I cook because I love to eat. I garden because I love to cook.
When I was younger I could never get tomato sauce right; it was always thin and watery. I tried fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato puree…it just wasn’t right. I gave up, in part because almost every strip mall on Long Island, where I …
Every once in a while, a recipe jumps out from nowhere and sticks; it becomes an instant classic in my repertoire, one I make over and over. That is the case with Chicken Piccata. Many years ago, my wife and I were at a friend’s …
The first year I grew tomatillos, it was in a garden that happened to be on a nature preserve. I had a pretty good harvest. It was in the second year that I realized there was a problem. The tomatillos from the previous summer had …
As we cross the threshold from summer to fall, I am harvesting the last of my summer vegetables before cool-weather, fall crops ripen in earnest. There are a few cucumbers and tomatoes hanging on the withering vines, and I want to savor the last of …
My family loves pesto. It was the first meal I ever cooked for my wife, although she complained my pesto didn’t contain enough garlic. (Not a bad sign for a potential relationship.) Now we eat it on grown up grilled cheese sandwiches, sautéed veggies, and …
Let’s talk about a type of food that most people wouldn’t make, let alone eat. Let’s talk about chopped liver. (Some will stop reading right now. I admire those who proceed.) I understand its lack of appeal. It’s made from an organ that many Americans …
When I first met my wife, Marci, in graduate school, I courted her with food. I made everything from pesto to potato knishes, and omelets with beautiful fruit salads in the morning. I also made pico de gallo, a Mexican fresh salsa with chopped tomatoes, …
Labor Day weekend is upon us. You have been invited to a party, but you don’t feel like cooking. What should you prepare? Why not make it simple and interesting, something no one else will even consider? Why not bring fresh figs and feta? Late …
Some dishes are traditional, with ingredients that you know from experience, work well together. Caprese salad with summer tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella comes to mind. Others are wildly exciting because flavors that should clash actually work together beautifully. I had such a dish this …
Gardeners and gourmands wait all year for August tomatoes, and right now we are thick in the middle of tomato season. For many, they are the main event of the year; meaty and juicy, they are a gardener’s dream. Since they are so good and …
