I cook because I love to eat. I garden because I love to cook.
My favorite restaurant in Huntington, New York, where I live, closed about 10 years ago. The Cooke’s Inn was a quirky place, run by an imaginative owner. Juanita Cooke was a retired 6th grade teacher who lined the walls of the restaurant with children’s books. …
When we visit my parents in Philadelphia, we always go out to our favorite Chinese restaurant, Lee How Fook. We’ve been dining there literally for decades. They immediately bring a pot of hot tea for the table, and for my mother, without asking, a pot …
This summer amid the pandemic, my college-age daughter was stranded at home like many of her generation. An internship was not in the cards, so she kept busy with a small, online, used clothing business she created. Likewise, her friend from Brooklyn wanted to get …
Sometimes a simple salad will suffice. And this one, with its crunchy vegetables, sweet, nutty dressing, and firm-textured tofu, is good any day of the week. I usually make this salad within a day of visiting an Asian grocery store, where I can get perfectly …
Tomatoes and arugula are a match made in heaven; the juicy sweetness of tomatoes and the spicy bite of arugula. The problem is, the peak of tomato season in the garden does not coincide with maximum arugula production. Tomatoes are best before nights get too …
There are lots of factors that influence and inspire me when I cook and develop a recipe, but it’s rarely a name. Maybe I enjoyed a dish in a restaurant that I want to re-create at home. Or perhaps I saw a picture in a …
In the early 1990s, when my wife and I first moved in together, we rented the second floor of a big, old Victorian house painted white with brown trim, with creaky steps and uneven floors. Our landlord, Carmine, lived next door and our kitchen window …
Of all of the characteristics that make a morsel of food desirable, crispy bits reign supreme. I love the texture and flavor they bring to my dishes. Diners search it out in all kinds of foods, from the curliest, folded over potato chip in the …
What’s so difficult about Greek salad? It’s a salad with feta cheese. Right? Well, yes, but there’s more to it. I find there are a few simple tricks to go from a perfectly acceptable salad with feta cheese to a truly delicious Greek salad. First …
My daughter, Ariana, is a first-year college student, and has become a master at creating meals using improvisation. With her “to go” container the college gives every student, she packs a wide range of items from the college cafeteria and whips up late night meals …
