From Scratch

Even though I drink hot coffee year-round, hot chocolate is, for me, a seasonal drink and it’s one of the joys of winter. I’ve made it for years with Mexican chocolate but with dark chocolate so easy to find these days — and heart-healthy — I decided to create a new version that would be […]

When I wrote about pasta portions and the American penchant for huge portions, I mentioned a man I met in Italy who took all Americans to task — actually, he called us barbarians — for oversaucing our pasta. He was right, we do.
Who better to explain the proper way than Mario Batali, in a video […]

Gourmet magazine, long a part of epicurious, launched gourmet.com today. The magazine will continue to be part of epicurious, but this stand-alone site has a slightly different focus and very different look and feel from epicurious. It’s like a cross between a blog and a news site.
Editor Ruth Reichl says it will be updated every […]

It’s not just the absense of ham hocks or other meat that makes this lentil soup a little different, it’s also the inclusion of lemon, adding another dimension to the broth. The end result is a colorful lentil soup that’s lighter than most and I welcome that right now.
I’ve been eating sparingly since the holidays; indulging […]

By all accounts, Europe is extraordinarily interested in this year’s presidential race and primaries; coverage has been extensive and in-depth. I wondered how it all seems to my fellow blogger, roadsofstone, who is an incisive thinker and a terrific writer. I am pleased beyond words that he’s agreed to be my first guest blogger, especially as he […]

Gallons of ink were used this week on cartoons about the New Hampshire primary. Unless the hand recount that begins Wednesday shows otherwise, Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama after polls and pundits predicted otherwise.
M.e. Cohen of New Jersey’s Montclair Times was especially good with this take on a classic American image. 

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This is big-flavor delicious. In addition to the ingredients here, a little white wine and chicken broth round out the picture. The bonus is it’s simple enough that anyone, including novices, can put a lean, impressive main course on the table.
Beautiful blood oranges are in season and I had a couple in the fridge when this […]

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Those seven words open In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, by Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, a 2006 best-seller.
A simple manifesto, those words, but how difficult for millions in this era of vitamin-laced soft drinks. While it would seem we Americans are obsessed with nutrition, despite the […]

It’s simply called “chowda” here in New England, as if Manhattan Clam Chowder, with tomatoes, does not exist. A bowl of good New England clam chowder is so satisfying, but making it with fresh clams that have to be steamed, shucked and chopped can be time-consuming, even impractical at times. Toss in the need for […]

In an upset, New York Senator Hillary Clinton has won the New Hampshire Democratic primary with 39% of the vote. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who led in the polls, had 36%.
Former Senator John Edwards, who was second in Iowa, came in third, with 17% and Bill Richardson won 5%.

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According to CNN projections, Arizona Senator John McCain has won the Republican primary in New Hampshire with 37% of the vote. Mitt Romney was second with 28% and Mike Huckabee third with 12%.
It’s a remarkable comeback for McCain, whose then-moribund campaign was nearly out of money and staff last summer.
McCain easily won this primary in 2000, […]

Tonight’s tracking polls for WMUR and CNN show Barack Obama and John McCain retain their leads for their parties’ primaries tomorrow. Obama leads Democrats with 39% and McCain tops Republicans with 31%, down one percentage point from yesterday. Obama’s lead over Hillary Clinton is also down by one percentage point; she is at 30% now. […]

The prize money gets the attention, but winners of Bravo’s Top Chef also get the often-mentioned feature in Food and Wine magazine, where Top Chef judge Gail Simmons is an editor. The feature on Season 3 winner Hung Huynh is just out today.
We learn he quit his job as sous chef at Guy Savoy in Las Vegas […]

Weekend polling by WMUR and CNN shows Barack Obama with a double-digit lead going into Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. The poll, conducted over the weekend, finds Obama with 39% of the support, to Hillary Clinton’s 29%. A poll released Saturday had found them in a dead heat at 33%.
This latest tracking poll also shows John […]

Iowa! Did you notice Hillary’s concession speech wasn’t a concession at all, but was a stump speech? Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Mike Lester of Georgia’s Rome News-Tribune thinks so too.
And I’ll go out on a limb today and predict she will make another concession speech Tuesday night. I think Obama will win […]