Kitchen re-thinks
I had a dinner party this weekend. There were 10 of us (plus my teenage son), and we had a blast. I barely cooked at all - just some dessert, a pork roast, and some grissini - because everybody brought something. The…
Shelf Life With Susie
Faster! Easier! Simpler!
At the end of this month, Nigel Slater's Eat will be published (in the U.S., anyway. I think it came out in fall of last year in the UK). I'm a fan of most Slateriana, so when the book arrived this week, I dove right…
Weeknight cookbooks: two approaches
The days may still be long, with a hot still afternoon and crickets in the middle, but the pace of school and work is picking up for everyone. Cooking's more of a crunch. And though you sometimes get an inspiration for…
Get cultured
You guys! I made yogurt! and it was easy! The whole yogurt-making adventure started one weekend this summer when we were staying at a family friends' house for a family wedding, and were treated to a sumptuous breakfast…
Spices and spice books
Learning to use spices better has been a lifelong ambition for me - and many other cooks, no doubt. I always used to have a sort of anxious feeling about the spice cabinet - what's in there? how old is it? is it still…
Here come the blog books!
Maybe it's my imagination, but August and September seem to be a fertile time for new book offerings from food bloggers - they're popping up like mushrooms after a summer storm. The blockbusters may come in October and…
The many faces of pie
Not that pies have ever really been out of fashion (maybe for just 5 minutes around the year 2000 when everybody dropped their carbs like a - well, like a hot potato). But this summer, it has sometimes seemed as though…
Soft spots
When it comes to apples, I have a definite weakness. It doesn't matter that apple season is only in the fall, or that of the 8 or so apple trees we've planted, only two have survived, and that those two successfully…
Dinner with friends - potluck or theme?
My favorite way to see my friends is to get together for dinner. I love going to other people's beautiful, clean houses and bringing dessert or drinks or sides. I love having people to our messy, chaotic house and…
The cilantro cuisines
I sometimes think of it as the "Cilantro belt" - the band of nations falling between 15 and 30 degrees north of the equator. You know, Mexico, Cuba, Morocco, India, Thailand, and many many more. It's not that all dishes…
Reference vs. selection in cookbooks
Today, I opened a book package and found a square-formatted paperback entitled, simply, Shake. Without looking at the title, the flap, the press release, or the back cover, I started thumbing through the pages…
What's an hour worth?
It's summer here in the northern hemisphere, and the days are long. Well, they may not actually be longer - most of us are still awake roughly 16 hours of the day - but they feel longer because the sun's with us for so…