Posted in boiled, capers, England, festival, healthy, octopus, Olive Oil, olives, Peru, pulpo, seafood, South America, tradition, winter on Dec 24th, 2014
For much of what we are accustomed to seeing around Christmas, the candles, trees, the mistletoe, the decorations, and many of the songs, we need to thank the Germans. Not specifically those residents of the modern nation state of Germany, but the historic Germanic-speaking peoples of central Europe, for whom the birth of our Lord […]
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Posted in Argentina, brown sugar, Buenos Aires, crispy, delicacy, dining, duck, empanadas, French-ness, grilled, grilling, herbs, Meat, Olive Oil, orange juice, oranges, Paul Bocuse, South America, thyme, tourism, travel, Uruguay, winter on Mar 14th, 2014
On our first afternoon in Buenos Aires, as we lazily wandered the Palermo district, stupefied by an overnight flight and a filling lunch featuring our first Argentine steak and an immoderate milanesa napolitana, we paused to admire the way the beautiful lilac-blue flowers of a blooming jacaranda overhung a stucco wall that years of sub-tropical […]
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Posted in appetizer, chick peas, chickpeas, Chorizo, cilantro, grilled, grilling, octopus, Olive Oil, pork, sauce, sausage, Squid on Mar 8th, 2014
I know that I am the best cook(er) in the world because my three year-old son tells me so when I make him fridge surprise for dinner. (The surprise being that there is anything remotely edible in our fridge.) Naturally, this makes me exceedingly happy, especially so since he tends to eat such meals with […]
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Posted in America, appetizer, cheese, Chorizo, easy, feta, Olive Oil, Spain, Uncategorized, winter on Mar 3rd, 2014
While awake in the middle of the night, hoping like hell one’s infant will go back to sleep soon, one experiences a range of emotions, including, but not limited to, joy, frustration, fatigue, anger, sadness, despair and, with any luck, relief. And, as one sits rocking away or pacing incessantly in the inky blackness of […]
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Posted in appetizer, Argentina, blogging, butter, fava beans, Garlic, kidneys, lamb, mint, offal, Olive Oil, peas, saute, sweetbreads on Mar 17th, 2013
The world of social media seems to have been created for the sole purpose of allowing the general public to share its idiocy as widely as possible. Along with this opportunity also arrived the penchant for inventing ridiculous new expressions and forming them into one of the most odious aspects of modern life, the hash […]
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Posted in almond, Barcelona, broiled, calamari, Chorizo, cuttlefish, fish, Garlic, Madrid, Murcia, noodles, nuts, Olive Oil, Pasta, pepper, peppers, pulpo, Spain, Squid, tradition, travel, Valencia, wine on Nov 14th, 2012
For centuries, mankind and cuttlefish have had something of a difficult relationship, certainly from the latter’s perspective. Even prior to the development of the photographic tint known as sepia – a brownish hue that makes the late 19th century appear to have been an unusually dusty period – the ink of the cuttlefish was prized […]
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Posted in African, appetizer, castille, chile, Garlic, herbs, history, Meat, Mexican, Olive Oil, pepper, peppers, pimenton, pinchos, pork, racione, Spain, tapas, thyme, tradition, travel on Jun 6th, 2012
St. George, the patron saint of England, whose plucky, dragon-slaying derring-do is taken as emblematic of the English spirit, far from being a native of the British Isles, or for that matter, far from ever having come close to visiting them, was actually an adventurous squire of the modern-day country of Georgia who lived around […]
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Posted in Beach, Garlic, history, Olive Oil, olives, onions, oregano, Puerto Rican, rice, side dish, tradition, travel on May 3rd, 2012
Named for the grandson of Puerto Rico’s first governor, the southern city of Ponce is blessed with appropriately distinguished architecture. The equal of few in the Americas, it is a delightful surprise for the visitor. That conquering Americans were responsible for the preservation of the city’s historic district is equally surprising.
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Posted in almond, anchovies, anise, bucatini, culture, fennel, Garlic, history, Italian, Italy, Olive Oil, Pasta, saffron, Sicilian, tradition, wine on Apr 5th, 2011
Greeks, Romans, Moors, Normans, Spaniards, Garibaldi and his thousand, and finally hordes of tourists have visited Sicily over the milennia. Some stayed for centuries, some only for generations, but even those whose sojourn was comparatively brief played a role in the island’s blending of cultures and traditions. If this human concoction can be distilled into […]
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Posted in America, Asturias, beans, cabrales, Chorizo, cocido, fabada, Garlic, history, Meat, morcilla, Olive Oil, paprika, pimenton, pork, saffron, tradition, travel on Mar 11th, 2011
Almost seven years ago I journeyed from Santillana del Mar to Santa Maria de Lebaña via San Vicente de la Barquera. So many saints, so much devotion, that it was little surprise to learn that beyond the monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana and through the Picos de Europe lies the hallowed ground of Covadonga. […]
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Posted in chicken, Coco Lezzone, egg, Florence, Genoa, ham, herbs, holiday, Italian, Italy, Liguria, Meat, Olive Oil, pancetta, prosciutto, rabbit, travel, Tuscan, tuscany on Oct 3rd, 2010
In the very infancy of this blog, back when we had no appreciation for plating, lighting or anything else remotely aesthetic, my wife wrote about the first course of a truly memorable dinner we shared in the famous Florentine trattoria, Coco Lezzone. What she didn’t mention was that even though we were getting towards the end […]
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Posted in African, Cuba, culture, Garlic, history, Olive Oil, plantains, pork, Puerto Rican, sauce, seafood, shrimp, Spain, tostones, tradition, travel on Jul 30th, 2010
He’s certainly not the first to make such a remark, but when in a recent episode of his PBS show Mexico: One Plate at a Time, chef Rick Bayless commented that Mexican food may be the first “fusion cuisine” in the Americas, the concept resonated with me. The collision of cultures and culinary traditions that […]
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