Shiny kosher salt crusted the top of warm banana bread I pulled from the oven on Sunday morning, comforting in drizzly weekend weather. Later that afternoon, I approached the tall stacks of books in piles around the apartment, turning the oven back on to roast tomatillos and pork shoulder, tossing halved brussel sprouts and cauliflower [...]

I like purple, which means I especially like purple food. Sometimes I devise ways to turn food purple—like this afternoon, when market eggs were stained crimson making the classic French “oeufs en meurette.” An excellent use for leftover red wine, I like the tradition of crisping bread slices in oil, creating a bed at the [...]

A dinner party in Manhattan has such the ring to it—Karen’s white table was set with tulips, and she was wonderfully relaxed as she opened the door and welcomed in an eclectic group of friends. Cucumber salad appeared next to the tulips, along with a Chinese apple and fennel salad, and beets with goat cheese. [...]

Before leaving for a jazz club last night, I decided on local Blue Point oysters for the middle of the week—truly, the act of purchasing and then shucking even one oyster makes the food that follows more special. Then, as I didn’t have the time to soak white beans, I opened a jar of my [...]

My birthday began on Friday, as my wonderful PopTech co-workers surprised me with a beautiful chocolate-cassis torte with gold leaf from Almondine Bakery, with chocolate so fine you could almost see your reflection, and then, on cue, spring finally arrived over the weekend, and trees began to bud, peach blossoms and potted flowers appeared at [...]