“The cold truth is that family dinners are more often than not an ordeal of nervous indigestion, preceded by hidden resentment and ennui and accompanied by psychosomatic jitters.” – M.F.K. Fisher Thankfully, for a change, Mary Frances got it wrong this week. Not only did we host a private family dinner, but it was two,… Read More Family Dinner

“In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it ‘Christmas’ and went to church; the Jews called it ‘Hanukkah’ and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah!’ or (to the atheists) ‘Look… Read More Summer Santa

“Considered good appetite stimulators, radishes actually have very little food value. But they do add tang, texture, color and crunch to meals. Mentioned by Chinese philosopher Confucius back in 479 BC, radishes probably originated in China but are so ancient that their original ancestor is not known. The ancient Greeks ate radishes as well as… Read More Radish Night, Redux

“Perhaps all music, even the newest, is not so much something discovered as something that re-emerges from where it lay buried in the memory, inaudible as a melody cut in a disc of flesh. A composer lets me hear a song that has always been shut up silent within me.” – Jean Genet Time, once… Read More Dinner for a Vagabond

“Fashion is in Europe, living is in America, but eating is in China.” – Chinese proverb By request, I recently started teaching a short, four-session cooking series that I’m calling Four Chinese Meals. The idea was simply to come up with four different meals that would both teach and showcase various techniques of Chinese cooking,… Read More Two of Four Chinese Meals

“The first Jewish family I met asked me if I spoke Yiddish,” Bortnick remembers, now laughing. “When I said that I had never heard Yiddish in my life, they said, ” What kind of Jew are you?” She had to learn what a dreidel was and how latkes tasted. As a result, she felt she… Read More Of Dreidels and Menorahs

“The Chinese noted with surprise and disgust the ability of the Mongol warriors to survive on little food and water for long periods; according to one, the entire army could camp without a single puff of smoke since they needed no fires to cook. Compared to the Jurched soldiers, the Mongols were much healthier and… Read More Mongol Fun in the Kitchen