Last week, I received half a dozen emails from various supper clubs I’d signed up for the mailing lists of. Each dinner sounded more delectable than the one before: roasted local grass-fed goat loin chops with farro-spinach salad and sweet onion soubise, kombu cured fluke with yuzu, brown butter, wakame and preserved nori, a dinner [...]
Archive for April, 2009
Reason for Not Eating Out #31: Because Supper Clubs are Blowing Up
Thursday, April 30th, 2009Ginger-Glazed Grilled Carrot and Pea Shoot Salad
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009I love roasting carrots, in just a coat of olive oil and pinch of sea salt. But now that it’s reached almost ninety degrees in New York City, cranking up the oven to 400 degrees seems less than appropriate. On the contrary, goading your friend with a rooftop patio to throw an impromptu barbecue absolutely [...]
From Gardening to Farming: A Glimpse at Long Island’s Garden of Eve Farm
Sunday, April 26th, 2009Not so long ago, I tended to associate Long Island with being stuck in squawking traffic on the LIE and guys in wifebeaters who wouldn’t think to eat an apple if the tree plopped one in his hand. True, the eastern trail of New York City never exactly conjured an agrarian idyll, replete with rustic [...]
Eco-friendly prizes aplenty at the Risotto Challenge
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009It’s been fun trawling the Internet today for Earth Day-related articles and blog posts. There’s a lot of positive energy out there, and I’ve been seeing much murmering about how to eat more green, or garden more green, how to drink, or not drink, more green, even date more green. Even the prophet Pollan has [...]
Edamame Hummus with Wonton Wrapper Chips (and a May Day menu teaser)
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009Guac and corn chips it is not. Plain-old hummus and pita it’s neither. Just as munchable as either of the above, I’d say definitely, as well as easy to prepare. It’s edamame, or soy beans, cooked and mashed up just like chickpea hummus (minus the tahini), and eggy wonton wrappers baked with a coating of [...]
Peppercress and Poached Egg Salad
Monday, April 20th, 2009I showed a photo of a gooey, poached egg like this once to a friend who thought it was “obscene.” So if this offends, then my apologizes. But having seen many eggs cooked like this growing up, it calls to mind only the homiest, cleanest of thoughts to me.
Seared Turnips with Leftover Vegetable Stir-Fry
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009There is a dish in Cantonese cuisine called turnip cake. Then there is a dish with turnip cake, chopped into cubes, and stir-fried with bean sprouts, scallions, some other veggies and often peanuts. I’m quite certain this latter dish was a leftover invention. The very best turnip cake (which is actually made from radish but [...]
Deviled (Easter) Eggs, Three Ways
Monday, April 13th, 2009It’s an Easter egg hunt of an entirely new brand: guess the country of inspiration! When I was describing my idea for three variations on deviled eggs, it occurred to me that I was pinning three East Asian cuisines to each version: China for the one with five-spice and scallions, Japan for the one with [...]
Introducing Hapa Kitchen and May Day benefit at Queens County Farm Museum
Saturday, April 11th, 2009It’s been a busy spring, and this holiday weekend I’m excited to finally share two projects that I’ve been cooking up. (When it rains, it pours!) First up is the Hapa Kitchen, a supper club and collaborative cooking project co-founded with my friend and frequent kitchen comrade, chef Akiko Moorman. To kick off its launch, [...]
A Trip to Apple Pond Farm
Thursday, April 9th, 2009It was only a matter of time before my love affair with small, sustainable farming would take me outside of New York City (yes, Melissa, I hope to visit Garden of Eve sometime!). No matter the rain, cold or wind we’ve been having lately. No matter the ice and snow that laced the rocky cliffs [...]
The Leftover Whole Wheat Pizza Dough-Cinnamon Bun Disaster
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009Before I get started on describing this would-be dessert turned disaster — wait, no. I think the title of this post pretty much sums it up. Two different foods, one type of dough. One day late, and many things short.
Enter the Risotto Challenge & Just Food Benefit
Monday, April 6th, 2009It’s here: the 2nd Annual Risotto Challenge! Last spring, eighteen contestants answered this call-to-cooking action with imaginative risottos seemingly spawned while on crack. (The ultimate winner? A citrusy, brown rice “Scarborough Fair” ordeal, named for its profusion of four singsong herbs.) And since there’s never an end to variations on the delicious dish, co-host Karol [...]
Shiitake Mushroom and Wasabi-Spiced Ricotta Crostini
Saturday, April 4th, 2009Every now and then I get the urge to test the limits of what’s generally known as “good.” So maybe this happens more than occasionally, and often, with food. But when I picked up a container of whole milk ricotta from the Greenmarket, dug into it with a knife later that day and slathered it [...]
Reason for Not Eating Out #30: This Is Why You’re Not Fat
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009pan-fried asparagus tips with lemon









