Some people have their broccoli-cheese casserole; I have this: penne with blue cheese and broccoli. It’s filled with the same comforting overload of starch and gooey cheese but has an added element of danger provided by tangy blue cheese and generously-applied red pepper flakes. I’ve been making this dish for years – I distinctly remember […]

The absolute nadir of last year’s ill-conceived Five Days of Squash was my squash enchiladas. Coated in too little sauce and packed with tough greens (and their even tougher stems) that had no possibility of getting tender, the resulting squash enchiladas were bad enough to turn me off to the concept for at least a […]

In one of my first posts on this blog I declared my love for harissa, the spicy North African red pepper spread. Since then I have strayed a bit: our jar of harissa run out, I began to flirt with other spicy red pastes — I was not immune the the trendy allure of sriracha. […]

Instead of trick-or-treating, Martha and I are celebrating this devilish night with a taste of Satan’s Whiskers. Satan’s Whiskers (From: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh a.k.a. Dr. Cocktail) ½ oz gin ½ oz dry vermouth ½ oz sweet vermouth ½ oz orange juice 2 tsp orange curaçao 1 tsp orange bitters Shake […]

I wish I could tell you that what follows is my grandmother’s world-famous recipe for beef tongue, a treasured family secret passed down through the generations. It is not. While I expect my grandma has a beef tongue recipe – she grew up on a farm, after all – that recipe would never have made […]

For someone who basically refused the meal as a teenager, as an adult breakfast has captured a special place in my heart. Part of the reason for this must be my discovery that breakfast needn’t involve sickly sweet grains swimming in milk – I prefer butter and salt to jam and honey on the breakfast […]

My family is not Greek, but one of my favorite dishes my mom made when I was  growing up was moussaka – I’m not sure where or why she got the recipe. The version she made was roughly the Greek one, layered and and served warm (but there are many different versions). I wasn’t striving […]

Another week, another trip to the farmers market, another six ears of sweet corn. Maybe you’re one of those stolid types that needn’t go beyond the perfection of an ear of fresh corn, boiled and slathered in butter, salt and pepper, but after a few weeks of that routine I’m ready for a change of […]

When I travel – which happens far too infrequently for my taste – I focus on the food. That’s probably not surprising. The problem with falling in love with the food of a place that, due to a lack of funds or time I won’t be visiting again in the near future, is the cravings. […]

Perhaps you hadn’t noticed, but I haven’t been posting much lately. This is mostly for positive reasons: fun and interesting social engagements, steadily progressing training runs in anticipation of a marathon in October, excellent meals eaten outside the home, all working together to spare you of my culinary musings. Related to the aforementioned activities or […]