Quail with Israeli Couscous
As a writer, even as a child, long before what I wrote began to be published, I developed a sense that meaning itself was resident in the rhythms of words and sentences and paragraphs, a technique for witholding whatever it was I thought or believed behind an increasingly impenetrable polish….
Kitchen Note: Pickled Lemons. Picked Garlic. Migraines.
So, if you’re American, on American soil, chances are good you’ve come through Thanksgiving. Congratulations. So, this migraine. There are migraines, and migraines. If you are a migraineur, you’re like, if she’s typing, it cannot be that bad. And you’re right: some migraines, it’s puke your way to the ER,…
Salsa Meatloaf with Tequila Canned Beans
“There is nothing like a visitor from another continent to confuse you about your own homeland…One night an Indian friend came to dinner…He asked me to help him figure out American cooking, at which point I drew a blank. He said: “I would like to cook some American dishes, but…
Rick Bayless’s Tomatillo Braised Pork Loin
No one understands and appreciates the American Dream of hard work leading to material rewards better than a non-American. The Ecuadorian, Mexican, Dominican, and Salvadorian cooks I’ve worked with over the years make most CIA-educated white boys look like clumsy, sniveling little punks. Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential Dishwashers are God’s…
Kitchen Note: Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
On October 24th I wrote: After a terrible year marked by personal ill health, widespread international suffering, and the loss of numerous beloved public figures, we at the IK are weary. We intend to have a little fun over the holidays, which will be spent à deux. To this end,…
Beef Poached in Rasam Broth
The mists of time (i.e. early October) saw your intrepid hostess driving to her local pharmacy. While waiting to fill her (ex) oral surgeon’s munificent 10-pill scrip, she hit the local bookshop, her intentions pure. You know, just window shopping. We all know where this is going. There on shelf sat…
Paula Wolfert’s Lamb Tagine
Wait a minute! Weren’t we here already? Indeed we were, just about a year ago to the day. But the recipes are different–Lamb Tagine With Preserved Lemon hails from Claudia Roden’s marvelous Book Of Middle Eastern Food. Today’s tagine comes from another seminal cookbook, Paula Wolfert’s Couscous And Other Good Food From Morocco. Fifty…
Kitchen Note: The Return Of The IK
Never, ever, tempt the tooth fairy by publicly announcing how very well you feel post-oral-surgery. The past two weeks–three weeks?– are a blur. Suffice to say the Insufficient Kitchen turned into the Insufficient Sickroom, with your hostess lurching blindly from bed to dentist and back again. One CT scan, a…
Kitchen Note: Soup. Lots of Soup
So…hi. I opened the blog just now and was astonished to see people are still reading…I mean, the prevailing wisdom out there in blogland is post regularly or wither on the virtual vine. And nobody can say I’ve been posting regularly lately. Thank you for reading anyway. Where’ve I been?…
Brasato after Judy Rodgers
10-7-16. I’d like to take an editorial moment here to thank a friend who notes that after all my hemming and hawing about the pig’s foot, below, I neglect to include it in the braise. Such are the perils of a one-woman show. I only wish I could pay…
