The halal cart was shaking. Inside the hot tin box, the 85-year-old actress and cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey, masked in giant sunglasses and a rippling white wig, was hopping up and down and making profane gestures with both hands. It was Day Two of the video shoot for “Nani,” a rap song by Zohran Mamdani,…
Despite long and tragic wars with the Japanese, the French, the Chinese and the United States during the last century, Vietnam is a treasure house. It is one of the world’s hot spots of biological diversity, according to the science research. There are 30 national parks in a country a bit larger than New Mexico,…
In his informative book, “Fromages,” Dominique Bouchait explains French cheeses, dividing them into “families,” according to how they’re made, like cooked and uncooked or blue-veined. But what he says about the French varieties applies to cheeses from anywhere. Though Mr. Bouchait — a master cheesemaker based in southwest France — focuses on the 45 French…
Cédric Grolet — the award-winning pastry chef at Le Meurice, one of Paris’s grand hotels — will take up residence at Dominique Ansel’s bakery in SoHo from Friday through Sunday. He will work with Mr. Ansel and his staff to make some of his dazzling confections mimicking fruits and nuts — lemons, strawberries and hazelnuts,…
There are wine classes galore in New York, but Charlie Bird restaurant in SoHo offers an insider’s approach: The tastings, intended for staff, are open to the public free of charge, once a week with a reservation. Grant Reynolds, the wine director and a partner, runs the lively program. Three wines are usually sampled and…
Durham’s Tracklements, in Ann Arbor, Mich., uses various cures to produce its smoked salmon and other fish. Traditionally, gravlax is salmon cured with salt and spices. Tracklements adds smoking to the process, resulting in salmon that’s mild (though rich), with a hint of smoke. Another new smoked salmon on the roster is cured with ras-el-hanout,…
Sweet does not begin to describe these new nonalcoholic mixers, with a vinegar base, from Andy Ricker of the Pok Pok restaurants in Portland, Ore. Originally formulated as Asian-style “drinking vinegars,” Mr. Ricker now calls them cordials, to combine with sparkling water for a dry refresher, or to use in cocktails. I’d go even further…
Soba, the nutty-tasting buckwheat noodle, will be the subject of a demonstration by Shuichi Kotani, the founder and chief executive of Worldwide-Soba, a factory and consulting company in Flushing, Queens. The particular techniques and equipment involved in producing handmade soba will be explained, and there will be a tasting after the demonstration. Making Soba: A…
The golden promises of the air fryer were just too tempting to ignore. Browned and crisp French fries, craggy chicken wings coated in hot sauce, breaded calamari that crunches audibly when you bite down — all without the unctuous mess, wafting odor and calorie count of deep-frying. Home cooks celebrated the appliance not just for…
Stitch Fix has changed the shopping game with its picked-by-a-stylist selection of apparel and accessories. Whether you’re intrigued because you’re constantly pressed for time or just looking to introduce new pieces into your wardrobe, it’s definitely something to consider. ELLE’s Digital Style Director Nikki Ogunnaike tested the waters for you in our latest episode of…