I always crave seafood on summer weekends, and this afternoon I sautéed a soft-shell crab in lard to top roasted red potatoes with pesto. (Flour the crab, tap off excess, fry in two tablespoons of fat on high heat for two minutes a side.) Tempted to make pesto from whatever green winks at me in [...]

Setting the banana bread on the ledge to cool, I listened to the birds singing and sipped fresh buttermilk—the lagniappe from making butter yesterday (recipe). As it keeps, new butter weeps into the parchment paper wrapper—throwing off milk droplets—and it melts gracefully into warm bread with a crispy crust. Steadying food for a morning after [...]

I flew back tonight to be at Jean Marc and Daniel’s party. They forgave me for being late, and we all sat near the koi pool (I counted at least four separate pools), and after stuffed dates, chicken satay, and homemade pizza, there were beautiful cupcakes: This is to introduce Jean Marc and my new [...]