Sourdough Discard Crackers (herb or sesame/ gluten-free or not)

Do you still have your pandemic sourdough starter? I have mine, but I do not have so much time to bake bread. Maybe you have the same problem? This cracker recipe is so fast that it has allowed me to keep feeding my starter once or twice a week even though life has become overly full and busy again. It also makes truly delicious crackers for snacking on or making fancy appetizers.

Cheese Platters Against the Darkness!

Hello friends. I hope that you are all enjoying the growing light of the season. I am personally having the worst bout of seasonal affective disorder that I’ve had in 15 years. I am combatting it with floral arrangements and cheese platters.

Making Patra in a North American Kitchen

Last November, I taught a series of gluten-free cooking classes to children with celiac’s disease.  The class was generously hosted in the beautiful kitchen of one of student’s parents.  These parents were amazing cooks themselves, but had realized that their daughter did not want to learn to cook from them, so they brought me in….

Radicchio and Burrata/ Arthur Avenue

As the weather finally gets warmer, I encourage you to find a day to visit Arthur Avenue.   New York is changing fast.  Before you know it everything of interest might have turned into luxury apartment buildings and chain stores.  Let’s all slow that change down by giving some time and money to the neighborhoods and businesses that still make New York special.  While you are there, buy the ingredients to make this dish!

Beet Caviar with Lime and Pepitas

Oh my.  I have been busy.  I have over a dozen posts half-finished for this blog that I have not been able to get up because I am so busy.  I’ve decided to post this one because it is the recipe I have been making, serving and eating the most over these last few busy…

Butternut Chaat/ Squashpocalypse!

So…I wasn’t kidding when I said that you’d be seeing more of me.   When I’m anxious, I cook.  Also, my kitchen has been over-run with Butternut Squash from my farmshare, so I have a bunch of squash/ pumpkin recipes to share.  My friend John Carlisle Moore gave me permission to use his beautiful Butterbitterbetternot…

Zingy Ginger Pumpkin Spread

This is not your typical pumpkin concoction.  It has that marvelous velvety pumpkin texture but other than that it’s totally unexpected.  It’s not sweet and homey.  It’s tangy, full of heat from fresh ginger and Aleppo pepper and it has a hint of earthiness from toasted cumin.  This pumpkin spread is racy.I created this pumpkin…

Sautéed and Salted Medjool Dates with Whiskey

At The Illuminati Ball, we serve Medjool Dates sautéed in very good olive oil and sprinkled with Maldone salt as an amuse bouche.  Pairing sweet dates with salt, usually bacon or goat cheese is pretty classic.  I didn’t invent the idea of simply using flakey salt rather than meat or dairy.  I ate this delicious…