Category Archives: food & cooking

Individual Fresh Berry Gratins (Slight Return)

I concluded the post about my first attempt to make berry gratins with: I’ll make this again because the recipe didn’t fail me, I failed the recipe. Lesson learned: Don’t fuck with Cook’s Illustrated. Look at the photo: you’d think … Continue reading

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Simple Summer PIcnics

Yesterday’s summer recipes post would be incomplete without the followup, “101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics,” published a year later. These picnic recipes may be even less complicated than the dinner recipes, but they’re all clever deviations from the usual … Continue reading

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Simple Summer Meals

A friend sent me this article from the Times two years ago. It’s Mark Bittman’s “Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less,” a list of tasty, yet idiot-simple meals to make when it’s too hot (or … Continue reading

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Dill Pickles

I started making dill pickles a few years ago because I ‘m not fond of what’s usually sold in jars in supermarkets (although in a pinch I’ll settle for Ba-Temp-Te kosher dills). My attempts at canning pickles for long-term storage … Continue reading

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Market correction

I‘m running out of titles that use the word “market.” Fewer stands – and customers – today due to the holiday weekend, but there were still good things to be had. Ground beef for burgers, first cucumbers of the season, … Continue reading

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Oven-Roasted Branzini with Thyme and Lemon

I‘ve been negligent in posting any recipes this week. Here’s a quick one, inspired by this afternoon’s trip to the fish market. It’s a simple dish that starts with only a few ingredients: two branzini (plural of branzino, cleaned and … Continue reading

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A Better (Batter?) Mousetrap

The recent death of volume-challenged huckster Billy Mays has directed attention to the show Pitchmen, which follows the TV gadget process from home invention to in-your-face late-night advertisement. The inventors really believe in their creations. They have to, since they’ve … Continue reading

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I Interviewed Fergus Henderson

Yes, I interviewed Fergus Henderson, the genius chef of St. John Restaurant, where I recently ate the best meal ever. Well, not in person. And I didn’t actually conduct the interview. Ryan Adams, who is documenting his effort to cook … Continue reading

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My New Prep Cook

When I asked Miles if he had any special projects in mind to work on over his summer vacation, he told me “I want to help you in the kitchen when you cook.” Yesterday we picked out a knife and … Continue reading

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Four Magic Words

Tasty salted pig parts. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, there’s no part of that phrase I don’t like. Boccalone is a salumeria in San Francisco, but they also have an online store. Add this to my list of reasons for a … Continue reading

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