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Crispy Tomato Salad
Even though fresh local tomatoes start popping up at the market in July, they don’t really hit their peak until August – and that’s when I get happy. The tomato is absolutely my favorite vegetable (even if it is technically a berry). This crispy tomato salad combines cooked tomatoes and…
Turkish Breakfast By the Water
When we were shooting Season 14 of my show in May I got to have breakfast at Digermen Diftlik https://degirmenltd.com/kahvalti/ an organic farm, cannery, restaurant and olive museum https://www.oleatrium.com/on the coast outside of Kusadasi, Turkey, where a women’s collective produces everything from cheeses to jams and canned olives. Turkish breakfast…
Blueberry Streusel Tart
If you happen to be one of those folks who’s daunted by the mechanics of pie-making – all that rolling out and crimping! –then this may be the tart of your dreams. The tin used here boasts a fluted edge, which means there’s no fancy crimp work required of y-o-u. …
Casa Gispert – One of Barcelona’s Oldest Food Stores
Not only do they roast all kinds of nuts in house (the place smells heavenly), they also feature many Catalan spices and ingredients as well as foreign delicacies. I may or may not have bought a ton of small bags of freshly toasted nuts to bring back home. We visited…
Three Melon Soup
This soup, a real showstopper, is as much fun to look at as it is refreshing to eat. The key, though, is to start with the ripest and most fragrant fruits available. In the case of the cantaloupes and honeydews, the first move is to smell the stem end to…
The Negresco! A Very Special Cocktail
In the early eighties I worked at a restaurant called La Tulipe on west 13th Street in New York City. It was a fine dining establishment, awarded 3 stars by the New York Times. Every part of the menu was well thought out including the house cocktail called the Negresco.…
My Jacques Pepin Dinner was a Hit!
On July 12 I prepared a dinner for 16 people at my house to celebrate Jacques Pepin’s 90th birthday and raise money for the Jacques Pepin Foundation. Not only did I bring in $1600 for the JPF but I also had a great dinner party. It made me realize how…
Tomato Mozzarella and Basil Tart
There are very few things more delicious than tomatoes in season. Sure you can buy them all year round, but these imports tend to be mealy and flavorless, so why bother? This tart is a celebration of the tomato at the peak of its perfection, namely right now. One important…
Fresh Corn Spoonbread with Cheddar and Chiles
Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes (45 active) Servings: 6 2 cups fresh corn kernels 2 cups buttermilk 2/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional 4 ounces extra sharp Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated one 4.5 ounce can chopped green…
The Best Thing I Ate on My European Trip!
It is called Bomba, literally “the bomb.” I ate it at a hole in the wall place in Barcelona, called La Cava Fumada. The Bomba is made of highly seasoned mashed potatoes mixed with some ground pork, shaped into patties, coated with bread crumbs, fried and topped with an extremely…