Koulourakis (Greek cookies with cardamom)
For those of you who aren’t familiar with her work (most famously Strangers With Candy), Amy Sedaris is crazy. Bug f’ing nuts. Mad as a hatter.
While most of us who came of age in the late 60′s and early 70′s raced away from the aesthetics and values of that time, Ms. …
Irish Soda Bread
Irish soda bread is great to have in your arsenal. It it is leavened with baking soda and buttermilk instead of yeast, so you can go from conception to hot bread on the table in under an hour, with only a few minutes of active work. It adapts beautifully to being made …
These little rolls of roasted eggplant with a ricotta filling and a simple sauce are minimal work and make a satisfying appetizer or side dish.
I sauced mine with ajvar, a mild spread of roasted red peppers that is popular throughout the Balkans. Ajvar is fairly easy to find at gourmet grocery stores (or from …
Before we get into Ellen Kanner’s lovely book, a quick note about the James Beard awards. My book didn’t win. While it would have been great, it also would have been a pretty huge surprise as a first time author. To be a finalist was an entirely sufficient thrill. My wife, Sarina, and I had …
As fall closes in on winter, the cold weather greens and warm, filling grains figure more in our cooking. A lazy weekend day meant I had time to make polenta the slow way instead of using the quick cooking (but not instant) de La Estancia brand. I followed Marcella Hazan's "no-stir" method, which really isn't …
Farro salad with chanterelles, fennel, apples and parmesan
This is my second take on chanterelles and farro. The first one was a hot entree, with sauteed apples. Today’s variation is a salad, with shaved apples, fennel, and parmesan. The first dish used an apple “balsamic” vinegar to make an emulsified butter sauce. For the salad, I …
Farro, chanterelles, and King apples
Chanterelle mushrooms are one of those magical ingredients which speak of fall, like asparagus in spring, or tomatoes in late summer. Sauteed, they pack a ton of flavor and there really is no substitute. My friend Will recently gave me a few beautiful King apples from his tree, and immediately I …
