Tomatoes
Anyone who has eaten an heirloom or summer tomato from a farmer's market knows how a tomato should taste. Those shiny, baseball-hard globes in supermarkets don't come close.
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Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge? - 1 Jan 2012
This is one of my favorite dishes - a wonderful peasant soup that uses up stale bread to turn a winter minestrone (that's the kale in it) into a full scale comfort meal. It's even better if you keep a day before you eat it. read more...
Hearty Crab Bisque - 4 May 2011
This is the kind of dish that's perfect for al fresco parties. It's a soup/stew dish from Alcione Vinet, owner-chef of Park Cafe most of which can be prepared ahead of time. Mop up its juices with a crusty loaf of bread and serve a salad on the side. read more...
Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs - 15 Dec 2010
Who ever says 'No' to a comforting dish of slow-cooked beef packed with flavor falling off bones? In this in-between turkey feasts period when the weather gets colder and colder, reach for this recipe from Brian McBride, chef of The Blue Duck Tavern. read more...
Gazpacho - 28 Jul 2010
Terri Cutrino, executive chef of Cafe Atlantico's' recipe for that refreshing and pretty soup perfect for summer soup which you can prepare well ahead of sitting down to eat it. read more...
Tomato Soup with Goat Cheese Flan and Parmesan Sticks - 12 May 2010
This recipe from Robert Wiedmaier, owner-chef of Marcel's and The Tasting Room, is three different elements in one. The Parmesan Sticks could be made alone to serve with cocktails and the Goat Cheese Flans could also become an alternative to the more familiar grilled goat cheese served on a mixed leaf salad. read more...
Chicken Shish Taouk - 3 Feb 2010
Abdel Hash Housh, chef of Neyla's recipe for Neyla’s chicken kabobs tastes particularly good coming from the wood smoke of a barbecue but is just as delicious cooked under a really hot broiler. The marinades adapts to other meats and fish. read more...
Hangovers - how to eat your way out of them - 21 Dec 2009
Wow! Was that a fabulous party! Whatsisname was there – you hadn’t seen him for years. And Thingything was looking better than ever. There may have been a moment (and this makes you cringe) when you folded Whatcha-call-her, whom you really can’t stand, into a warm embrace. At least you didn’t start quoting reams of Kerouac or go through your Bette Midler impressions. You think.
Great night. But now it’s head-swelling morning, full of bongo drums and referee whistles. What can you do to ease the pain, short of burying your head back under the sheets? Hair-of-the-dog or greasy fry-up?
As Robert Benchley observed, ‘There is no cure for a hangover, save death.’ read more...
Fish: Quesadilla de Camaron (Shrimp Quesadillas) - 14 Oct 2009
You could make the different elements of Joe Raffa, chef of Oyamel's easily-prepared recipe ahead of time and only toast the tortillas at the last minute. It would turn it into a dish you could serve at a large party. read more...
Calamari with Spiced Mediterranean Sauce - 16 Sep 2009
This recipe from Chef Bo Palker of Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro makes a starter or main course that's easy to execute and popular year round. You'll always find squid in Oriental markets that sell fish. read more...
Shrimp baked with tomatoes & feta (Garides youvetsi) - 8 Jul 2009
At Marilena Leavitt's Greek and Italian cooking classes, she teaches traditional dishes that are easily accomplished, such as this main course that works year round and uses easily sourced ingredients. read more...
Feta cheese - 24 Jun 2009
In summer, with real tomatoes arriving in stores, Greek salad comes into its own. Horiatiki salata, country salad, is a compilation of quarters of tomato, thick slices of peeled cucumber and thinner slices of red onion, a handful of black olives and chunks of feta, drizzled with a good green olive oil. (Strictly speaking, the tomatoes provide the acid replacement for vinegar.)
Feta is often overlooked as a cheese. But with its relatively low fat content and range of flavor from mild to forceful, it's worth paying it some attention. True feta cheese, low-fat and healthy, is a far cry from sour, salty and week-old-socks stinking (some would say vomit stenching) plastic-packaged cheese from supermarket dairy aisles. read more...
Sides: Panzanella - 25 Mar 2009
For this simply prepared Italian salad from Ruth Gresser, owner-chef of Pizza Paradiso, it's worth waiting for the tomatoes of high summer and using a good loaf of bread. But sometimes you need a reminder of summer in the dead of winter, and this recipe will deliver it. read more...
Fish: Provençal Fish Stew - 10 Dec 2008
This hearty fish stew from Jeff and Barbara Black - of BlackSalt and more - is a year-round meal in a bowl that's quick and easy to assemble. It's the backbone of regular orders to a Mediterranean fishmonger like the one in my photograph. read more...
Fish: Seared Salmon and Romaine Heart Salad - 12 Aug 2008
If you're looking for a change from the ubiquitous Chicken Caesar Salad, this salmon dish from Peggy Thompson, when she was chef of DISH, makes an elegant and satisfying lunch at any time of the year aor a refreshing main course for a summer dinner. read more...
Starters: Pasta e Fagioli - 5 Mar 2008
Cesare Lanfranconi, chef of Ristorante Spezie's recipe is one of Italy's classics. You can make it as a soup starter for a meal with other dishes or serve it with some warm crusty bread and a salad to produce a substantial meal on its own with a glass or two of wine and a rented old Sophia Loren or Gina Lollobrigida movie on TV. read more...
Sides: Swiss Chard & Tomato - 24 Nov 2007
Bernard Marchive, ex-chef of Pesce, serves this recipe for Swiss Chard and Tomato with his Cod with Coconut Milk. But it goes just as well with a lamb or pork chop, or a roast. read more...
Mains: Lamb Roganjosh - 19 Nov 2007
Don't be deterred by the number of spices in Vikram Sunderam's recipe. Once you've assembled them, the chef of Rasika's version of the classic Indian lamb stew takes no more time to make than an ordinary stewed meat dish. But it's so much more mouth-watering. read more...
Sides: Tomatoes - much ado about nothing - 17 Nov 2007
If there's one vegetable that should be eaten in season and gathered from the garden or fields, it's the tomato. Here's a cooking tip to get maximum flavor from those red balls masquerading as tomatoes in our supermarkets. read more...
Starters: Tomato Crab Soup - 17 Nov 2007
When Nathan Beauchamp was chef of 1789 Restaurant, he shared this recipe for an elegant dinner party soup. But if you serve it with a side salad and a crusty loaf of bread, it makes a hearty meal in a bowl. read more...
Mains: Saffron Lamb Kabobs with Cucumber Yogurt, Tomato Confit and Cinnamon Apricot Couscous - 17 Nov 2007
Tim Elliott, chef of Mie N Yu's recipe is a real Spice Route dish. Apart from the couscous, each component can be prepared well ahead. It's a great dish for a large party, simple to cook and easy to serve. read more...
The lunch shift is over and chef Peter Smith, owner of PS 7’s restaurant is surrounded by gin. No, he’s not relaxing over a drink. The gin is in bowls in an pre-formed state. It’s the mash, a mix of herbs and berries and peels and roots that Smith has worked out how to use in his food as flavorings.
Chew On This: Your first 'Duh' of the year...
Eggplant
Baked beans - the musical fruit
Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge?
Yasaman Persian Bakery - one of my favorites
Breads - a good chew
Duck & goose
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel
Festive presents weird and wacky at World Market
Walnut oil
The perfect Yorkshire pudding
Chew On This: The acai berry diet can only thin your wallet...
The Queen Mum's favorite cake
West Indian Black Cake
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