Tilefish and fish cakes My cooking week began with blueline tilefish. Before getting involved in a CSF (that stands for community supported fishery which is like a CSA share but with fish and shellfish), I hadn’t ever heard of tilefish. Tilefish is a mild, white, flaky fish found along the east coast. Its diet of …
Anthony Bourdain. His death shattered me. He had gusto. Cook, writer, publisher, traveler and best dinner guest ever, I’m sure of it. My first introduction to this talented and fascinating man was his article in The New Yorker, Don’t Eat Before Reading This, back in 1999. Damn, has it been that long? A year later, Kitchen …
Last Sunday, I made slow cooker barbecue beef short ribs. I consulted two recipes—this one and this one—to come up with my own version so I could use what I had in the pantry instead of running to the store. Here’s the barbecue sauce recipe I developed for two pounds of ribs: 1/2 large onion, …
I’m noshing on rye scones with smoked gruyere and caramelized onions fresh from the oven as I write this. Scones get a bad rap because the ones you find in Starbucks and other bakery cases can sometimes be dry. But thanks to sour cream, cheese, butter and lots of caramelized red onion, these are divine. …
It’s been a week of leftovers and meals out except for one night when I made an old favorite – southwestern turkey and sweet potato skillet. Heat olive oil in a big high-sided pan and start adding these ingredients, letting each set cook before adding the next. ground turkey chopped onions, red bell and poblano …
I missed chatting with you last week. We spent a long weekend in the mountains of North Carolina so no blogging for me. We hiked Table Rock, the Chimneys trail in Linville Gorge, Hawksbill and, the highlight of the weekend, Profile trail up to Calloway Peak. Man oh man, that was a slog, but a …
Since St. Patrick’s Day (and weekend) is only a few days away—let’s get into the Irish spirit. I’ve got lamb and salmon on my shopping list, brown soda bread on my mind, Guinness in the refrigerator and a bottle of Bailey’s waiting for the right moment. My Irish spirit is strong since I’m three-quarters Irish, …
Good morning, fellow readers! I didn’t get as much book reading done this week, not sure why, so I’m still making my way through Kindred by Octavia Butler and Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi. I’m enjoying both of them, although I can only read Kindred during the day because I …
I’m ready for the weekend, aren’t you? And I’m luxuriating in the fact that I don’t have any plans. My time is all mine. I’m looking around my office right now and feel the urge to put things in order and declutter. And I’ll read, of course—got to fill the well. It’s going to be …
I started The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne last Saturday afternoon and finished it on Tuesday night—nearly 600 pages! It was that good. Depressing yet comical, deeply drawn protagonist alongside barely sketched caricatures—I want Maude Avery to have her own afternoon talk show!—an endearing journey through 70 years of a gay Irish man’s life …
Grabbing the Gusto 