This preparation popular in Lebanon and Syria was not always so. In the eighteenth century Damacenes, like all Syrians, preferred wheat and switched to rice and other grains only when wheat became too expensive or was in short supply. But rice was a relatively pricey import from Egypt and was considered a luxury and never […]
Comfort of Meatballs
May 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment
There’s something very comforting about meatballs. They are, in fact, comfort food, and whether one ate them as part of spaghetti and meatballs or in a meatball hero as a child, they remain the paragon of comfort. In my research over decades concerning the cuisines of the Mediterranean in general and Italian in particular–the kafta […]
Soul-satisfying Baked Rigatoni for a Cold, Blustery Day
December 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
On a cold blustery day, my kitchen beckons and I look forward to spending the day assembling this baked rigatoni dish. I imagine you’ve looked at the ingredient list and maybe thought “no way.” I suggest you think like a cook who sees the list and thinks “Look at that ingredient list! Isn’t it great? […]
Soup for Happiness and Dinner
October 20, 2013 by 2 Comments
My good friend Deborah Madison was in town to talk about her magnificent new book Vegetable Literacy and we got a chance to catch up and talk about the food state-of-affairs. For Deborah, she was sick of hearing about farm-to-table and for me I roll my eyes when I hear mass hysteria in the form […]
Don’t Let A Long List Of Ingredients Doom A Recipe
August 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I have noticed that some people don’t like a recipe with a long list of ingredients. I’m utterly baffled by this. I can understand they might not like a multi-step recipe with lots of cross-references, but a long list of ingredients? Is it that hard to put one thing in after another? I’d like to […]
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