I've been in Paris nearly two weeks now and so far only indulged in oysters once. It was at a tiny, bright, delightful little spot in the Latin Quarter that I'd read about in research, Huitrerie Régis. Got there just after doors opened at 6:30 on Saturday evening and scored the best among just about 7 two-tops. Never been to a place with as limited a menu (not counting a hot dog cart), it's ALL about the oysters, plus shrimp ...
It's not me making that decision -- it was a panel of illustrious judges who convened last month to sample over 150 entries for this year's Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Française de la Ville de Paris. It was just delightful timing that the news of this year's winner came shortly before I left, so the winner was quickly noted on my to-do list for time in Paris. And it's where ...
It's been the case at every party in recent memory that I've been at when deviled eggs are on hand. They're simply a magnet. There may be tons of other great food on hand, but folks spring into action around those eggs...and the plate's usually the first one to be emptied. I'll admit to having a bit of an eagle-eye for them. When someone new arrives at the door and I see ...
I’m not a big dessert person. I won’t pretend that I never order it when out for dinner. Key words like “caramel” or “ice cream” or “coconut” will often at least pique my attention. But more often than not I’ll just nibble a bit of cheese with my husband after dinner, or simply linger over the last of my wine and skip that final course. That being said, at the close of a recent dinner at the charming and delightful ...
My husband and I still remember that first meal we had at Rover's. It was August, 1988. We were both having grumpy weeks, didn't like our jobs, whatever the grievance. So we played hooky that lovely sunny day and walked onto the Bainbridge ferry to escape a bit, wander Winslow, explore the beach. Then a huge treat that evening to cheer us up even more: dinner at Rover's. They had a larger outdoor patio then, it was years before the renovation ...
It's kind of funny to me that this month I've been talking up game-day snacks as much as I have. A few years ago my cookbook Gourmet Game Night was released and I spent a lot of time explaining that the "game" I had in mind was Scrabble or dominoes, rather than venison or football. Though in truth, the latter was a least a close approximation. Whether our attention is directed at watching a football game or playing a poker game, the ultimate ...
Spanish potato chips cooked in extra virgin olive oil, crackers made with pilsner and porter beers, crunchy seaweed snacks coated with rice flour, and countless variations on flavored popcorn--it was quite the snacker's paradise among the vast array of products at this year's Fancy Food Show, which wrapped up this week in San Francisco. Sounds like fun, I'm sure, but my visit really was work....
It was a simple enough question, but it caught me off guard. "Can you recommend a cookbook for the basics, for someone starting out in the kitchen?" Paraphrased, that's what was posed to me by someone a few weeks ago at one of my book signings. Um. Well. Gee. I told her about Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, but ...
Having just completed a few months of heavy-duty (and fun) promotion of my latest book, it's probably no surprise I've been deeply engrossed in salty snacks lately. When demonstrating or sampling a recipe from the book , the key is to represent the books recipes exactly as written to give folks an authentic taste of results they can expect. Which can take a bit of discipline on my part -- when I'm off the cookbook-author clock, I rarely cook a ...
You know, me and my kitchen -- we're pretty close. I've been with this one for over a dozen years and we've been through a lot together. Lots of laughs and fun times, some long cooking marathons, writing a bunch of cookbooks (10 maybe?), a few challenges working to get recipes just right (or, coming to terms with a recipe that just won't ever get to "quite right"), many explorations of new techniques/ingredients/preparations. The physical presentation of the room ...
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