In the news


What’s authentic?

Monday, April 7th, 2008

 
Apologies again for slacking off on the Cooking the Books: The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics. I can’t even blame my laziness on my back, which is now (practically) pain free. What have I been doing instead of cooking? Well, this weekend I was away in Boston visiting my friends Sherry and Brian, […]

When “grosseur” is gross

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

There was an interesting article yesterday in the NYT dining section, The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party’s Over, which discusses the physical toll of being a gourmand. Are food enthusiasts killing themselves with their unbridled enjoyment of pork belly, butter, prosciutto and foie gras? In a word, yes. 
Frankly, I’ve long wondered about guys like Mario […]

Did you taste your food?

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

It’s back! I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s episode (though I did find myself getting a little weary during the introductory section – is it just me or are there too many contestants?). And, I’ll make a confession — I didn’t know what chicken piccata was. Yes, I knew about the lemon-butter-caper sauce, but I had no clue […]

Rome vs. Paris vs. New York

Friday, March 7th, 2008

 
Which is the best food town? On his blog, Bitten, Mark Bittman has some interesting posts (also here and here) on his recent travels to Paris (and, geez, is the guy a prolific blogger! He sometimes has 3-4 posts a day. Long ones, too.) Essentially, he experienced several bad meals in Paris and is wondering — has the City of […]

Which wine with Sichuanese food?

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

 
Eric Asimov has an interesting post on his NYT wine and spirits blog, The Pour, in which he discusses which wine pairs best with Sichuanese cuisine. If you’re a regular reader of Cooking the Books, you’ve probably guessed that I am an ardent fan of Sichuan food. I also like wine. But together? Not so much.
The hallmark […]

Milk vs. Dark: Battle of the chocolates

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

 
Today’s NYT Dining section has an interesting article about a new breed of milk chocolates. Apparently some chocolatiers have created a “dark milk” chocolate, by increasing the amount of cacao normally found in milk chocolate and decreasing sugar.
“Dark milk” chocolate sounds like a clever marketing ploy to me, but in honor of Valentine’s Day I […]

Working class cats

Friday, January 11th, 2008

Even before the New York Times published an article about New York City’s bodega cats, I have been in love with them. Lucia and I once saved a deli cat on Hudson Street from choking on sausage casing (by “saved” I mean that we chanted “Save the cat! Save the cat!” until a passerby actually stopped to […]

Cooking scales of justice?

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

 
Deceptive, sneaky; tomato, to-mah-to? According to an AP article, things are coming to a head between Jessica Seinfeld (she of Deceptively Delicious) and Missy Chase Lapine (she of The Sneaky Chef), with a law suit. Lapine claims that Jessica Seinfeld plagiarized her ideas, and that Seinfeld’s husband, Jerry, slandered her on the “Late Show with David […]

Hot to trot

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

There’s a fascinating article about heat in today’s NYT food section: The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen by that wizard of kitchen science Harold McGee. Have you ever thought about the astounding, transformative properties of heat? Sometimes it amazes me that heat can turn a liquid into a solid, like batter into cake. Or, the way […]