Recent Posts

Linguine with Roasted Red Peppers, Crabmeat & Basil

2012-08-10 09:57:34

This time of year, all I want to eat is fresh fish. Grilled whole, pan-seared, raw — I don’t care. Unfortunately, the markets in my town make this sort of desired eating an impossibility. Where I live, the freshest fish comes from a can. Fortunately, canned fish is rather good. I recently discovered Wild Planet read more »

Julia Child Notecards + Farro Salad with Roasted Corn, Red peppers & Red Onions

2012-08-03 01:43:08

Most of you know that Julia Child would have celebrated her 100th birthday this August 15th. For months, chefs, restaurants, bloggers and many others across the country have been paying tribute to her life and legacy. I joined in on the fun over at PBS, adding a tribute inspired by a favorite Julia Child quote: read more »

Fries with Lemon Salt & Rosemary

2012-07-27 12:05:19

Lemon sugar revolutionized baking for me. Lemon salt promises to do the same for everything else. Though my use of this flavored salt extends to this single recipe — “straw potatoes” seasoned with lemon salt (thanks to April Bloomfield) and fried with rosemary (thanks to Jamie Oliver) — the possibilities are endless. Salt might just read more »

Homemade Vanilla Extract, Moo Labels

2012-07-20 08:41:13

I know it’s hard to think about the holiday gift-giving season when it’s 1000 degrees outside, but if you’re the type that likes to be prepared, I suppose it’s never too early. Here’s a fun little project to undertake the next time you find yourself trapped indoors this summer: homemade vanilla extract. To start, you’ll read more »

Acrobatic Granola Bars

2012-07-15 09:20:17

At batch 25, I discovered what I wanted a granola bar to be able to do for me: a backbend. No, no — it’s not just that I’m overcome with Olympic spirit and am counting the seconds till I see tumblers spinning across my tv. Well, that too, but it’s mostly that I’ve realized that read more »

Maryland Crab Cakes

2012-07-10 23:45:05

My only goal for my week in Virginia Beach was to eat a good crabcake. Thanks to Dockside, I did. Broiled, lightly seasoned, meaty, the Dockside crabcake embodies everything I hope for in a crabcake. Finding myself dreaming about this delicacy upon returning home, I called Dockside to find out the details, which they so read more »

No-Knead Oatmeal Toasting Bread

2012-07-07 23:53:37

Before heading to the beach last week for a little vacation with the family, I spent some time in the kitchen preparing a few items to pack along: granola, granola bars (which, unfortunately, were inedible) and this no-knead oatmeal toasting bread, a tried-and-true family favorite. The goal was meal supplementation — to avoid eating every read more »

Homemade Tarragon Mayonnaise + A Squeeze of Lemon = Unbelievable Lobster Rolls

2012-07-03 22:16:10

With lobster rolls on my brain for weeks, it was high time to brush up on my homemade mayonnaise making. I took my mother’s advice and made Mark Bittman’s food processor mayonnaise, which, as my mother promised, was both delicious and foolproof thanks to a teeny hole in the food-pusher insert (see photo below). From read more »

Lemon Blueberry Crisp

2012-07-01 09:34:43

Several months ago I watched Dorie Greenspan make madeleines on the Martha Stewart Show. While the madeleines looked divine, what struck me most from her demonstration was her handling of the lemon zest. Rather than whisk the zest directly into the dry ingredients, she placed it in a small bowl with the sugar and massaged read more »

Benriner Mandoline & Turning Slicer, Kevlar Gloves

2012-06-26 10:30:24

Shortly after posting the summer squash spaghetti entry, I received a message on Facebook from a reader. It said: “I just ordered the mandoline! My husband is shaking his head. Just wait!” Shortly after reading the comment, a few images flashed through my head: a dismembered finger, an angry husband, and a couple sitting in read more »