Cooking the basics: Homemade Marinara Sauce

Marinara sauce, a classic Italian red sauce with garlic, onions, herbs and not much more, is easy and weeknight quick to make. Recipe—and variations—below.

This post is about breaking old habits and overcoming fears. In our kitchen, both for the blog and for everyday cooking, we try to work with real ingredients as much as possible, not overly processed foods. (We do count certain canned and frozen goods as ingredients—beans, tomatoes and spinach, for instance.) But for some reason, I’ve resisted making my own marinara sauce. Continue reading “Cooking the basics: Homemade Marinara Sauce” →

Chestnut Soup and memories of Paris

Chestnuts, potatoes, aromatics, butter, chicken stock and cream turn into a rich soup that stirs warm memories of Paris. Store-bought, vacuum-packed roasted chestnuts make it simple. Recipe below.

The first time I encountered the chestnut vendors of Paris, on a cold November night walking down the Rue de Rivoli with my sister, I was hooked. To me, that has become one of the key Parisian experiences. The night street, thronged with Parisians heading home or to dinner or just having a stroll, the Algerian vendor, his neck wrapped in a knit scarf, the charcoal fire in a metal drum, the improvised metal plate that is the roasting surface, handing over my two euro to the vendor, who hands me a little newspaper cornet packed with fragrant, dark, freshly roasted chestnuts, then walking down the avenue, peeling the chestnuts one at a time, looking at the passing crowd, wondering what I will have to drink with dinner, being back in France. Continue reading “Chestnut Soup and memories of Paris” →

Everything but the bird: six super Thanksgiving sides (and some turkey alternatives)

A half dozen terrific side dishes to serve alongside your Thanksgiving turkey—and some ideas for skipping the turkey altogether.

Other countries and cultures have celebrated thanksgivings at the end of harvest, but Thanksgiving with a capital T has become a uniquely American holiday. Some trace its roots back to 1621 and the Pilgrims and Puritans at Plymouth. George Washington, at the urging of Congress, made it an official national holiday, proclaiming a “Day of Publick Thanksgivin” in 1789. In 1863, Lincoln fixed its date as the last Thursday of November. Continue reading “Everything but the bird: six super Thanksgiving sides (and some turkey alternatives)” →

An easy, impressive Sunday roast: Roast Duck with Apples, Pears and Potatoes

A whole roasted duck is accompanied by apples, pears and potato wedges roasted in duck fat. Recipe below.

THE COLD WEATHER IS GETTING ITS CLAWS INTO US. We are going out in down jackets, scarves and boots. In a fit of self-pity I even have taken out my coziest wool hat—the little wool cloche from Wildhagen that I usually reserve for the most desperate sub-zero days. The weather is having hostile spasms. The other day, going from the American Rhythm Center to Terry’s office on foot, I got caught in a sleet storm—mean tiny ice pellets flinging themselves into my face at 50 mph. Reader, it hurt. Continue reading “An easy, impressive Sunday roast: Roast Duck with Apples, Pears and Potatoes” →