Practically the first thing I did when I got home Saturday night was make dinner. Headed for a basic tomato sauce with spaghetti, I ended up with Amatraciana (just red onion, bacon, hot pepper and tomatoes). The recipe is in http://www.amazon.com/Lucindas-Rustic-Italian-Kitchen-Lucinda/dp/0471793817. And, thanks to hubs excellent shopping which he did before heading out on a… View Article

Ok, first things first. Lets get the Thomas Keller Bouchon Beverly Hills opening out of the way. One free night in L.A and we went there. Red carpet, celebrities, photog’s galore etc. but it’d be way too L.A. to name them all. What I do care about is the kitchen, the legendary efficiency etc, all… View Article

I’m not gonnna lie, going to the White House for the first time was a bit of a thrill–hence the cheezy cell phone pic. In all my travels, I’ve missed D.C. so we had a lot to cover in our few free hours. The usual local morning shows all had an edge, with a tinge… View Article

Loving the vibe of historic Philadelphia but more on that later. After recording the Chef’s Table on NPR, I mentioned to the host that I was headed to Jim’s for a real Philly Cheesesteak to which she strongly admonished me to reconsider. Hers is a mission to recrown Philly with another sandwich, her favorite, a… View Article

From Portland, Maine (above with my family–mom Rose in black) last Friday until now–getting to St. Louis from Minneapolis was the only nightmare travel experience of the whole week. A series of 5-minute-too late events meant a missed flight/mad turbulence once we did get airborne and a general anxt-ridden morning which began at 5:00 am…. View Article

One of the zany things about visiting TV stations across the country is coming across so much local talent/news folks/producers/and various other denizens of morning television. Here in Minneapolis, our escort/food team of Isabel and Tim are so well liked and friendly that we’ve had a really fun morning. Pictured above is Lois, one of… View Article

Thanks to another awesome indie book store, Davis Kidd for hospitality and good folks. Am psyched that Catherine, from the staff bought Mad Hungry and actually stocked her pantry from the books Guy Pantry suggestions: ready to cook any time. Had a mirror image fam in the audience: tall dad and 3 young boys too…. View Article

Nashville has a very cool vibe which you begin to pick up right away. Thankfully we made our 7:10 flight out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Podcast, talk and signing at the A2 library was so well organized. You can check it out on their website if interested. But, was so happy my cousin Tom… View Article

Ann Arbor Library’s Jenny Hoffman kindly gave up her Sunday aft to get us to Ann Arbor where our first stop was legendary Zingerman’s Deli, zingermans.com in Ann Arbor for Pastrami and Corned Beef Sandwiches and Latkes (served with Calder sour cream): what a crazy little place full of personality, great cheeses, and local honeys,… View Article

Harvest on the Harbor, Portland Maine: a food fest where I’m at. Last night, after a couple local TV gigs (here with kathleen/207 from WCSH and John from WPXT ) we had a great demo/signing where we made, Shrimp Scampi, Carmelized Cauliflower(from MH), Gnocchi with Pesto and Beef Braciole (the last 2 from Lucinda’s Authentic… View Article

For a New York City girl whose watched her local libraries reduce their hours, staff, locations etc., it was with utter amazement that we pulled up to the brand new Darien, CT library for a book signing. The architecture, space, light and bustling activity are incredible. Yes, this fortunate town privately funded it which is… View Article

The Kiln and The Kitchen workshop: Good Hope, JAThe Jerk Pit at Scotchie’s Teaching and cooking in Jamaica last year was fun AND hot (in all senses of the word)! Why Jamaica? Just because I love it. From this little dot in the middle of the ocean comes many, many riches: music, architecture, literature, a… View Article

Much has been said, written, blogged, tweeted etc about the demise of Gourmet magazine. And, for the record, (since many people have asked me how I feel about it) we food folk in my day job at Martha Stewart Living are heartbroken. Gourmet often inspired us and always provoked us to dig deeper, reach higher… View Article

If you’ve read the last few MH blog/FB posts you might regard me as a New York Times recipe beeatch but, it’s not true. Maybe we’ve tried 6-7 recipes over the last couple years and many have fallen short for different reasons. But, there have been a few stand-outs like this Hainanese Chicken with Rice… View Article

The platform: summer. The train: fall. Just when I’m ready to let go, another couple tomatoes ripen on the withering vines, the chive stays strong but the parsley is saying bye-bye. Have been hedging me bet as to when to chop down all the basil until Elaine Louie published the Orzo+pesto recipe in the New… View Article

For anyone who doesn’t know, breakfast must be eaten by emerging beings, especially the boy variety. If you make it they will come. When they eat it they will know: functionality improves. It took years of crappy cereal buying to realize the value of homemade granola. Ingredients can be controlled and slightly varied for weekly… View Article

Capt. McClusky mentions favorably what dish at the restaurant in which he will eventually be murdered alongside Sollozzo by Michael?