Good morning. The nest that was empty is empty no more, as children return from college, as in-laws descend, and suddenly we’re up a few animals and down a few beds. The grocery bills are back to the mesosphere and yet we’re out of milk again, the second time in a week. I’m at it…
Last week, Danielle, a “long-time reader, first-time caller,” reached out with a newsletter prompt too good to refuse: She needs help building a sauce library but is “overwhelmed by all the potential.” (As someone often paralyzed by choice, I get it.) “I’d like to find a collection of five or so sauces that pack a…
We are so back. No matter how long I live here, I will never get over the awesome power of late May and early June in New York City. The temperatures are consistently warm, but not too hot. There’s rain, but not too much. And the worst of the pollen has passed. And you know…
Since it was founded in 1924 by a baker from Naples, Italy, named Antonio Pero, very little has changed at Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana. The restaurant has operated in the same one-story building in Coney Island, burned coal in the same brick oven and followed the same recipe to make pizza that is widely held to…
Last week, Danielle, a “long-time reader, first-time caller,” reached out with a newsletter prompt too good to refuse: She needs help building a sauce library but is “overwhelmed by all the potential.” (As someone often paralyzed by choice, I get it.) “I’d like to find a collection of five or so sauces that pack a…
In Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are,” the Wild Things are hardly mild. When the main character, a little boy named Max, meets these monsters, he first notices their “terrible” roars, teeth, eyes and claws. A rumpus ensues, and Max comes to learn that these monsters aren’t terrible at all. They’re…
You can make a niçoise salad year-round, and I do: I always have canned tuna in the pantry and olives and anchovies in the fridge, and the grocer closest to me stocks cherry tomatoes and green beans even in the depths of January. It’s not eating with the seasons, but it is eating with my…
Summer cooking should be a breeze, more pleasure than chore. So keep it simple. Have a simple salad, something for the grill, a homey fruit dessert. If you can find someone to help with the preparation, so much the better. This menu, relying on fresh summer produce, is easy to accomplish and yields a refreshingly…
The pizza that solved my pizza problems I recently solved a pizza conundrum that had been plaguing my family. Pizza night at our house has always forced us to choose between an excellent but slow-rising dough that takes days to proof, or the instant gratification of a defrosted ball of store-bought. The marshmallow test, but…
The summer after my freshman year of college, I bused tables at a restaurant by the water in St. Augustine, Fla. Parched and sticky with sweat, I watched one particular salad — huge, geometric chunks of watermelon and feta, stacked on a plate with basil — go to nearly every table. I cleared those plates,…