Monday was Rosh Hashana dinner at my parents’ house across town, and as I was leaving for the night, my mom, as she is wont to do, shoved a fully wrapped, untouched round challah into my hands. “Take it!” The first thing I thought was not thank you or are you sure you don’t want it but cinnamon-apple bread pudding…. Read more »
Since we became parents, we’ve kept a running list unofficially titled: Things That Sound Like Fun with Kids, But Are Actually Not at All.* Parades fall into this category. Street fairs. Any event with the words “Harvest Fest” in its name. Beach day-trips made a brief appearance on the list, when Phoebe was four months old and we decided it… Read more »
I’ve only watched The Simpsons a few times in my life, but I vividly recall an episode where Homer stands in front of his bathroom mirror shaving. As soon as he puts down the razor and towels his face dry, his six-o-clock shadow emerges as gray and shady as it was before he began. I mention this here because I,… Read more »
A few years ago my coworker Alex was describing a friend of his — let’s call her Anya. While Alex sat in Anya’s kitchen he watched as she removed a homemade pie crust from the freezer, rolled it out, peeled and sliced a few Cortland apples right into the middle of the dough, sprinkled them with cinnamon, butter, sugar, nutmeg…. Read more »
I love this dinner. I’ve been making some variation of it for fifteen years — in fact I almost want to make the claim that it was the first recipe I had ever clipped from the New York Times Dining Section (technically the “Living” section back then…God I’m old) and cooked in my Upper East Side roach-infested studio. The fact… Read more »
Last fall, my friend Kate and I were driving north on the Saw Mill Parkway in New York when she started talking about the meals she makes for her 9-year-old son. “He’s vegetarian-ish,” she said, “but not vegetarian, so I make him really basic things.” Like what? I asked. “Oh, like lentils in bone broth, cheddar-corn pancakes with buttermilk and… Read more »
Happy Weekend, Everybody. Two new things. As of today, I’m going to be sending out this trusty Friday round-up in newsletter form — so if you’d like it delivered straight to your inbox, be sure to submit your email in the sign-up box up in the upper right corner. Next, I’m introducing a new feature, “Book Dispatch,” which will be… Read more »
You would be forgiven if you looked at this picture and didn’t believe it was real. Today, a little over a month after my family has returned from a vacation in Switzerland, I’m wondering if it was all a dream myself. Before we left, a lot of people asked us why we decided on Switzerland, specifically the Bernese Oberland, and… Read more »
Since it’s been at least a week since I’ve posted an egg-topped something or other, I thought I’d share my new favorite salad: Microgreens or sprouts (your favorite, these are arugula) tossed with a rice-wine-based-vinaigrette, a wedged avocado, a seven-minute egg, and a generous shake of Furikake. I made the salad alongside an impromptu family brunch a few weeks ago,… Read more »
What I’m eating and reading this week: You Don’t Need a Recipe! Have you seen this special section? It’s a collection of Sam Sifton’s “no-recipe” recipes culled from his popular cooking newsletter, and includes a few dozen recipes that are simple enough to improvise if you have the most basic skills and ingredients on hand. Think Roasted Fish with Ginger, Scallions, and… Read more »
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that for the past few years, right around this time in January — just after the holidays, when the cold is burrowing deep into our bones and our next vacation feels far far away — is when we sit at the kitchen table, four laptops open to google maps, calendars, camp websites and Orbitz,… Read more »
Traveling with teenagers is different than traveling with young kids, but one thing that never changes is that feeling you get when their reaction to experiencing a city or an adventure for the first time is exactly what you had hoped it would be. The first time I went to Austin — maybe five years ago — I remember wandering… Read more »
This past August, my family was lucky enough to travel to Rome and Sicily, a dream vacation that checked all the boxes: Culture, coastlines, family roots, and carbs. So very many carbs! Today’s highlight reel is an attempt to capture Part 1 of the trip, three-and-a-half days in Rome. Part 2 was Sicily. If you are going to Rome, there is… Read more »
As loyal readers probably know, we here in Dinner: A Love Story Land love our homemade pudding. I started making it when the girls were little as an easy way to get them to “drink their milk” — the recipe calls for 2 cups of organic milk — but over the years we’ve adultified it (yes, adultified is a word…as… Read more »
It’s September, which means it’s time for another recipe from Leah Koenig, my go-to source for the Jewish holidays and beyond. (Remember her fattoush? I make that throughout tomato season.) I’m pleased to let you know that this year, Leah herself is making a cameo on DALS, talking about a favorite topic of mine (family traditions) along with what is soon… Read more »
I am so psyched to present today’s guest-poster, my friend and reading guru Catherine Hong. You already know and love her because she writes the childrens’ book blog, Mrs. Little and because she’s an OG DALS favorite. (Could she be any cuter in this sleepaway camp shot circa early 80s?) Her family’s reading line-up right now is so perfectly summer — graphic novels, adventures,… Read more »
Like the rest of the world, I was shocked to hear the news about Anthony Bourdain this morning. He first came into my life in the 90s when Andy’s urbane older brother took us to Les Halles, Bourdain’s Park Avenue bistro that made me feel like such a cosmopolitan. A few years later, I read “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,”… Read more »
This is a very exciting day for me. Not only do I get to tell you about Curtis Sittenfeld’s brand new short story collection — You Think It, I’ll Say It, my favorite of all the books she’s written — it is the day that the real life Curtis Sittenfeld makes a cameo on Dinner: A Love Story. Yes, that’s right…. Read more »
Welcome! I’m Jenny, author of Dinner: A Love Story and Dinner: The Playbook More
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