Articles
Travels with spatulas
Monday, October 3rd, 2011For me, traveling is really just an excuse to eat new foods, so I was especially excited to research this article on cooking schools in Europe, which appeared in the New York Times on Sunday. Which world cuisine are you interested in learning more about, mes amis? P.S. I’m participating in a travel writing panel, tomorrow at 7.30 pm, at the American [...]
Spontaneous wine discovery
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010I’m not as adventurous as I should be when it comes to tasting new wine. Once I find a bottle I like, I tend to buy it again and again and again (which is a bad habit if you’re living in, say, France, for only a limited period of time). That’s why wine fairs are so [...]
Top Chef exit interviews
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Apologies for the shameless self-promotion (yet if not here, where?) but I am very excited to be chatting with this season’s Top Chef contestants as they pack their knives and go. If you’re a Top Chef fan like me, please check out my exit interviews on the Washingtonian’s Best Bites blog. Each Friday, we’ll grill a [...]
Adventures in Burgundy
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010When I traveled down to Burgundy to research my New York Times article on Thomas Jefferson and wine, I had a big hurdle to face: Driving. See, I can’t drive a stick shift. And apparently there are only two automatic cars for rent in the town of Dijon. Both of which were reserved. So, I decided to rent [...]
Thomas Jefferson, Burgundy and me
Saturday, June 12th, 2010Salut, mes amis! I’m so excited to share this article from this Sunday’s New York Times travel section, Retracing Jefferson’s Steps in Burgundy! It was so much fun to visit the Côte d’Or in March, to follow in the Founding Father’s footsteps. After reading Jefferson’s journals, I’ve developed quite the crush on the self-described “foreign gentlemen” from Virginia. [...]
Nonstop Top Chef
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008I’m on my way to So Cal this afternoon and won’t be able to post for a few days. But here’s a little interview I did for the Washingtonian with Top Chef contestant Spike, in which he discusses his new Capitol Hill burger joint, why Padma’s so calm, and where he keeps his secret ingredients. [...]
Top Chef redux
Friday, April 11th, 2008Between Top Chef and the Real Housewives of New York City (don’t even get me started on Alex & Simon!!) I can’t stop watching Bravo TV! I’ve started doing weekly Top Chef recaps for the Washingtonian. Check out my thoughts on Zoi’s crazy earrings, Dale’s bitter rant and Richard’s unclean salmon here. (Photo courtesy of [...]
Melange du jour
Friday, February 8th, 2008A bit of a mix today. First, I am happy to announce that Cooking the Books will begin a new cookbook review — The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics (pictured above). Several of my friends and family members swear by Martha. I’m looking forward to sampling some of the 1,200 recipes. Second, a new cookbook [...]
From despicable to delicious
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008Today’s NYT dining section has a little snippet about ox-tail soup at Momofuku Ssam. Apparently, wunderkind-chef David Chang refused to eat his mother’s oxtail soup as a child — now he loves it. This article (actually, it’s hardly an article, more like a paragraph) got me thinking about foods I used to hate but now [...]