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Sourdough is a Fickle Bitch, Part 1
To me, a kitchen is just a big chemistry set, a scattered mix of ingredients just waiting to become something unique and tasty.” Vaughn My friend, Vaughn Montgomery, is living
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Breakfast Pizza: Egg, Spinach, Fontina and Sriracha
The Kid came up with this pizza. It’s a twist on his usual breakfast of eggs, spinach, cheese and Rooster Sauce. One day, he noticed a forlorn pizza crust
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Caution: Girls Wokking. Methods, Tips and Ideas.
Last month my sisters, Mom and I spent the afternoon wokking up a storm. Being the research slut that I am, I spent the prior four weeks delving into
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How to Season a Wok Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt: Several Fool-Proof Methods
If cleaning and seasoning a new wok is so easy, like they say, why do so many of us get on chat rooms asking if we did it right? I’ve
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Clam Pizza with Smoked Tomato Sauce
This is one of my all-time favorite pizzas. It makes a gorgeous appetizer for an outdoor dinner party, both in flavor and presentation. Smoky tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella give
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Who Makes the Best Pizza? You do! Here’s A Video.
A little while ago, I decided it might be fun to sell my pizza crusts. They are made with only 5 ingredients (and I only use local flour), stretched
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Negroni
A Negroni and Italian meatballs are a match made in heaven. So of course, pair this classic cocktail up with similar nibbles like Italian sausage, roasted or fresh fennel, hearty
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Cucumber-Lime Mocktini – a Delightful Mocktail
This mocktail is a crowd pleaser. I served it to my Mom and sisters at our girls cooking weekend with Gingered-Tuna Rice Paper Rolls. Simultaneously two of them said,
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Hoisin Pork Belly Pizza with Pickled Cucumbers & Rooster Sauce
This recipe is a take off David Chang’s pork belly buns from Momofuku. It came about when we had leftover pork belly and pickled cucumbers, but ran out of
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Virgin Manhattan – Sophisticated Mocktail
How does one come up with a nonalcoholic replacement for bourbon? Obviously, you don’t. But I needed to create a virgin version of the Manhattan to match the smoky richness
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Broccoli Rabe Pizza with Bacon, Smoked Mozzarella & Pine Nuts
Broccoi rabe, or rapini, gives this pizza a lovely bitter note that works really well with the bacon, smoked mozzarella and pine nuts. If broccoli rabe isn’t available, regular
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French 75
This is another classic, gin-based cocktail. It’s made with lemon and topped off with champagne. It’s light, refreshing and goes with a zillion things: fried things, grilled things, buttery
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Last Word
This classic cocktail is making a comeback. It’s light, refreshing and a tad herbaceous. It’s my friend, Renee’s, favorite. Apparently, her husband, Eric, makes them for her all the time.
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Pizza Margherita
Simple dishes, like a Pizza Margherita, require impeccable ingredients. My French Chef Instructor used to say, “You can’t make a good soup out of garbage.” Or something like that.
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How to Make Galette Bretonne — Here’s a Photo Demo from Paris’ Street Market
Ever wonder how to make a Galette? The master galette-maker in one of Paris’ best street markets works four griddles at a time. It’s really quite the show! Traditionally from Brittany
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Galette Bretonne
A galette is not a crêpe. Crêpes are filled with sweet ingredients and made with white wheat flour; while galettes are made with buckwheat flour and have savory fillings.
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Paris Street Market: the Ultimate Food Lover’s Mini-Tour
The Marché du President Wilson (or Market on Pres. Wilson Ave) is a jovial group of passionate food artisans cooking and selling their goods beneath a very long row of adjoining
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The Search for Pleasure in a Hunk of Raclette
Life is short. A cliché, I know, but a significant one. I’ve been a tad obsessed with the whole life/short/time thing for a while now; enough to where it
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A Box of Michel Chaudun’s Les Pavés Will Get You Laid
You heard me. Yeah, yeah, I know how presumptuous that sounds, but if you’ve ever had le Pavé, I’m fairly certain you’ll agree. Les Pavés, sinfully simple ganache squares dusted with cocoa, melt
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Patrice Chapon Chocolaterie: Old-World Charm and Childlike Wonder Around Every Corner
Walking into Patrice Chapon’s chocolaterie, I actually felt that giddiness I got as a kid when I knew I was in for the best treat of my life. But it’s even
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How to Backpack Through Paris in a Little Black Skirt, Part Deux
My little black skirt theory still holds true. A little black skirt is light, comfortable, versatile, doesn’t take up much suitcase room, and with the appropriate accessories, it can take you
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Hedonism on Rue des Martyrs – It’s What’s for Dinner
There’s a charming little street in Paris’ 9th arrondissement that suddenly springs to life at dusk. Rue des Martyrs is surprisingly neighborly and a little more jam-packed with hedonism than
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Hosteria Giusti & Mario’s Pappy
Hopelessly lost in Modena, walking in circles and shivering in the rain, I was five minutes away from taking the train back to the comforts of my Bologna hotel
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Gnoccho Fritto con Affetati
My mother taught me at a very young age how to eat and still maintain the integrity of one’s lipstick. So, when Signor Morandi served me my first plate of
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Easy Pulled Pork Sandwich – In the Spirit of North Carolina
Cue is the great sacrament of our people. No transubstantiation required. It are what we are.” –North Carolinians North Carolina BBQ is serious cuisine with well-guarded secrets and highly debated,
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‘Cue: the Fanaticism, the Feuds, the Sheer Fortitude
In the South, barbeque is not just a food, “…it’s a cultural ritual, practiced with a kind of religious fervor among various barbeque sects, each of whom believes their
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Slow Weekend: Antinori, Fries and Coltrane
Not much beats a slow weekend in the kitchen. Pots simmering, chocolate things baking, crispy things frying, corks popping, spices wafting. By yourself or with someone you love, slow
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Boudoir Picnic: It’s not just for Valentine’s Day
Ooooh, Valentine’s Day – sexy food, sexy wine, sexy talk, and the good lord willing, a little fun. Or a good movie. Now, if you want to go out, fight traffic,
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I Almost Forgot How Much I Like Girls
It’s easy to get caught up with the day-to-day, and put aside those situations whichmake the day-to-day actually worth living. Case in point, I was invited to dinner with
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Stripper Affogato di Gelato
An affogato di gelato, or “gelato drowned by espresso”, is a simple, entertaining finish to a meal. Ah, but an affogato presented in a stripper shot glass procured from the
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Winter Blues? Food Therapy.
Blue? Perhaps “gray” is a more accurate depiction of January. Holiday distractions are over, the twinkly lights have all come down, and that regular snowfall was turning every day into the movie, Groundhog Day. The introverted
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Charcoal Grilling 101 – No Lighter Fluid Needed
There’s nothing like meat cooking on fire. The smell is intoxicating; the taste is carnal; the experience is so prehistoric and hedonistic. I love anything cooked on an open flame. And
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North Beach Food Tour — the Italian Quarter
What happens when Italian caffè houses, a bohemian bookstore, funky wine bars, and a really big-grass park come together? – North Beach. Casually strolling down Columbus Avenue, I started to get
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How to Cook A Wolf: Queen Anne’s New Hot Spot
Ethan Stowell‘s third restaurant brings a different twist to Queen Anne’s usual stroller scene. How to Cook a Wolf is modern, chic and cozy - a nice, grown-up place to get a drink and
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Bennie and the Cru Cellar Treasures Wine Club
Have you ever been invited to an exclusive wine club dinner party featuring delectable food, rousing repartee with prestigious foodies, and rare bottles from their private collections? Cru Cellar Treasures,
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Gramma Jo
Today is May Day. Warm, sunny days are almost here, and soon, purveyors will bring their produce to sell at local farmer’s markets. It’s a good day. Also felicitous, it’s Gramma
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Risotto alla Milanese
A few weeks ago, while thumbing through the butter issue of Saveur, a photo of Risotto alla Milanese jumped off the page. Traditionally from Italy’s northern, buttery half, Risotto alla Milanese is
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Andrew’s Party @La Medusa Sicilian Restaurant
Darren, Karra, Andrew & Kimberly My friend Andrew is classically debonaire – he reminds me of a 1940s movie star, especially when he calls me “doll.” In a nutshell, Andrew values quality over
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Wine Pairing: Champagne Henriot NV Blanc Souverain & Oysters
There should be a blog devoted entirely to food & wine pairings to woo your lover to bed, or the kitchen floor… the stairs… the backseat… You know, delicious ideas for a mutual exchange
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French Classic: Tarte Tatin
Nothing says simplistic elegance like an Apple Tarte Tatin (tahr-tah-TAN). It may look complicated, but it’s unbelievably simple. Golden delicious apples pan-seared with butter and sugar, topped with a circle of
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Looking for the Best Brownies: We Tested 9 Recipes
Recipe Testing Day at work is a beautiful thing – researching recipes, experimenting with different ratios of essentially the same ingredients, comparing results side by side, using someone else’s kitchen, (better
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Going to New York? Some Great Maps to Print Out
I’ve been told by my travel-by-the-seat-of-their-hippie-pants friends that I over-plan trips. So? I fear returning home from a once in a lifetime visit to a great city saying, “THAT was there, and I didn’t
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Lassi: Manhattan’s Best Indian Take-Out
I dream of many things: a new vacuum with side suction, the entire country driving Smart Cars, and really good take-out joints in every neighborhood – no one should ever have to
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ChikaLicious: One of Manhattan’s First Dessert Bars
I was googling around one night looking for interesting things to eat during my upcoming trip to Manhattan and cyber-stumbled upon ChikaLicious, a dessert bar on the Lower East Side. A
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New York’s Best Chocolate Shops: An In-depth Tour
Oh, the sinfully delicious things they are doing with chocolate on the other coast! Dark chocolate truffles rolled in smoky paprika; chocolate covered caramel with flowery honey & roasted pine
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Earthly Delights: Feast on Delectable Words
Photo: Wendy C. Ortiz of Earthly Delights Wendy has her way with words, a way that beckons and lures even the most accidental of skimmers to Earthly Delights. Years ago Earthly Delights was my first food
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Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em, People!
You know you can smoke anything, right? Ah hang on, this is Seattle – you now have to step back 25-feet with mere thoughts of blazing up. But, I’m not talking Joe Camel
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Easy Pizza Dough – Make It/Freeze It
5 ingredients, 5 minutes in the Kitchen Aide, 5 pizza crusts. Article and Recipe Updated January 2008 Article and Recipe Updated May 2012 I’ve been experimenting with pizza crust recipes and methods for years. The more complicated
Continue Reading→“What’s in Your Beef?” by Charles Stuart Platkin
Yesterday the Seattle Times Food & Wine section came out with an article on beef labeling standards - just supports what I’ve suspected for years. Here it is: What’s in your beef? Even the label
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The Psychological Ramifications of Food & Wine Pairing
This morning I woke up to gray clouds, a light drizzle and a slight chill. The grumblings in my stomach were for more than just sustenance; I needed comfort food.
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