [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in British, Recipe, coffee, dentist, dessert, easy, eating, healthy, kumquat, pannacotta, teeth on Mar 7th, 2009
The 20th anniversary of The Simpsons is being celebrated soon, and our recent long-overdue trip to the dentist reminded me of one particular episode in which Lisa is persuaded to give in and get braces on her teeth just like all the other Springfield kids when she is shown the “Big Book of British Smiles.” [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Bologna, Bon Appetit, Florence, Italian, Italy, Meat, New York City, Recipe, Recipes, bolognese, bread, easy, egg, food magazines, ground meat, hearty, magazine, sauce on Jan 7th, 2009
It’s a truism of my life that some of the more sickening feelings of depression are experienced immediately after the most smugly satisfying. But, I think this maxim applies almost universally when that wonderful sensation of happiness in having discovered the perfectly authentic tapas bar turns to acrid bitterness and choking rancor as a bloated family in sweatsuits and fanny-packs strolls [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in British, Christmas, England, Recipe, alcohol, alcoholic drink, anise, bay, beverage, brown sugar, cinnamon, culture, drink, easy, holiday, holidays, juice, lemon, orange juice, oranges, spices, sweet, tradition, wine, winter on Dec 20th, 2008
Even though mulled wine should remind me of being in the church choir as a cherub-faced youngster and singing Christmas carols with frosty breath overlooking a seasonally-decorated nave and a sea of pink-cheeked parishoners, it doesn’t. In spite of this being the way I was introduced to this most famous Yuletide beverage, my abiding memories [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Brooklyn, Coco Lezzone, Europe, Florence, Garlic, Italian, Italy, Olive Oil, Recipe, Recipes, Tuscan, chops, easy, herbs, pork, rosemary, sage, thyme, travel, tuscany on Dec 11th, 2008
I feel kinda cheesy. I admit it, I feel cool about using a butcher. I understand this is lame and that butchers have been around for ages, but, truthfully, in the recent year, we’ve really gotten to know our neighborhood butchers. Growing up in the ‘burbs, meat was only bought pre-cut and pre-packaged. [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Fall, Garlic, Italian, Italy, Liguria, Olive Oil, Piemonte, Potato, Recipe, anchovies, appetizer, butter, condiments, easy, fondue, food, grilled, tradition, travel, vegetables, winter on Nov 29th, 2008
And, while you’re at it, good fellow, I’ll have a warm bath with virtually anything you’ve got on the menu: pasta, potatoes, fish, chicken, soup, bread…
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
A man goes to the doctor complaining of neck ache. The doctor gives him some painkillers telling him to take two after a [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Fall, Garlic, Olive Oil, Recipe, breadcrumbs, butter, easy, egg, flour, food, herbs, lemon, liver, lunch, mushrooms, thyme, veal, weather on Nov 19th, 2008
A month or so ago we bought a package of veal liver at our local grocery store telling ourselves that we going to cook them, but not really having any idea how. We’ve made veal kidneys before without relying on a recipe so we were convinced we could do the same with the beast’s liver, [...]
Read Full Post »
Get our feed by email
Download our podcasts
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our feed
