Search Results for: corn

‘Top Chef’ at Home

It was only Tuesday, so in theory, there should’ve been options when I opened the refrigerator to figure out dinner. Didn’t we just go shopping, like, yesterday? At this point in my life, I’m no longer surprised to see Phoebe eat her way through a gigantic container of pineapple chunks before we’ve even finished unpacking groceries. But dinner staples? That’s… Read more »

Only Assembly Required

We had a few out-of-town friends over this past weekend for cocktails and snacks — for no real reason other than I hadn’t seen a bunch of them in a while and because…well, because I felt like it. There were pitchers of pre-made Manhattans (thank you Andy) and a ton of food, but the corner of the spread that I… Read more »

Vacation Highlight Reel: Miami

 So remember all that stuff I wrote about how much we love staying in rentals or Airbnbs when we travel? How, that way, we get to really immerse ourselves in our new environment and are more apt to explore markets and neighborhoods and discover real local flavor? Well, I take it all back — at least for now, while I’m… Read more »

Behind the Scenes with a Chopped Junior Champ

Those of you who are Chopped Junior fans (or have kids who are Chopped Junior fans) might recognize this young lady from last month’s battle, where she minced and sautéed her way to victory over three other (adorable) aspiring tween chefs. Me? I just know her as 12-year-old Elizabeth, the kid who lives around the corner, my daughter’s oldest friend, her… Read more »

Resolved: Be Good…Most of the Time

Am I the only one who finds it really irritating that New Year’s and all its attendant cayenne-spiked-lemon-water dieting resolutions happen to fall right in the dead of winter…precisely when the weather is demanding you soothe yourself every night with stewy braised meats over creamy polentas or potatoes? Polished off with the brownies that your kids made earlier that afternoon… Read more »

10 Things to Do Now to Get a Grip on Thanksgiving

When I say 10 things, what I really mean to say is, Choose two or three things from this list of ten so you can trick yourself into feeling a little bit more in control of things. I woke up this morning in a panic. For the first time ever, I ordered a pasture-raised turkey from a local farm, but… Read more »

5 Food Lessons Learned from Kids’ Books

When you finished Catcher in the Rye as a teenager, did you feel like someone finally understood your misunderstood self…OR were you captivated by Holden Caulfield’s go-to restaurant order: “a Swiss cheese sandwich and a malted milk?” When you read (or saw) Silence of the Lambs, were you amused by Hannibal Lecter’s famous line — “I ate his liver with some… Read more »

Pizza of the Week

This would be the best dinner if only: a) My kids ate it b) My husband ate it The photo you’re looking at up there is from last fall, snapped just before it was greeted at the table by: a) “So where’s the rest of dinner?” b) general guttural groaning I’ve held on to the photo and recipe all year,… Read more »

Slow-Cooker Apple Butter

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 »

Celebrating America’s Best New Restaurants

Here’s something kind of cool: Every now and then I get to go to events where not one single person argues over the piece of cake with the flower on it. This was the case last week when I headed to Bon Appetit‘s annual Hot Ten event in downtown Manhattan celebrating the best new restaurants in America. Locals: Remind me… Read more »

Quick Vacay Dinner: Shrimp & Haricots Verts

Scrolling through our vacation photos was like the visual equivalent of watching Bubba’s famous Forrest Gump monologue: Barbecue Shrimp. Creole Shrimp. Popcorn Shrimp. Pineapple Shrimp. Coconut Shrimp. Lemon Shrimp. Pepper Shrimp. Wow, we ate a lot of shrimp! This, of course, made perfect sense in South Carolina — where we spent the last leg of our trip, and where we usually feel like… Read more »

Friday Round-up

What we’re reading and eating this week: “I quit smoking and I quit drinking…all I have to look forward to is dinner.” David Sedaris on the (sometimes pants-less) family meal. Why Family Dinner? A Review! Mint, basil, cilantro, pork: This summery main is so up my alley. Another entry in the “Are We Pushing Our Kids Too Hard?” category. Why use… Read more »

Anatomy of a Lazybones Summer Dinner

Who: The Usual Suspects, Andy, Jenny, Phoebe, Abby What: Family Dinner When: A Saturday night in early summer Where: DALS headquarters, Suburban New York Temp: High 80s, high humidity Obstacles/Activities/Extracurriculars: N/A, see: SUMMER 10:00 AM Walk to Farmer’s Market, procure Tuscan kale, baby cabbage, and a pound of Mahi Mahi from the fish guy. (And a dozen cider doughnuts, half of… Read more »

Thank You, Teachers

As our kids head into their last week of school, teacher thank-you notes in tow, it got us thinking: What about our teachers in the kitchen? What about all the little voices that instruct us as we whip our cream, brown our chops… and overcook our dry-aged ribeyes? I’m not only talking about the Marcellas and the Julias and the Bittmans,… Read more »

The Best Cookbooks Right Now

Over the past few months I’ve been cooking more than usual thanks to an assignment I got back in January: Write about the best spring cookbooks for The Book Review. I got to expand my reach a little here — in addition to the quick-and-easy family dinner fare you’re used to seeing on these pages, I tried out vegan brownies… Read more »

Dinner Party Secret Weapon

I noticed something funny the other week. We’ve been cooking for friends all winter — don’t mistake this for me characterizing myself as big-hearted or generous: During long stretches of single-digit days, these meals are acts of self-preservation as much as anything else. We’ve busted out The Ragu, of course. We’ve experimented with short rib tacos and lettuce wraps. We… Read more »