Annual holiday get-togethers always feature a grand cast of characters.  This year the wise-cracking drunk, the overly sensitive cook, the gushing sentimentalist, the determined wanderer, the eager helper, the laissez faire parent and the bad conversationalist all made an appearance. And that was just me. Alas, I am still in the process of discovering myself.  […]

In the past few months, I’ve produced Charlie Trotter’s (or was it Thomas Keller’s) Acorn Squash soup three times.  That’s in addition to the indie soups I’ve made for the blog every week.  I cooked it twice playing sous chef for the Italian wine dinner my wife and I worked on and once as an […]

I know it’s pathetic but I was looking through my old clippings last week and I stumbled upon the first menu I ever wrote for the Los Angeles Times (it’s here if you’d like to see it). It had a Spanish vegetarian theme and featured empanadas, garlic soup, and a great Catalan dish with grilled […]