EatWith Your Neighbors This Week
31 Jul 2013

EatWith Your Neighbors This Week

by | posted in: Eating Excursions, Events, NYC Events | 4

Last week, I was treated to a seasonally-inspired, five-course dinner hosted by someone I’d never met before, along with nine people I’d never met before, either. But even before the first course, it was just like hanging out with the gang. Our hostess and chef de cuisine for the evening, Emily, was a whipsmart aspiring chef and erstwhile front-of-house expert at some of Brooklyn’s best restaurants; playing both roles, in her own apartment, may just be her ultimate calling. I … Read More

Pan-Roasted Flounder and Zucchini with Corn and Peach Salsa
25 Jul 2013

Pan-Roasted Flounder and Zucchini with Corn and Peach Salsa

by | posted in: Recipes, Seafood | 3

Oh happy day — midsummer has arrived, and all my favorite foods like peaches and sweet corn are now in season. My life is finally complete. I thought I’d celebrate with a confetti of those things, splayed across a delicate-tasting canvas of fresh flounder fillets. Nothing too crazy at this party, except for that crack-pow-pop! like fireworks in the sky of flavor–juicy, crisp, tender and sweet. Man, I wish the Fourth of July came a little later into the summer … Read More

6 Cooling Recipes (that are no-sweat to cook)
20 Jul 2013

6 Cooling Recipes (that are no-sweat to cook)

by | posted in: Recipes, Ruminations | 3

It’s hot enough to cook a hamburger on a car’s hood. But that’s probably not the kind of food you need right now, in 100-degree heat. The weather has become brutal in NYC, and it’s easy to use that suffering as excuse to lax up on good eating habits. But if you eat a lot of warming, acid-forming, heavy or greasy foods, too, the heat will only get worse… internally.

Pasta with Lettuce, Pecorino, Pine Nuts & Lemon
15 Jul 2013

Pasta with Lettuce, Pecorino, Pine Nuts & Lemon

by | posted in: Pasta & Noodles, Recipes, vegetarian | 7

This could either be really offensive or really resourceful-sounding. I’m clearly hoping for the latter scenario. It’s because so many have recently shared with me their frustrations of lettuce overabundance, and salad-eating fatigue, that I deemed this recipe worthy of sharing (and caring) in return. Yes, it’s that point for me, too, thanks to the CSA season: produce is coming in too fast, too soon. Yes, I have reached the maximum capacity of lettuce that can be stuffed in the … Read More

Chilled Pea Soup with Wasabi Cream
8 Jul 2013

Chilled Pea Soup with Wasabi Cream

by | posted in: Beans, gluten-free, Recipes, Soups & Stews, vegetarian | 6

It’s too hot to eat hot soup, but cold soups might benefit from a certain sort of heat. That’s what I figured when I set out to make a smooth, creamy puree of shelled English peas. Chilled soup is a great fix for a hot summer day–light and refreshing yet satisfyingly tasty. Then I recalled the taste of another favorite application for peas: those crunchy, wasabi-glazed snacks.

Green Garlic Aioli
3 Jul 2013

Green Garlic Aioli

by | posted in: gluten-free, Recipes, vegetarian | 2

If you have an egg yolk, oil, and a splash of something acidic (lemon or vinegar), you can make mayonnaise. But while you’re undergoing this effort at home, why just make plain old mayo?  Adding garlic and good olive oil, you can make aioli–and if it’s spring or early summer, why not add green garlic, the mild, sweet, early-stage allium that can be found this season?