This recipe is largely in service of my favorite new technique for peeling tomatoes: with a blowtorch. The tip comes from a book I bought at Maker Faire called Chef’s Secrets, and Chef J. Bryce Whittlesey (who once worked at Keswick Hall near Charlottesville) instructs the reader that the blowtorch option prevents the tomato from [...]

I’ve always been fascinated by the Italian whey cheese ricotta and its ability to go from sweet to savory to salty (ricotta salata). Turns out ricotta is easy to make (with cow milk substituting for sheep). While it traditionally provides creamy inner layers for lasagna, fresh ricotta is even lovelier on top of pasta and [...]

The wild winds of Tropical Storm Fay are whipping around the magic cottage today. So we’re making my favorite breakfast food, pancakes, with crispy edges: Recipe: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt. Stir. Crack one egg in middle, add 1 cup buttermilk. Stir. Drop 1/8th cup circles in pan with [...]

Should you ever find yourself in possession of a decent amount of fresh conch, you might fritter away an afternoon and the edible mollusks… (Watch this episode in Vimeo HD here.) Recipe: Make a batter of 1 cup all-purpose flour, add 1 cup of a golden beer, dice and add 1/4 to 1/3 lb. conch [...]

A few weeks ago I moved to Miami for a fabulous new job; to quell bouts of Charlottesville homesickness, I’ve turned to my favorite comfort food: shrimp scampi. Using a pound of local bay shrimp from Casablanca Seafood Market, I add 1/8c of diced bacon, two cloves of chopped garlic, and the peeled shrimp to [...]