Friends, hello! As you may know, we've spent the week at Lake George with Ben's family. The weather cooperated, our simple meal plan delivered, and the kids spent every second on the lake, swimming, fishing, wakeboarding. As planned, we grilled every night, until the last, yesterday, when the groceries ran out, forcing us to order pizza instead 🍕🍕 It came from the Hulett's Landing Marina, which has a lovely little shop with all the essentials from coffee and beer to pizza and dried pasta to...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Friends, hello! This weekend we head to Lake George for our annual trip with Ben's family. We are a small crowd of 12, but a crowd nonetheless, and over the years we have learned to keep the nightly mealtime formula very, very simple: something grilled + a salad + bread. Minimal prep, minimal clean up is the name of the game with minimal kitchen space and without all of the tools/gadgets we rely on regularly. This year, for the first time ever, I made a few things ahead of time — some loaves...
21 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Friends, Last month, after finally getting this blueberry crisp recipe to a happy place — where the topping didn't disappear into the fruit below, and the filling didn't taste overly sweet — I began experimenting with other fruit, namely the classic combination of strawberries and rhubarb. The beauty of pairing strawberries with rhubarb is twofold: one, the flavors complement each other, and two, it allows you to use less sugar, as the strawberries provide a nice amount of sweetness....
28 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Friends, Often this time of year, my children spend a long weekend or more with my parents, who treat them to all sorts of goodies, including strawberries and cream while watching Wimbledon. (I know: what a life?) This year, as they find themselves at home with me instead, they've been requesting said berries and cream, and I've happily obliged because it's SO easy: pour a few tablespoons of heavy cream into a bowl, top with sliced strawberries (or other berries), sprinkle with sugar. It's...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Friends, At the start of this week, when summer finally arrived in Upstate New York, I found myself at the grill making chicken souvlaki and had a revelation: while it's hot, why not put it to more use? So I threw some peppers on the grates alongside the chicken, figuring I could use them in this favorite (no-peel) salad dressing or to have on hand for sandwiches or salads: The peppers took much longer than the chicken... ... and because I may have forgotten about them, and because they...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Eat peanut noodles! And cold overnight oats! And watermelon gazpacho! (And make a sourdough starter from scratch... see below :)) Hi Friends, I would be lying if I said I had turned my oven off, stocked up on cucumbers and watermelons, and turned to all of my favorite no-cook recipes, because it has been very rainy and not summer-like at all here in Upstate New York. But apparently the heat is coming! And depending on where you are, you might already be experiencing it. If you are, I can't...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Friends, Nearly every other week, I make a batch of these slow-cooker chickpeas, and I am always astonished by how delicious they taste straight from the pot: perfectly cooked and seasoned, all for about five minutes of effort. In the winter, those chickpeas often become this curry or these taco bowls, and in the summer, I dress them with this cilantro-lime vinaigrette or toss them into this favorite chopped salad. My latest favorite use for them is in this herby tabbouleh-inspired salad,...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Friends, When I read Susan Spungen describe this pan as her “ride or die” grill accessory in a recent newsletter all about grilling, I ordered it immediately. It worked perfectly for these turkey burgers, which are very wet and prone to sticking/sliding through grill grates: I've since ordered two more for Father's Day gifts along with this bean spoon, which is back in stock, and which I just love. It's thrilling scooping beans out of a pot with an oversized spoon! If you're still looking...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Friends, After dining at Ops in Brooklyn several summers ago, I returned home dreaming about the salad, the sole salad on the menu, an artful arrangement of Little Gems and radicchio drizzled with a roasted red pepper dressing. Ops, I learned, uses a mix of peppers, several vinegars, and herbs in their dressing, and I worried recreating it at home would be a challenge. Much to my surprise, it was not, thanks to the roasted red peppers, which lend so much depth of flavor on their own — both...
2 months ago • 2 min read