Mock Porchetta
Judy Rodgers, writing in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, describes mock porchetta as A very modest, very manageable interpretation of the Tuscan “big pig” that few Americans, or Italians, could ever manage at home. Indeed, this comparatively diminutive roast is nothing if manageable–making it my go-to dinner party dish for decades….
leftover rice
Apologies for the quiet. My computer decided to stop working properly, and the people I hired to repair it made it worse. My photos are safe, but I can’t upload all of them right now. So we’ll limp through together, okay? — Every rice-eating culture in the world has devised…
Fast Flatbread
I can’t tell you how often I’ve searched my cookbooks for the ideal flatbread recipe. By ideal, I mean a recipe you can mix, roll, bake, and eat in under an hour. Further, this recipe must use pantry ingredients and have a low yield. Why a low yield? We are…
Halvah Brownies
Every night after dinner I ask John what he wants for dessert. And every night, he asks if we have any brownies. By brownies he means: do we have any home-baked brownies? Specifically, David Lebovitz’s recipe for Dave And Kate’s Remarkable Brownies? Fortunately, the recipe requires little by way of skill…
About Bitter Melon
To this day, the post for bitter melon curry remains one of my most popular. Every time I post a picture of bitter melon on Instagram, people ask about it. So I thought I’d discuss it a bit more here. Bitter melon is a member of the gourd family. Jennifer…
Patatas Bravas
Long ago, when your hostess was a baby cook with a very skinny boyfriend, she tore this patatas bravas recipe from a magazine. I made patatas bravas a few times, and we enjoyed them, but the instructions call for a food processor. Lacking one, I instead used a mini-chopper,…
Velvet Pork Pie
As the new year begins with its resolutions to diet, go vegan, or otherwise engage in punishing cleanses, the IK brings you meatloaf, Chinese style. Meatloaf, aka velvet pork pie, isn’t very exciting, but sometimes not very exciting is good. I mean, I don’t know about you, but around here,…
Sauteed Chicken Livers
Chicken livers were standard fare during my childhood. Nobody was freaked by their being offal. Nor were they cooed over as nose-to-tail eating, because the concept didn’t exist yet. Back then, people just ate. We also walked miles in the snow. Back then there was snow to walk in. But…
Spinach with cheese and garlic
A few nights ago your hostess was paging through Ruth Reichl’s Comfort Me With Apples when she happened across a recipe entitled “Dottie’s Spinach.” The original recipe fed six people and calls for a head of garlic, an amount some may find overwhelming, especially during the holidays, generally considered a…
Surviving the Holidays
One day my kindergarten teacher put some clay out for us to play with. I was thrilled until some boys started flinging it at each other. I crept outside to hide by the milk machine. The milk machine stood just outside the classroom door. It was tall and cool and…
