Here is a problem that a lot of people don’t have: When you are a food blogger who has written extensively about how meaningful holiday rituals are, it can be a struggle to come up with new content and recipes for the salivating masses, i.e. you guys. By definition, tradition dictates that my Christmas menu is exactly the same year after… 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 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Don’t be alarmed, everyone’s OK! You’re looking at one small part of the neighborhood wreckage left in the wake of last Friday’s Nor’easter and the reason why we’ve been living out of our suitcases for the past five days. We are doing fine. We shacked up with my sister and my parents’ over the weekend and then checked into a… Read more »
When it comes to entertaining, I go through phases. Some nights I am the cook who craves adventure, who embraces an all-day culinary bacchanlia. More frequently I’m the kind of cook who just wants to keep things simple, the one who emails a friend a few hours before dinner “Come over for some spaghetti and meatballs,” because spaghetti and meatballs are… Read more »
As my dinner diary approaches its 20th birthday (February 22, people, what are you getting me?) I’ve noticed that flipping back through the years to see what was for dinner has become more of an archaeological exercise than a practical one. I love that on Page One, Week One we cooked “Fresh Pasta with Amatriciana Sauce,” a recipe from a cookbook… Read more »
As I hand over this genius weeknight recipe, it’s hard not to think of my earliest magazine editor days, when I was expected to constantly pitch story ideas — food and otherwise — to my boss in the dreaded weekly “beat meetings.” I was just starting out and operated under the assumption that anything that was interesting to me was… Read more »
I am so delighted to feature guest-poster Caroline Campion today. Caroline is a Saveur alum and one of the OG bloggers, having first caught my attention almost a decade ago with her site Devil & Egg; today she co-writes keeperscooks with Kathy Brennan. Their new book, The Dinner Plan, is, obviously, near and dear to my heart, and, among other things discusses the all-too-familiar… Read more »
. Every year around this time, Andy will turn to me and say something like “I think it’s time to shake things up a little at Thanksgiving.” Mmmm hmmm, I’ll respond, and if I wore glasses, I’d raise my eyeballs over the frames for a sec before turning back to doing what I was doing, which is, most likely reviewing… Read more »
. Guess what I did when I saw Shalane Flanagan, the first American woman to win the New York City marathon in 40 years, cross the finish line yesterday? Well, if we’re being truthful about it, I teared up a bit, because Flanagan was crying, and is there anything better than watching a professional athlete accomplish something seemingly superhuman in… Read more »
. In my tenure as a food writer, I’ve discovered that there are two kinds of cooks in this world: Those who love to do their own grocery shopping, and those who would rather confront a demogorgon monster in the slimy snake-infested Upside Down (‘sup Stranger Things fans) than spend their precious free time chatting with butchers and squeezing melons. Never is… Read more »
For better or for worse, when I’m trying to decide what to have for dinner — especially a weekend dinner — I’m hardwired to start the brainstorming with the main dish. And for better or worse, the main dish is usually a pile of protein. On Saturday morning, as Andy and I wandered the farmer’s market, that was implicit in… Read more »
Welcome! I’m Jenny, author of Dinner: A Love Story and The Weekday Vegetarians More
