Ravioli Aioli
It used to be that when a potluck presented itself to me, I would default to one of a number of tried-and-true party favorites. Now that pool has run rather dry. But no fear — a new pasta crank is here.
What’s Your Taste Inheritance?
The UK has been making impressive headway in isolating what makes us eat what. Namely, it’s our genes. “More often than not, our genetic make-up influences our dietary patterns.” So said Tim Spector, a Professor at London’s Kings College, in this BBC News article about a study he led that suggested identical twins shared the same eating preferences. Among these preferences, coffee and garlic turned out to be strong indicators of the genetic link. (But who doesn’t like garlic or … Read More
Rum Butternut Ice Cream
super squash-caramel sundae Not butter rum ice cream, not just butternut squash ice cream (although you can just omit the rum if you care for that), but buttery, yummy rum butternut squash ice cream. Say that five times fast. Now try it after some more of that rum.
More on that pasta
needs more peas, according to Bittman It seems (belatedly) that I am not the only one with pasta on the mind. Mark Bittman’s recent article in the Times offered hoards of recipes for pasta lore that I can’t wait to try out sometime soon. But he also touched on a point that I found interesting, and struck at a deeply embedded piece of cultural wisdom that I had never thought to question before: The ratio of grains to delicacies.
Fresh Fettuccine with Baby Portobellos, Green Beans and Sage in a Cream Sherry Sauce
I got a brand new toy. Alright, it’s gently used and I bought it on eBay for $10, but check this out: A true Italian Marcato (aptly named) “Pasta Queen” pasta crank with 7 thickness settings, 2 pasta widths and a table clamp. Early Christmas in New York.
The Ugliest Gourmet
Restaurant food is pretty. Home-cooked food, not so much. Oh yes, we try. We, of the conscientious, borderline obsessive home cooking set, have every intention of making a meal beautiful on both the inside and out. But unless you have plating and presentation skills of the likes of Matt Armendiraz, it ain’t nothin’ compared to the pros. And let’s face it: after any length of effort in the kitchen, we just want to eat as soon as possible that which … Read More
Seriously Corny
This land is corn land: Curt Ellis (left) and Ian Cheney in Queens It’s not a joke. More than 80 million acres of corn were planted in the US last year. Yet only 253,500 of them were sweet corn, for eating on the cob. Where does the rest of it go? Leave it to Aaron Woolf, Ian Cheney, and Curt Ellis to illustrate this — and many other crucial facts about our current agricultural system and diet — in their … Read More
This Side of “Paradise”
I enjoy tea a lot. All kinds of tea. I haven’t taken this passion to the next level of home DIY experimentation, drying out leaves and whatnot, but lately it’s crossed my mind. Typically at around this time of the year, I return to the comfort of tea. Having a propensity toward being cold all the time, I like having hot drinks to sip on much as a fish likes to have things to fill its gills with. As temperatures … Read More
Baba Ghanoush: Eggplant Mush
I find it no coincidence that so many cultures like to tame eggplant by beating them to a pulp. My run-in with not-so-well-cooked eggplant earlier this summer has put me off the poisonous plants for a little while, but I’m not calling it quits just yet. Baba ghanoush, eggplant “caviar,” so to speak, has been enjoyed throughout Middle Eastern, North African and Eastern European cuisines for many centuries before peasant food became chic. They must know what they’re doing.
Mocha Frosting
No, it’s not my blog’s birthday part II. Last weekend was the birthday of a couple friends of mine — a couple, who happen to share the same birthday. No, they’re not twins. So, since everyone loves cupcakes and two birthdays is certainly that much more reason to, I baked up a batch of mini white cake delights topped off with my own mocha frosting. These friends are keen on coffee, as am I and most people I know. But, … Read More