Category Archives: food & cooking

Guanciale

At the end of the post about my first attempt at curing meat, I wrote: I found two hog jowls in the Belm Research Kitchen Deep Storage Facility. Guess what’s next? What was next was making guanciale, which is done … Continue reading

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Momofuku “Chicken and Egg”

Because I don’t live in New York city and because I have no connections in the New York restaurant scene, I have not had the pleasure of eating at any of chef David Chang’s Momofuku restaurants. If I could figure … Continue reading

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How Not to Make a Pumpkin Pie

I don’t bake pies; I am explicitly forbidden from doing so by article seven, section four of the non-alignment treaty I signed with She Who Must Be Obeyed when we were married. Crisps, refrigerator pies, tarts: all of these are … Continue reading

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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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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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