I cook because I love to eat. I garden because I love to cook.
As Covid continues to surge for the second winter, we unfortunately don’t expect to see many friends this holiday season, at least not up close and personal. That means any big New Year’s Eve plans may have to be put on hold yet again. And …
When we lived on St. Thomas in the Caribbean for two years in the mid-1990s, our favorite restaurant was not a local West Indian joint, but a Greek restaurant with the unoriginal name: Zorba’s. Despite this, we loved local food. A hearty serving of Bull …
I have this weird thing about salads. I eat them for lunch practically every day at work, but I can’t seem to find one worthy of serving to guests. My weekday salads may be Greek or Asian-influenced, Italian-esque with Emilio’s dressing or Caesar; all perfectly …
At Thanksgiving, the cranberry sauce doesn’t get a whole lot of respect. It’s different than the show off roast turkey, the over-achieving first child of the holiday. Nor is it like mashed potatoes, so smooth, buttery, and creamy, the youngest child who gets away with …
My wife sometimes calls me the Angry Chef. I guess it’s a nickname well deserved, but only from my past. Our first apartment together, in the early days, was the entire second floor of an old Victorian house on Long Island. We had a small …
Traditions and celebrations with friends and family are important; they are the joyous events on the horizon to which we all look forward. As last year was devoid of many of these festive occasions, we weren’t going to let our annual Early Thanksgiving dinner with …
I have never been much of a fish eater, and for that I blame my mother. Odd for someone trained as a marine biologist. But then again, I also don’t love boats (I get seasick) and I can’t spend too much time on the beach …
The story of Jimmy Nardello’s peppers is an immigrant tale. Giuseppe and Angella Nardello arrived from southern Italy in the late 1800s, immigrating to Naugatuck, Connecticut. With them they brought seeds from their Italian garden, including a sweet frying pepper. They grew these peppers to …
Once, when my son was young, I went to pick him up at the Long Island Fall Festival, but on the periphery, so as not to get entangled with traffic. As I drove up, he was walking down the street with his friend Sam and …
It’s been a doozy of a summer. Unbearably hot and humid on Long Island, where I live, we have been forced to use the air conditioner much more than usual. A passing hurricane this week, which fortunately did not amount to much, made things even …
