My mother loved the holidays. Her big splurge meal was always on Christmas Eve, when she’d proudly serve red and green in the form of lobster with spinach salad on […]
Food & Drink
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COOKIE PARTY
The Crumbly Thrills of a Tea Cake
If the very thought of baking cutout cookies — the kind that stick to the dough board, rolling pin, and spatula and break before you can even decorate them — […]
COOKIE PARTY
The Bright Sparkle of Cranberry-Orange Cookies
In a former life I oversaw a test kitchen for a food magazine. Given the long lead time needed for development, editing, and printing, that meant Christmas in July every […]
SUGAR AND SPICE
The Bossest Molasses Cookies
Sometimes I wish I lived in my friend Karrie Adamany’s neighborhood. That way I could go over to her place with my sketch pad and colored pencils for drawing night. […]
ROME DISPATCH
Bucatini Cacio e Pepe Is Forever
A plate of pasta to love in the Eternal City
I’ve long suspected that air travel is unnatural, and the physical effects of being hurtled through the air in a metal tube across several time zones get worse as I […]
WHAT’S OPEN
Where the Kitchen Lights Are On
The Independent’s early winter guide to dining out
Sunset’s getting close to 4 p.m. this week. Does that mean meeting for dinner at 6? Why not? We’ve made our list and checked it twice, and the latest kitchen […]
CRUSTY GOODNESS
P’Town Is Pie Town for a Day
Recipes from the winners of the Provincetown Commons pie contest
PROVINCETOWN — Barb Fortier and her partner, Karen Edlund, bought a chicken pot pie for $725 a couple of weeks ago. The pie wasn’t made with a rare breed of […]
HOME GROWN
An Autumn Pilaf Stars the Eastham Turnip
Wild rice and mushrooms are the perfect partners for a humble root
Even though they’re stars among Outer Cape roots, turnips have a reputation for humility. They get along nicely with other earthy vegetables, including carrots, potatoes, beets, and onions. For the […]
WELL DRESSED
Gingerbread Stuffing for a New Tradition
Sometimes all you need is to change things up a little
I have never quite understood the proliferation of Thanksgiving recipes that fill the pages of food publications every November. Isn’t Thanksgiving all about eating the same things with the same […]
THE BERRIES
At Thanksgiving, Two Things Everyone Agrees On
Cranberries are ‘best in show’ at brunch and dinner
May this week before your Thanksgiving feast be a time of good-natured debate regarding the propriety of the presence of a turkey on the table, whether you’re discussing that dinner […]
COOK’S KITCHEN
Around a Fire, Stories Are Told, Songs Are Sung, and Dinner Is Warmed
Rediscovering the magic of the flames
As a young cook, I was drawn to vintage preindustrial cookbooks hoping to unlock past wisdom. I was often dissatisfied: the recipes were vague, too simple, kind of bland. Where […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
Sparks and Smoke in a Glass
A pair of cocktails and a playlist that suit a fireside mood
I know I am not alone in being mesmerized by staring into a fire. A proper fireside sit fills me with contentment. Yet it also creates a kind of yearning. […]
SALT OF THE EARTH
A Warm Salad Stars the Joni Mitchell of Legumes
The chickpea becomes glamorous lavished in olive oil, onions, and herbs
When I turned 21, I started cooking with a zeal and self-importance that almost made up for how unnatural the whole enterprise was for me. I’d meticulously, maniacally dice onions […]
COOK’S KITCHEN
Great Pumpkin Soup, With Dignity
Like Linus, seeking a winter squash without a sign of hypocrisy
Sometimes I think the scariest thing about Halloween is the flood of pumpkin-spice products that appear for the season. The fact that pumpkin-spice deodorant exists hints at how ludicrous the […]
COOK’S KITCHEN
A ‘Little Fat Boy’s’ Chili-Crisp Roast Chicken
Frankie Gaw’s First Generation tells a story of pride and ‘pot holders’
The minute I cracked open Frankie Gaw’s First Generation (Ten Speed Press, 2022), a birthday gift from my son, the stunning photographs made me want to get into the kitchen. […]
