I think they skipped a horseman, this must be a sign of the coming apocalypse. Have you seen the commercials for Stouffer’s new website, During Dinner, in which kicky “Mom” Anne Callaway has coffee and “Mom” Talk with friends, deals with the Callaway Kids, and manages to host a rollicking conversation-filled dinner every night! And … Read more
mussels don’t grow on trees y’know, they grow on ropes… Since the weather won’t cooperate, I’ll have to satisfy my vernal cravings in the kitchen. I know I’ve been on a seafood kick lately, mainly due to over-potroasting and maxi-meatloafing during the colder months, but I’m not done yet … Mussels. Glorious little Prince Edward … Read more
The Chicago City Council isn’t mucking around, people. Doug Sohn (the sausage King of Chicago?) is the first to feel their wrath. The man behind Hot Doug’s … The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium … has been fined for selling hot dogs laced with foie gras. The fine for taking a stand against The … Read more
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I am craving tequila lately. More specifically, I’m craving margaritas. I was in San Diego last week, at this thumping roof-top bar, and I swear I could have put down 10 or more without a problem. It’s an on-the-rocks situation, with loads of salt on the rim. … Read more
I just have to talk about chocolate cake for a moment. I love it, I think about it, I seek it. Sadly, there are many unfortunate chocolate cake stories out there. Slices that look so promising on a menu can be too rich, too cloying, to flourless. Density, moistness, simplicity, chocolate-ocity, these are all important … Read more
Being brought up in a family with three doctors gives one an odd outlook on life. It was not just the anatomy textbooks, with their foggy monochrome photographs, that rubbed shoulders with the wildflower guides and J.B. Priestley novels in the family library. Nor was it only the medical advertisements that came in triplicate by … Read more
When I was a little girl with prairie-skirted ambitions to be Laura Ingalls Wilder, I once licked a tree. The darkening, wet stain on the bark of my backyard maple was too interesting to pass up. I knew that the sap wasn’t syrup, but I expected some sort of sensory recognition, some hint of taste … Read more
Have you read the “manifesto”? Last December, some of the most influential men in food wrote what they called “an international agenda for great cooking”. The Fab Four were Ferran Adria of El Bulli, Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck, Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se, and food scientist/author Harold McGee. The … Read more
Have you been watching Gordon Ramsey’s show on BBC America, The F Word? It’s fucking great. Some may think right away “I hate Gordon Ramsey, he’s such an asshole.” Well yes, but if you’ve only watched Hell’s Kitchen, don’t be so quick to judge. It should be clear to anyone who has even a little … Read more