Every year, as our grapes slowly ripen, we take fruit samples from the vineyard. Sampling begins generally in mid-August for our Sauvignon Blanc, and continue through our last harvest of the vintage, typically mid-October. The practice is simple, but time-consuming. A 100 to 200-berry sample is collected in a sandwich bag from each block being…
It was one of those special days of the year when, over the weekend, Juliana and I harvested a grocery bag’s worth of bright red Hungarian-bred sweet red peppers and brought them home to process. The process is relatively easy. We wash and dry the peppers, and then cut them lengthwise by hand and remove…
Another staple growing up in NY — linguine with white clam sauce. This was perhaps my family’s most ordered pasta dish at traditional Italian American restaurants in the 70s and 80s — places like Patsy’s, Don Pepe’s. I developed the basic recipe for this in college, and it is cheap and simple — a box…
I love the San Francisco Bay, truly and with my whole heart, and I love this city on a hill where we are currently living, but if I’m being honest, I’ve never really loved the north bay, and I don’t know why. I guess a part of me felt that I was “City & Country”…
What we did here was adapt our original Brisket recipe and gussy it up a bit with some suggestions from Barefoot Contessa – notably, the addition of red wine and leeks. Some things I kept that I thought were important were the ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar. We made 10.5 pounds of this lovely dish…
This Venison Chili from Miss Allie’s Kitchen is now my go-to venison chili. Even Juliana and the girls were super-impressed with the tones and flavors in this game-meat dish. The key is really the pinch of cinnamon and the addition of citrus on the meat – both are light touches that come through nicely on…
There is one common staple in our house over Passover, and that is gefilte fish. Traditionally, I make enough for everyone, and then am the only one to eat it. But that’s ok. These things take time. I didn’t love, or even like, or even try, gefilte fish when I was a kid either. When…
Feel like taking a bunch of random ingredients out of the fridge and the pantry and creating something entirely new and different that feels like it should have been created centuries ago? Yes please. This is what happens with leftovers — leftover bread, prosciutto, and cheese makes a delightful snack, especially when you can find…
For our herb-crusted NY Strip Steak, we choose prime cuts at least 1-inch think, and apply a rub of 1 tablespoon each dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, and Kosher Salt. We let these sit for the day in the fridge, and then for an hour at room temperature before cooking. We prefer cast iron skillets for…
It’s probably our favorite meal in the world … so there, I said it. No trip to Paris is complete for our family if we don’t visit Restaurant Allard, Alain Ducasse’s staple bistro near the heart of Saint-Germain-de-Pres. We’ve spent years trying to recreate the dishes we found there, and while it will never be…
If you have ever been invited over to our house in late August or early September, or if you’ve invited me to your home for a meal during this same time frame and asked me to bring dessert, you have probably eaten this cake! This is my all-time favorite recipe from Deb Perelman of Smitten…
There is something about seared duck that always seems so … decadent. But what I love about duck is how simple and easy it can be, whether we simply take a couple duck confit and crisp them gently in the broiler with some boiled potatoes and a green salad for Sunday brunch, or sear up…