Delicious kitchen adventures for eager eaters of all ages
I was filled with great sadness upon reading that Sheila Lukins had passed away this week. She was 66, and had been diagnosed with brain cancer just 3 months ago. Lukins’ most famous cookbook, the best-selling and hugely influential Silver Palate Cookbook, sits prominently on my bookshelf, an original edition “borrowed” from my mom. ItsRead More
Want to swap lives with a junk-food-gorging, TV-dinner-feasting, un-foodie family? Here’s your chance! I occasionally get contacted by casting producers about upcoming shows featuring kid chefs. (I can’t wait to actually see one on TV…) Most recently, this came across my desk: CASTING SEARCH: Kid Chefs and their Families! Casting Directors for ABC TV’s hitRead More
The other day I was reading Oliver’s Fruit Salad to hungry tot-chefs in my Kindergarten Books-for-Cooks class at Franklin Elementary School. The story is about a boy named Oliver, who — having recently helped his grandpa harvest juicy grapes and delicate pears from a backyard garden — refuses to eat the fruit his mom servesRead More
Once again, Mark Bittman hit a home run with his article in yesterday’s New York Times. The champion of minimalism in the kitchen, the father of “less is more”, Bittman gives the kitchen a clean and healthy makeover for 2009. With his “hot” or “not” list, Mark is officially the Joan Rivers of the pantry.Read More
I’m not quite sure what it was I made for dinner the night before we left for Christmas vacation. In the past, clean-out-the-fridge night, as my family knows it, usually features pasta or pizza dough on the main stage. But not this night. No, this particular night I very much wanted our 1-dish supper toRead More
For many kids, New Year’s Eve means chowing down on pizza and soda while watching movies with the babysitter. But my childhood tradition on December 31st was very different. For me, New Year’s Eve meant driving 2 hours into New York City to shop at the specialty market, Zabars. It meant donning my fanciest dress-upRead More
It’s raining in LA. In fact, it’s been raining in LA since about Friday. Wet. Cold. Rain. As a New England-er I shouldn’t be so put out by this. (Especially since my in-laws are on day 5 without electricity toughing-out New Hampshire’s ice storm.) But let me assure you it is quite easy to getRead More
…Wake up your kitchen!! Plug in the blender, dust-off the mixing bowls, and GET COOKING! Today’s lead story in at least two of the nation’s best food sections is enough to make restaurateurs, butchers, and gourmet artisans cringe: “From Dining Out to Cold Turkey“, headlines the New York Times. “Food Lessons from the Great Depression,”Read More
My great-grandmother DeeDee was born over a century ago. In the 90+ years of her life, she witnessed everything from the Great Depression (that’d be 1.0), and the golden years of Ford (not 2008), to the proliferation of telecommunications and the personal computer. She nearly saw Al Gore invent the Internet. But if there wasRead More
I spent the last 2 weeks eating my way through Paris, France and Piedmont, Italy. From steak tartare and moulles frites to fresh Genovese pesto and melt-in-your-mouth Barolo braised lamb, we ate some of the best meals of our lives. The trip was a gastronomic delight. When we arrived at our rustic agriturismo (a workingRead More