The Scene: Wednesday, the first school/workday back from winter break The Scene, pt 2: Always the longest, most exhausting day of the year The Characters: Family DALS 5:30 Walk in door. Girls already home, one of them doing homework at kitchen table instead of cloistered in her bedroom, which brings me unspeakable joy. (Literally unspeakable — if I express this out… Read more »
So like a lot of you guys out there, we’ve cut back on meat in our house pretty significantly in the last few years, which probably seems pretty obvious to anyone reading this blog with regularity. For the most part, it’s been a gradual process, one that has been helped along by the ever-growing body of research on the environmental impact… Read more »
I could’ve probably come up with a slightly more enticing name for this recipe, especially since it was one of the better meals I’ve made in the last few weeks. But that would be seriously detracting from what makes it DALS-worthy. You know that stunning Margaret Wise Brown baby book The Important Book? Where she poetically itemizes the characteristics of common… Read more »
Hey guys! I did a jarred pasta sauce taste test over at Cup of Jo, and invited Phoebe’s cross country team to partake in the judging. We had such a good time — you’ll never guess who won. (Actually you probably will.) I plan to do more of these tests, so let me know if you have any strong opinions… Read more »
I used to feel the same way about tofu that I did about squash. I didn’t exactly crave it, but it wasn’t offensive, and it was as good as whatever I seasoned it with — especially when the “seasoning” included a generous amount of fat, i.e. butter or oil. These days I crave it. I love how I feel satisfied,… 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 went on vacation just as my backyard romas and cherry golds were blushing from green to red, but it was hard to feel very sorry for myself considering I was headed to Italy, the land where tomatoes come in only one variety: extraordinary. I picked up most of mine on roadside produce markets in Sicily or from open-air market… Read more »
Forgive the radio silence over on my end. Those of you who follow me on instagram likely know by now that we are traveling in Italy (Sicily via Rome) and eating our weight in pasta, gelato, and pizza everyday. It’s the trip of a lifetime, and I know I say that every time we travel, but what can I say?… Read more »
Last Thursday, at around 5:00, I text Andy: What’s in the CSA bag today? We do a farm share through his office every other Thursday and I always try to plan dinner around it, even though it’s usually a little of a lot, not a lot of a little. 5:01 His reply: One piece of squash, one bunch of broccoli, three spring… Read more »
Old-timer readers will take one look at this photo and recognize that main dish as DALS MVP Spaghetti with Clams and Extras. It’s on page 56 of my first book, Dinner: A Love Story, and has made countless appearances on my summer table and instagram feed. I would be willing to bet almost anything that if you check back with… Read more »
One of the things I love about my “job” as a food writer is that people email me all the time with questions, mistaking me for some kind of expert. Where do you eat when you’re in Nashville? They ask. Or Can you recommend a good food mill? I see you have marble countertops, do you worry about stains? I… Read more »
The drill-down on my cookbook round-up continues as I present to you Vietnamese Tofu Salad, this year’s recipient of Recipe Most Likely to Join the DALS Rotation, and one of the many dishes I’ve made from Ilene Rosen’s Saladish that have slayed, as the kids say. (Do the kids even say that anymore?) As I mentioned in my official review,… Read more »
Since I’m sure you’ve all spent the weekend poring over my summer cookbook rundown in Sunday’s book review, you know that one of the books I was most enthusiastic about this year was Eat a Little Better, by Sam Kass, who cooked for the Obama family when they were in the White House. The book is filled with insider anecdotes and (not surprisingly) the kinds… Read more »
A few Fridays ago, Andy was on the way home from work early, having drawn the short straw to drive Abby to a soccer tournament in Maryland for the weekend, when Abby asked what the dinner plan was. She was packing her soccer bag and stopped to wait for my answer. I paused — I knew what my dinner plan… Read more »
When my first book, Dinner: A Love Story, came out, I will never forget my agent calling me to discuss publishing the book in England. “There’s an agent over there who wants to buy the rights for it,” she told me, “but he’s concerned about all the Trader Joe’s talk and ground turkey recipes.” The Trader Joe’s thing I understood,… Read more »
Last week, a new cookbook landed on my desk called Dinner’s in the Oven: Simple One-Pan Meals. The recipes are unfussy; the design is bright and approachable; it’s shot by David Loftus (one of my favorite photographers) and I loved it almost immediately. I love it for the underlying promise, of course — who doesn’t want to throw a bunch… Read more »
It gives me great pleasure to cede the floor to guest-poster Jenna Helwig today. Jenna is the senior food editor at Parents Magazine and author of Baby-Led Feeding, an inspiring manual for raising good eaters and kickstarting the family meal habit nice and early. Yes, your baby can eat the salmon you’re looking at above. Read on for the recipe and for a fun little… Read more »
This is a quick one and goes out to all my snowed-in Northeastern brethren whose color palette for the past few days has been white, gray, dark gray and darker gray. I developed these Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple for a Bon Appetit dinner column, and they are the rarest of wintry meals: substantive without being stewy; deeply flavorful without being laborious;… Read more »
Welcome! I’m Jenny, author of Dinner: A Love Story and Dinner: The Playbook More
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