When I was in college, I liked to study in the uptown branch of the New Orleans Public Library on St. Charles Avenue. It occupied a sprawling, slightly decrepit mansion […]
FROM THE LARDER
After Five Years, a Locally Blended Rye Is Ready
Toasty, caramel notes make a cocktail that’s perfect for a stormy night
The rain is coming down hard from a low, leaden sky, and the wind is whistling down Paradise Hollow so fiercely that we fear for the roof. On such a […]
FROM THE LARDER
Jazz and Oysters Bring Two Festivals Home
Homemade salt pork meets Wellfleet oysters for a soup from the Mosquito Supper Club
In south Louisiana, where I come from, if you can eat it or dance to it, there’s probably a festival for it. We have festivals celebrating crawfish, gumbo, catfish, soybeans, […]
FROM THE LARDER
It’s a Big Year for Beach Plums, So Don’t Be Shy
Pick all you can, then put a little bit of summer in a jar
People on the Outer Cape can be secretive about their go-to stands of beach plum. But not this year — one of abundance for the wild shrubs named Prunus maritima […]
FROM THE LARDER
The Salty, Sweet Taste of a Wild Garden’s Possibilities
Gilded with honey and transformed by heat, feta becomes a luscious spread
I tend to look at things and see not only what they are but what they might become. It drives Christopher a little crazy, since it means that the check […]
FROM THE LARDER
Low Heat and Lots of Smoke Are Summer Magic for Meat
Sorry, Mark Bittman, but the season cannot end without barbecue, just this once
I’ve been trying to move our household in the direction of a plant-based diet, turning out dals and stir-frys and vegetable-stuffed tacos with gusto. I even made a seitan-based chili […]
FROM THE LARDER
A Citrusy Cool Custard for a Hot Summer Night
It sounds adorable and looks fancy, but lemon posset is a dessert for the lazy
The thing about summer is that I want to cook in a way that leaves me turning pages in the hammock until the very last minute. There will be plenty […]
FROM THE LARDER
Pop’s Savory Zucchini-Feta Pancakes
Family lessons in handling summer abundance with resolve and a squeeze of lemon
I’m resigned to the Outer Cape’s annual round of plagues: mosquitos, gnats, pollen, greenhead flies, black flies, tourists, drought. With climate change at our door, can frogs or a river […]
FROM THE LARDER
Cold Sesame Noodles to Go
Pack up a salty, sweet, spicy beach lunch
Christopher is a beach minimalist. He likes as little as possible between himself and the sun, sand, and surf. His towel, some water, and the No. 1 from Jams (turkey, […]
FROM THE LARDER
Early Summer in a Jar
After a walk in the dunes, a jam that brings home the romantic scent of wild roses
The more I live into my life in Truro, the more amazed I am at the food I can find around me if I really look. I’m not talking about […]
FROM THE LARDER
Welcome Them With Ms. Nev’s Pimento Cheese
The paté of the South will make guests happy to be back
One advantage to being a gardener is that I don’t mind the rain. In fact, I spend most of the growing season in Truro worrying about drought and longing for […]
FROM THE LARDER
A Sweet Celebration of Vanilla Cupcakes
An uncle and his niece bake up a forever family connection
Picture a plateful of little lemon and vanilla cakes, perfectly risen, and frosted with buttercream swirls strewn with sparkling sanding sugar. How can cupcakes not be the dessert of this […]
FROM THE LARDER
Lamb Chops and Artichokes on the Grill
Smoke and fire and other gifts that got us through this
There are some advantages to working in a vineyard. First, there’s the wine, though not until 5 p.m. Because I’m working. And, at this vineyard, there’s a food truck at […]
BOOK REVIEW
Understanding The Man Who Ate Too Much
A biography of James Beard takes on new pandemic meaning
About a month ago, my husband Christopher and I were invited to dinner at my in-laws — our first dinner party since the world fell apart last year. While enjoying […]
NEW ORLEANS DISPATCH
Making It Back to Mosca’s
In NOLA, a side trip in search of memories of hope and garlic
As soon as we cross the Huey Long Bridge, I begin to scan for the rambling white clapboard building — some call it a shack — that houses Mosca’s. I’m […]
