Cornmeal Lime Shortbread Fans
Recipe first, blah, blah, blah later. God I'm already so tired of sweets and it's only December 11th. But we must persevere. There are so many cookies, candies and pies to eat before we're done. This recipe was part of a brilliant article by the brilliant...
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
One of my favorite things in the world are the Lemon Ricotta pancakes at Sarabeth's Kitchen. Unfortunately the closest Sarabeth's to me is the one on the Upper West Side and it's a 12 hour and 45 minute drive. So I have been meaning to try to recreate them at home...
Cheesy Broccoli or Cauliflower Casserole
There's nothing bad about broccoli in a creamy cheese sauce with buttery breadcrumbs on top. Nothing. But it could be better. It's hard to put my finger on what's missing. I think I wanted bigger, more hearty pieces of broccoli when what I ended up with was...
Quick Chickpea and Spinach Stew (or Making a Blender Murderer)
This is so good I'm almost able to forgive it for breaking my blender. And it is the absolute perfect food for January. It will warm you and comfort you and fortify you against any arctic blasts you may have to fight this month. And all while making up for...
Perfect Easy Red Sauce and Pasta with Caramelized Eggplant and Rich Tomato Sauce
I'm combining my notes on these two recipes because one is really a variation on the other. One of the most brilliant recipes of all time is Marcella Hazan's Tomato Butter Sauce [no recipe even needed: put a can of whole tomatoes (28 oz.), 4 tablespoons of butter, and...
Cranberry Sauce with Cider and Cinnamon
For my daughter this is the undisputed highlight of our Christmas dinner and one of her all-time favorite foods. I have been making it for years from a photocopy from a cookbook whose title had been cut off from the copy (or "Xerox" as we used to call them. Heh heh....
Dry-Brined Turkey
Photo: Evan Sung for the New York Times I think I'm done searching for the be-all and end-all turkey. Right here, this is it. Probably the best turkey I've ever made and I've made a few. I was a devotee of Cook's Illustrated's wet brine for many, many years and it...