That's Cooking!

Iconic male food writers like A.J. Liebling and R.W. Apple were large men; they flaunted their girth in ways that their female counterparts (M.F.K. Fisher, Elizabeth David, Ruth Reichl) did not. Their weight helped them cultivate an aura of power and authority; it’s easy to imagine them sitting in a brown leather chair, patting their tummies after a large meal, smoking a very expensive cigar and sipping a very fine Brandy. But to quote the Monkees: that was then and this is now.

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My Twitter followers were shocked–no, outraged!–when I announced last week that I’d never been to Kalustyan’s, the international foods store on Lexington Ave. in Murray Hill. Food52’s MerrillStubb’s Tweeted: “NO! (Can’t believe it.)” Savour Tweeted: “You haven’t been to Kalustyan’s? May be the #1 thing I miss most about NYC. That and Bemelman’s Bar.” JosePiano Tweeted: “WHAT?!?!?!? And it was even included on your Scavenger Hunt!”

Clearly, I’d ruffled a few feathers with my pronouncement. It was fortunate, then, that a few days later I found myself in that neighborhood and had a chance to remedy the situation.

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I saw a table at the market the other night groaning under the weight of a mountain of summer squash. Squash that looked like it wanted to avalanche its way into my basket. I took pity, grabbed a bunch and made my way home. I ended up using a couple that night in a favorite nothing-to-it zucchini recipe. So, I thought I’d share the recipe with you, along with a few non-recipe related links. First, the zucchini. It’s a single-skillet kind of thing. Coins of zucchini are browned in a pan, but the thing that makes it special is the toasted golden slivers of garlic combined with lots of fresh dill, plus a sprinkling of almonds for crunch. Prep takes five minutes, if that, and you can treat this as a side dish, or use it as a component of something else…

For example, I often cook up a pan of the zucchini like this, then use it to top off a frittata. You might toss it with a short pasta, a bit of slivered basil, and a bit of feta - also delicious. Over farro, not bad. Baked as a hand-pie in a simple pastry with a smudge of goat cheese? Even better. Anyhow, it’s really adaptable. And for those of you who don’t use much dill in your cooking…let me just say, dill is under-rated and under-utilized. The more I cook with it, the more I love it - fingers crossed you like this spin as much as I do.

And before I sign off, a few links - because I’m long overdue for a proper “favorites” list:

- I’ve been using this for a few months, and love it.
- Best ever Redfin listing: La Miniatura.
- Thinking my nephew might like this when he sleeps over.
- More summer camping inspiration.
- If I needed a clothing rack, this would be the one for me.
- Perfect stripes. (via Bliss)
- Loving this idea: banana bread made with chocolate coated walnuts.
- Better than the paper kind. (via innumerable goods)
- Hoping Little Flower School someday makes a visit to SF.
- Summer pizza edition of this joy + ride
- Quinoa Falafel @ Sprouted Kitchen.
- And lastly - hoping for an English version of this.

Continue reading Sautéed Zucchini…

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I love chili, but ever since reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and watching “Food Inc.” I have a hard time making it with ground beef. Of course, on special occasions, I make Michael Symon’s recipe with slab bacon and pork shoulder, but last Wednesday wasn’t a special occasion. No: it was just a weeknight and as I found myself wandering the aisles of Gourmet Garage, I wondered: “What if I just get a bunch of vegetables and beans and cook them the way I cook Michael Symon’s chili? Ya know: with beer and chilis in adobo and freshly ground coriander and cumin seeds?” The results, as you can see above, were so good even Craig agreed: “I don’t miss the meat!”

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Above you’ll see the first video in my latest video series for Food2.com. I got the idea for this show while reading Kim Severson’s book “Spoon Fed.” On pg. 49 she writes, “To understand good chocolate, you have to know bad chocolate, and you should experience them side by side. It’s a method that has helped me through the years, whether I am tasting water, salt, milk, ground beef or any other food that might not seem to have much variation.”

And thus the idea for this show: a show where I taste three foods (all of the same kind) side-by-side to compare and contrast them. The above episode features chocolate (I can’t tell you the brands yet, but I may be able to in the comments once approved by F.N.) Future episodes include salt, peanut butter, Chardonnay, honey, and 20 other exciting topics. If you have ideas for taste tests you’d like me to try, let me know in the comments!

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