Recipes or Reservations

My earliest food memory recalls making homemade ravioli with my family as a child. It was typical of Sunday dinner in our household. Everything was made from scratch and everybody pitched in. The task was labor intensive but far more rewarding than buying frozen ravioli from a store. It was an event that brought the […]

Janine was always a little nervous eating around me when we first started dating. It didn’t matter if we were dining at a swanky restaurant or having a simple meal at home. She would display proper table manners at all times. The first time we ate rack of lamb proved to be a defining moment. […]

Fish is by far my favorite food. In fact, I like everything about fish. I like catching fish. I like cooking fish. I especially like eating fish. I even like the way fish smells. If it was up to me, I would eat some sort of fish every day. Unfortunately, Janine does not share my […]

This type of recipe is right out of Escoffier’s playbook. I learned how to make it at the Ecole Ritz Escoffier in Paris. The school is located right across the hall from the very same kitchens that August Escoffier himself once presided over. I really enjoy this type of cooking. It is labor intensive and […]

I learned how to make this dish when I was a student at the French Culinary Institute (which is now called The International Culinary Center).  We used orange juice and candied orange zest to create a quicker and easier version of the classic French dish duck a l’orange. A gastrique is a sweet and sour […]

Eating lentil soup on New Year’s Day has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember.  My mother would prepare a big batch in the morning and keep it warm on top of the stove. The rest of us would snack on it all day long, hoping it will bring us good […]

Few foods are more satisfying than Beef Short Ribs. When properly prepared, each bite is rich on the palate and delivers a complex, pronounced flavor. Our appetite for them never seems to tire although our sources tend to be seasonal. We order them all year-long when dining out, but only prepare them ourselves in cooler […]

I love going food shopping. It doesn’t matter where or when.  If fresh produce is involved, I’m in! For me, internet grocery delivery services will never replace the local market. Purchasing food is a sensory experience just like eating the final product. You have to see it, touch it, pick it up and give it […]

The only regret I have about our last trip to Italy was not being able to enjoy a Porchetta Panino. Sadly, it was not from lack of trying. Porchetta is Rome’s ubiquitous street food. It consists of a boneless whole pig that is seasoned with herbs and roasted on split. Slices of meat are carved to […]

Timing has always been our biggest challenge when guests come over for dinner.  Janine says it’s because we make things too complicated. Instead of setting out a couple of appetizers and letting everyone dig in, we try to provide a steady flow of offerings until the main courses are ready. When this approach works, it […]