Tomato Mode

I’m in full tomato mode, a phrase I saw tweeted this week by the excellent New York magazine food reporter Chris Crowley that tracks closely with my current state of mind. I’m going wild at the market, buying all manner of tomatoes, arranging them on my counter with reverence and then eating them as though…

How to Cook in a Vacation Rental

The collective desire — desperation? — to get away has risen, as have the prices of food and travel, so you should spend each moment of vacation exactly as you’d like. While eating out is its own form of sightseeing, cooking some or all meals in a vacation rental can be as enjoyable as it…

The Magic of Pizza Bread Crumbs

I drove to Andy’s Orchard in Morgan Hill, Calif., the other day to pick peaches, plums, apricots and nectarines. Some were ready to eat right off the tree, drippy and warmed from the sun, and the rest I brought home. I keep making excuses to walk through the kitchen now, to lean in and huff…

Dry German Riesling: An Eternal Conundrum

Wine writers can be tireless, or perhaps tiresome, in recommending the virtues of perennially unloved wines. Loire reds are one example of a category that receives little affection no matter how often writers tout their value, versatility and deliciousness. German rieslings are another. People fear sweet rieslings, yet it seems to do little good reminding…

Should You Chill Red Wine?

Indeed, as the wine warmed to what I considered lightly chilled, it grew more delicious. The flavors were of tart fruit and herbs, maybe a bit of anise, with a lingering bitterness that refreshed and cleaned the mouth. Broc, like each of these producers, relies on ambient yeasts for fermentation and does not manipulate the…