Maida Heatter’s Key Largo Cookies
I rewrote and revised the first sentence of my novel Food Person so many times, I know the finished one by heart: “Isabella Pasternak baked treats to bring to work every day; not as a way to endear herself to her co-workers, but as a way to avoid them.”
Ruta Oaxaca Mexican Cuisine
I don’t root for sports teams, but I do root for restaurants. When Ruta Oaxaca Mexican Cuisine opened in our neighborhood (Boerum Hill) a few months ago, I was jazzed that we were getting not just a widely-praised Mexican restaurant, but one that specialized in Oaxacan cuisine. We were in Oaxaca last year and the food was unbelievable; I loved the idea that high-quality mole was just a stone’s throw away.
Sour Cream Pancakes with a Concord Grape Compote
If you’ve never had a Concord grape, imagine the flavor from a purple lollipop or purple gum, then imagine nature producing that flavor instead of a factory, and you’ll get the idea. A Concord grape tastes like the cartoon version of a grape; the flavor of a grape that we all have in our head when we think “grape flavor.”
Spicy Fennel and Squash Soup with Candied Pepitas and Balsamic Pears
Garnishes are a game-changer when it comes to a pureed soup. What could pass easily as baby food, becomes something much more substantial and more interesting to eat when you add lots of little bobs and bits. I’ve noticed, when I’ve gone out to fancier meals, that pureed soups are almost always presented as a separate entity from the garnishes: you receive a bowl with lots of stuff in it and then a waiter pours the soup on top. Why can’t we do the same thing at home? I’m here to tell you that you can.
French Cabbage and Onion Soup
There are certain ingredients that food people adore that make normal people cringe. Take cabbage, for example. Last week, I told Craig I was going to cook a cabbage for dinner and it was as if I’d said, “Instead of going out for cocktails, let’s get our flu shots!”
Bar Bête
When I went on Watch What Happens Live to promote my novel Food Person, I was told that Andy would be asking me one and only one question: “What’s the book about?”
Mustardy Chicken Thighs with Farro, Brown Butter Squash, Kale, and Bacon
Last night I was in the weeds: it was five o’clock, we had dinner guests coming at seven, and I had eight chicken thighs, a bag of farro, two Delicata squash, kale, and some bacon. Two Google searches later — one that landed me on a Thomas Keller recipe for Farro and Black Rice with Roasted Autumn Squash, one that landed me on Lidey Heuck’s Baked Chicken Thighs — I had a plan and I was off to the races.
Banoffee Pie
British baking wasn’t something I thought much about until I started watching The Great British Baking Show (or “Bake-Off” as it’s known in its mother country). Now all I think about is Swiss rolls and Hobnobs and soggy bottoms. Also I spend time wondering if the show’s stylist dresses everyone, including the contestants.
