It’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 wasabi mayonnaise, and Thailand for the red curry and lime juice one. “Are you going to stick flags in them?” my friend asked, nonchalantly. Nah, … Read More
It’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 Lu and I are giving the cook-off another spin — or stir. This time, the event will benefit Just Food, New York City’s local and … Read More
Every 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 on a slice of bread, I thought, “That’s good.” Really good. Second thought: “What can make this teeter upon the edge of being bad it’s … Read More
To all those tired of the pork belly and bacon food fad, I’ve got bad news for you. It’s far from over. Anyone who might have walked within a one-block radius of Radegast Biergarten in Williamsburg sometime between 4:45-7pm yesterday would have seen the hoards of hungry bacon lovers lining up outside the bar (“Is this for the bacon festival?” I heard a lot of). When I arrived at the time the first-ever Bacon Takedown officially began there, 5pm, that … Read More
Just a simple twist on an old favorite. I love how a snip of fresh herbs spruces up just about anything. Visually, a sprinkle for garnish adds professional panache, and hidden somewhere in the dish, lends a lurking note of freshness. That goes for desserts as well.
I subscribe to the theory of “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”; that is, cook your way through your problems. I’m faced with a terrible predicament at home: one of my best friends is moving away from our neighborhood halfway across the world, to Australia. I’ve known this for a few months, but it’s finally begun to sink in. So for her going-away party, I thought I’d try my hand at miniature-sized, vegetarian-friendly versions of the savory treat to … Read More
Once upon a time, I thought that ice cream “flavors” were just flavoring added to plain, perhaps vanilla, ice cream. “Chocolate” was dabbed in from a vial labeled so along with some fudge-colored dye, and “Strawberry” got its juice in much the same way, save for a few streaks of seeded fruit in some versions of the ice cream. Of course there were the chocolate chips and chopped nuts of Rocky Roads and other stuff-studded ice creams, but the bases … Read More
Keepin’ things simple this week. I can’t argue with the freshness that a deep green basil pesto gives everything, but its intense red twin of sundried tomato is pretty sublime, too. A spoonful of this stuff is like sweetened condensed tomato; a drop of it in your risotto while it’s cooking is like not really needing to reach for stock instead of water. Spread on bread or baked on pizza it’ll make your mouth tingle. A drizzle will make any … Read More
I will preface this by saying that I really wanted this recipe to be lemon and dill egg salad, but I couldn’t find any dill today. Stuff happens. Anyway, when I was chatting with Kate McDonough of The City Cook just before our stint on the Brian Lehrer Show last Friday, she mentioned that among the cheap lunch ideas some of her acquaintances were getting back in the habit of making was egg salad. We agreed that, even though egg … Read More
What happens when you: 1) make a great batch of something, eat it, and love it; 2) eat it for leftovers, and love it; 3) eat it for leftovers again, and kind of loved it more the first or second time you ate it; 4) can’t stand to look at it in the refrigerator anymore? I know. Even with my favorite foods, there comes a limit to my tolerance to it after consecutive encores. That’s where the brazen versatility of … Read More