Author Archives: David

Thanksgiving Traffic Control

Mark Bittman could save you from the annual Thanksgiving disaster brought about by too much food in too small a kitchen. In 101 Head Starts on the Day, he opens with an obvious suggestion: For cooks, most Thanksgiving problems are … Continue reading

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Multitasker, or Multiple Unitasker?

Alton Brown’s conversion of a fire extinguisher into a smoothie maker got me thinking about unitasking devices in my own kitchen. (A digression: The fire extinguisher in that demo is a CO2 model, which is hardly ever sold for kitchen … Continue reading

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And the Meat Goes On

The farmer’s market is closed, but my meat CSA continues throughout the winter. So I had to brave the near-hurricane weather to pick up this month’s share at a parking lot in Cambridge. The line of people huddled under the … Continue reading

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Alton and Me

When it’s time to prepare the family Thanksgiving meal this year, I’ll start by thawing the frozen bird in cold running water the morning before. I’ll let the turkey sit in a big cooler full of a spiced brine and … Continue reading

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Information is Beautiful

One of my secondary careers — book designer and typographer — began with a commission to design this book. Before the project started, the author gave me a copy of The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte, telling … Continue reading

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You’re Working, I’m Eating

We were finishing the main course of our anniversary dinner when our waiter returned. He asked “Are you still enjoying this course, or may I take your plates?” I was shocked: he was the first waiter not to ask me … Continue reading

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Whole Roasted Chicken on a Bed of Root Vegetables

I had big plans. I had placed an advance order for Ad Hoc At Home, the cookbook from Thomas Keller’s casual restaurant, with the intent of setting up a separate blog where I would cook through the entire book. When … Continue reading

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Tony’s Top Ten Tips

For our 16th wedding anniversary dinner, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I had dinner (menu here) on Craigie on Main, site of the Whole Hog Dinner. It has become a tradition with us, and besides, chef Tony Maws (or … Continue reading

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The Botany of Desire

The first time I saw the title of Michale Pollan’s novel about “a plant’s-eye view of the world,” I couldn’t help but think of the Either/Orchestra, a local jazz ensemble that had released albums titled The Half-Life of Desire and … Continue reading

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Halloween Dregs

I failed to make good on my promise to hit Target first thing on Sunday morning to score more old-style Necco Wafers. By the time I got to the store today, the Halloween clearance shelves had been picked over by … Continue reading

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