I’m pleased to announce that, as of Monday, my annual cookbook round-up for the Times Book Review is live and ready for your reading pleasure. As you know, I always love this assignment, not only because I get to pore over beautiful books all spring, but because it really forces me to cook outside my comfort zone, to seek out new… Read more »
Last week, in my Friday round-up, I linked to a recipe on Nate Appleman’s instagram feed and said it would be on this week’s line-up. I’m pleased to report that I am ahead of schedule on that one, making it not only once, but twice in two days this past weekend. Above is our chicken version of the salad-y dish,… Read more »
I would say up at the top of the list of Reader FAQs, maybe after “What can I make with chicken breasts?” but before “Can you recommend a good book for my kid?” is this: “Where should I vacation with my family?” It’s an excellent question, and one we’ve tried to answer over the past seven years in travel posts here… Read more »
My father’s mother, Grandma Tillie, didn’t attend my parents’ wedding. She was Jewish, raised in an Orthodox household by parents who had been born in a Romanian shtetl—and her oldest son marrying a Presbyterian from western Pennsylvania had not exactly been her idea of kosher. Naturally, her wedding-day protest weighed heavily on my father, but once my parents tied the… Read more »
If you want to learn how to make sushi rolls in your own house, the first piece of advice I have for you is this: Don’t ever watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Actually, scratch that: Watch it, because it’s one of the greatest documentaries I’ve ever seen, but then try to push Jiro — the sushi chef whose Michelin-starred restaurant… Read more »
Once, back in the days when I used to assemble after school snack platters, I presented my go-to dutiful little display of apples and peanut butter and set it on the table before the girls. Phoebe grabbed one or two but Abby stood up and started scanning the pantry. “What’s the matter?” I asked. “You don’t like apples and peanut… Read more »
You should see my freezer right now. There are amorphous Ziplocks of homemade chicken stock, a bag of pre-soaked beans, a bag of fully baked beans, some shredded chicken from taco night last month, a single sausage here, a chicken drumstick there, a sliced mini loaf of the crazy delicious Danish rye bread from Great Northern Food Hall (so good with… Read more »
Here in the Northeast this time of year, under perpetually slate-gray winter skies, “market inspiration” can be a bit hard to come by. Feels like it’s all bagged salads and overpriced out-of-season raspberries in our house, as we countdown 33 days, 4 hours, and 17 minutes til spring. But you’d never know there was any inspiration issue over at Kitchen… Read more »
Back in the fall, Christina Chaey, an editor at Bon Appetit presented me with a challenge: How would you stretch $30 at Whole Foods into five family dinners? My first reaction: HAHAHAHAHAHA! Can’t be done. (Whole Paycheck anyone?) My second: You know…this kind of use-it-or-lose-it exercise is always useful, no matter where I’m shopping. Plus, I had just returned from… Read more »
Lest I miss out on all of the Year-in-Review fun that everyone seems to be having as we wrap up yet another one, I thought I’d try something a little radical: Present all the dinners I cooked in 2016, as recorded in my Dinner Diary. I know: Super exciting! But the headlines this year were so boring and business-as-usual, so what… Read more »
Welcome to our annual guide for everything we want, covet, crave, and, yes need this holiday. (I don’t know about you, but in my world, little tiny spoons qualify as essential.) As always, the round-up was compiled with cooks, eaters, readers, kids, and parents in mind, and as always, there are lots of free little treats and discounts for YOU sprinkled throughout, so… Read more »
When I mention the city of Austin, what is the first thing that comes to mind? (By mind, I of course mean mouth.) Barbecue? Brisket? Tacos? Migas? Franklin’s legendarily eternal lines? Me speaking at the amazing Texas Book Festival last month hawking my book? (A great CyberWeek price at Amazon right now BTW:)) You wouldn’t be faulted for thinking any… Read more »
It’s a little crazy how long it took me to come upon this rather basic chicken dinner given my 13-year-old practically short-circuits with glee anytime she sees honey-mustard on a menu. A green salad tossed with honey-mustard dressing? Heaven. A fleet of deep-fried chicken fingers served with honey-mustard dip? Jackpot. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure her… Read more »
I am so excited to continue my Family Rituals Series featuring the one and only Joanna Goddard. You probably know her as the creator/empress behind Cup of Jo, which is not so much a lifestyle blog as it is a thrice-daily fix that her zillion zealous fans (including yours truly) crave like junkies. I am grateful to her for that, of course,… Read more »
This post has been in my queue for six months now. I added it back in March, was when I was madly cooking my way through spring’s cookbook offerings so I could write about the best ones for The Book Review. As you may recall, the dinner table was getting a major shot of adrenaline during the testing phase. There were… Read more »
In accordance with the Louis CK mantra of “It’s hard to be sad and useful at the same time,” I decided that instead of mourning summer’s end, I’d channel my woes* into something productive, namely, a Weekly Meal Plan that should help you get back into the lunch-making, shoe-tying, carpool-dreading, form-signing (form-forgetting?) crazy-making back-to-school routine. The line-up is below — as usual,… Read more »
Who: The Family DALS What: Dumpling Dinner When: Wednesday Early Evening, Day 4 of a 6-Day, 90-Plus Degree Heat Wave Where: Somewhere in Suburban New York Why: Try them 6:30 I guess I should think about dinner. 6:31 Open fridge. Summer spinach, almost wilted, staring at me. Quick scan reveals heel of cabbage, bag of organic (yet still tasteless) shredded… Read more »
Here on DALS, veteran readers might have guessed by now, I’ve attempted to solve a whole range of dinner quandaries, from the quick-and-dirty meals you need in your arsenal on a Tuesday night, to the turkey you need in the center of the table on Thanksgiving. Amazingly, though, in the nearly 950 (!) posts I’ve written here, I’ve never once… Read more »
Welcome! I’m Jenny, author of Dinner: A Love Story and The Weekday Vegetarians More
