The Gloriously Versatile Plantain

Starches — legumes, tubers, grains, to name a few — are a motley bunch. But one thing they share is how they strike a delicate balance between firm and plump, and, well, dried out or mealy when cooked. One starch, though, is sturdy enough to withstand a little overcooking and can be prepared at any…

F.D.A. Aiming to Speed Vaccine Booster Shot for Immunocompromised Patients

The Food and Drug Administration is speeding efforts to authorize extra doses of the coronavirus vaccines for Americans with weakened immune systems, a change that reflects a growing concern within the Biden administration about these vulnerable patients as the contagious Delta variant surges nationwide. The regulatory move would mean that people with impaired immune responses…

Can the Olympics Take the Heat?

Maybe every athlete went into the Tokyo Olympics secretly worried that they hadn’t prepared sufficiently for the challenge. I know I did. Would my performance be affected by the 13-hour time difference? Could I handle the long hours in front of a screen while juggling my beer and ice cream? Fortunately, my months of indoor…

Obama Birthday Party: Who’s Still Invited?

Jay-Z and Beyoncé were still in, as of Friday. David Axelrod and Larry David were out. Former President Barack Obama’s 60th birthday had been anticipated as the biggest social event of the summer for alumni of his administration and friends of the Obama family — a celebrity-studded garden party at Mr. Obama’s $12 million Martha’s…

A Rosé by Any Other Color

The three were also made with entirely different grapes. The Broc was primarily valdigué, a variety once called “Napa gamay” in California, along with some zinfandel and trousseau. The Tiberio was made entirely of montepulciano, while the Trinquevedel was a blend of Southern Rhône grapes, including 60 percent grenache, 18 percent cinsault, 5 percent syrah,…

Your Next Lesson: White Wine Blends

Red blends are popular right now, and I’m not speaking of classical blends like Bordeaux, Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Chianti. When people refer to red blends today, they are generally using a marketing term for popular category of mass-market red wines, often quite sweet, that happen to blend several red grapes. Rarely, however, do we think of…