Hot and humid summer weather dictates that I use my stove as little as possible for the shortest possible amount of time. Fresh fish is always a good choice for summer meals since it cooks so fast. Sometimes I pan-fry or bake salmon with just a sprinkling of salt and pepper, other times I like
I like to eat bananas when the skins are spotted and ripe because they’re sweeter, but they can go mushy pretty fast. So what do you do with an overripe banana too messy to eat by hand? Make banana muffins! But most muffin recipes make too many for a person who lives alone. Recently I
My grandson has given me a directive for his overnight visits: “You don’t ever have to ask what I want for breakfast, G. Lee. Just assume it will always be pancakes”). I love pancakes too but lacking his speedy metabolism, I don’t make them often. One weekend morning when he wasn’t visiting, I woke up
There are probably a dozen variations of macaroni and cheese and I think I’ve had them all: classic, southern style, gourmet, and the day-glo orange stuff that comes in a box. My own version had been hit or miss in the past but, this year, I finally got it just the way I like it.
Fried green tomatoes are a traditional Southern treat. I’d heard of the dish and seen the movie, but this New Yorker wasn’t really interested in trying them until a friend brought me a bagful of lovely green tomatoes from his backyard garden. He swore they were so good you could eat them like apples, just
I will admit, avocado is an acquired taste. I didn’t become a fan of the fruit–yes, it’s a fruit; a berry to be exact–until recently. For me, it’s best used for its creamy texture than for its taste. More specifically, I treat it almost like a soft, melty cheese. This open-faced sandwich is a perfect
This is another one of those ‘simple but elegant’ meals I’ve grown so fond of, and it’s also a great option when the weather’s too warm to turn on the stove. The star of this dish is the steak. I prefer rib eye but any cut of steak will do as long as you slice
It took quite awhile for me to learn to cook pork chops that didn’t taste like well-seasoned shoe leather. I was so afraid of serving undercooked pork, I overdid it and wound up with tough, dry meat. At a restaurant one night, I had a blue cheese-encrusted pork chop that tasted like heaven and I
One of my favorite childhood memories is getting up at dawn and going to the renowned Fulton Fish Market with my mother to buy fish, fresh off the boats. We lived nearby so we would walk down the quiet, empty cobblestone streets near the market until we reached the bustle of fishmongers and shoppers. Mom
After sampling co-author Hayley’s yummy deep dish chocolate chip cookie in a ramekin, I was inspired to make a mini-dessert of my own. These days, I’m more of a cake person than a cookie monster, so I came up with this: a basic cake recipe scaled down to fill two ramekins. This little treasure is perfect
I’m not sure why packets of hot chocolate mix contain so many ingredients, when a rich and creamy hot chocolate can be easily made at home with just three. Leave that Alpine lady up in the slopes and warm up against winter’s chill using my no-measure method. [Don’t worry, I’ve included precise measurements as well,
I’m crazy for just about any kind of Asian food: Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese — I will call for takeout in a New York minute. Sometimes, though, I like to take a crack at making my own versions. Bottled stir-fry sauces are now available in many supermarkets but I enjoy experimenting in my own kitchen, seasoning
When is a vegetable not a vegetable? When it’s dessert! My family has a long history with sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. In fact, I’ve never known a Thanksgiving at home without both sweet potato pie and “candied sweets”: thinly sliced sweet potatoes baked with cinnamon and brown sugar, swimming in butter. I learned the basic
This is the unsung hero of my cookbook. Since the recipe consists entirely of pantry staples, it’s one I never really have to shop for and therefore often overlook. But I’m always delighted when I come across a long-forgotten can of tuna in the back of my cupboard because I know immediately that I can
Please resist the urge to use an apple corer to prepare this dish. Too much of the apple is discarded that way, and trust me, you’ll want to keep as much as you can. Warm, sweet, and spiced – this comfort food is the epitome of a fall treat. On chilly autumn days, I enjoy
My mother and grandmother taught me and my siblings how to cast a fishing rod when we were very young. While some family members still enjoy the pastime, I haven’t fished in decades. But I still enjoy slouching in a beach chair with a big straw hat on a lazy summer afternoon, drinking in the
For years, I’ve been using a pretty surefire method for hard-boiling eggs in such a way that the shells don’t stick: the cold start method – submerge eggs in water, bring to a boil, let steam 10 minutes, then shock in ice water before removing shells. But I’ve just tried an even better method: the
I never used to like chicken breasts. They’re too easy to overcook so I generally stuck to cooking only thighs and drumsticks. This recipe completely changed all that. In fact, I often buy chicken breasts just so I can make this recipe! 🙂 I’ve made this several times and these breasts always come out tender,
Crab cakes are often associated with summer picnics and beach parties but I make them whenever the mood strikes. If doubling this recipe, go easy on the breadcrumbs; just add another 2 tablespoons. Any more than that and they will come out tasting more like stuffing than seafood. I pair them with a salad if
I usually buy snow crab legs frozen in 2- or 3-lbs bags to split into two meals… but I confess, I can put away 2 lbs of crab legs without batting an eye. Commonly served at all-you-can-eat buffets, they’re usually boiled before being tossed onto the steam tables. Do yourself a favor: don’t boil these
