I thought I knew about fish and chips – crisped on the outside, warm and flaky inside, thick chips littered with salt and a splash of vinegar – but this version is different and delightful. The recipe is from Nelly Salvacion, the best Asian chef I know, and it has a totally different set of flavors; the chickpea batter is tasty and light, and the mint, yogurt, cilantro, and lime dip gives it a completely different culinary context. She quick-fries […]
No matter how you spell it – crozetti, corzetti, curzetti – this northern Italian pasta is delightful. I was walking through Georgetown one day and saw that a new shop called Via Umbria had opened up. I thought it was an Italian kitchenware shop, but it turned out to be so much more. There was beautiful Italian food to eat there or take away, a wine room with a generous tasting going on, and lots of great Italian pastas – […]
I’m always on the hunt for a really great chicken-based burger – one that stands up to the weight and flavor of a cheeseburger – and this is it. The combination of bacon and ricotta in the burger is so good I don’t know why this hasn’t replaced McDonald’s Big Mac. It couldn’t be more simple: just mix up ground chicken, ricotta, and bits of crispy bacon, throw it on a hot grill, add your favorite condiments and a brioche […]
Bone broth has entered the realm of hip new foods that are said to have all kinds of big health benefits – good for the hair, the skin, the immune system, and the digestion. I have no idea just how good for you it really is, but it is delicious and nourishing. My grandmother used to make this when anyone in the family was getting over a long bout with the flu or a terrible cold, though she always added […]
William Shakespeare’s 400th birthday is April 23rd, worth noting for lovers of great literature everywhere. When I worked at the White House, the President and Mrs. Bush hosted a dinner to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday one year, inviting scholars and actors whose professional lives revolved around the Bard, with an Elizabethan-period meal and performance of “As You Like It” in the East Room afterward. I LOVED planning this dinner, and the chefs and calligraphers outdid themselves with both the menu and […]
