From the monthly archives:

April 2010

How to microwave a chicken

28 April 2010

A certain member of my family, who shall remain nameless, is quite famous for having once attempted to cook a chicken in the microwave. I was not alive when these events took place (nor was the chicken), but even I will tell this story (it’s just that sentence) at family and other dinners, to either […]

5 comments

Steak knight

22 April 2010

Ah, rice pudding, rich with raisins! Ah, spaghetti baked with honey and shaved almonds in a buttery dish! Ah, potatoes any way at all… writes MFK Fisher in How to Cook a Wolf, her how-to on the cooking of larger canines and other obscure animals from World War II. I don’t believe I’ve ever had […]

4 comments

Freezing rainy spring

21 April 2010

People think a lot about eating seasonally these days, and with good reason. It is very satisfying to eat with a sense that whatever place you are is not just any place but this one, and that seasons and their fruits remain ephemeral. Anticipation and then recollection are important parts of sustenance, I think. So […]

5 comments

Beauty

18 April 2010

Our friend here might not win any beauty contests, but I love her just the same. She is virtuous, straightforward, and (crucially) delicious. She’s also a perfect foil to any new-found habits one might have with duck fat. She wasn’t my idea, though. I see Swiss chard at farmers’ markets, buy bunches with abandon, and […]

2 comments

Smug supper

14 April 2010

When in doubt, a wise man once said to me, add more duck fat. I don’t think he knows how to boil water, but he does know this. I hadn’t considered it before, but now, I can’t say I disagree. To be sure, you wouldn’t like duck fat in your chocolate cake (I think), but […]

2 comments

The high low

12 April 2010

Now that we have the black truffle genome mapped, the time has come to eat it, too. Truffles of all kinds tend to pair well with delicate things. White truffles shaved over fresh pasta or a poached egg, for example. Black truffles stirred into a creamy risotto, or stuffed under the skin of a chicken […]

2 comments

Best Article Ever

8 April 2010

Breaking news here at MF: The genome of the black Périgord truffle has finally been decoded! Oh happy day! This calls for a toast, don’t you think? Perhaps some nibbles, too? It’s time to celebrate! Now if only I knew what it meant to decode a genome. (Merci pour la nouvelle, Philippe!)

0 comments

Receive!

5 April 2010

I’ve barely had this site a month, yet I’m sure we’ve been through this already: I don’t like recipes. They stifle creativity and keep people from trusting their own senses. Lists and measurements and instructions might lead to better meals from time to time, but they keep us at a certain distance from what our […]

4 comments

Happy Easter!

3 April 2010

Lamb is great for Easter. This stuffed leg of lamb was fantastic. But don’t serve it on this green stuff. I cannot tell you what it’s called. They told me I could use it in a salad. They told me its name, too. But I’ve forgotten now, or perhaps repressed it. Which is for the […]

1 comment

Les carottes râpées

1 April 2010

‘This is very good for jetlag’ were the words accompanying my carrot salad. I’d arrived in France months ago, but it didn’t seem worth belaboring the point. Besides, I was sitting in a grandiose apartment belonging to my grandparents’ friends and busy feeling out of place. The space sprawled, the language flew over my ears, […]

2 comments

April 2010

How to microwave a chicken

Steak knight

Freezing rainy spring

Beauty

Smug supper

The high low

Best Article Ever

Receive!

Happy Easter!

Les carottes râpées

Shop Borland Software shop

Shop VMware Software

Shop Software Store