Another selection from Food, Clay, Wood  A grand sycamore stood sentinel by the sidewalk at the front lawn of the colonial revival house where I grew up in central New Jersey. The entire Levitt planned community was planted with this and a handful of other species, and they must have been fairly large in 1967 because I could easily climb them a decade later. I would hang out in one particular sycamore along the sidewalk. It had low limbs, evenly spaced, and was very easy to hoist up and into. I went as high as I possibly could, hugged the main trunk and let it sway in the breeze as I twi ..read more

  This week I started writing a new book, and I thought I'd share a brief essay from it. Here goes:  Beauty and the Graceful Line   It sounds a little silly nowadays to be talking about Beauty with a capital B in universal terms. We are so used to setting everything in historical context, being careful to understand the culture that produced an object without our own blinkered prejudices. We do this for good reason: it’s difficult to escape the way our own culture shapes our judgement, since we are so embedded in our own time and place and so swayed by the forces of fashion ..read more

I realize I haven't posted in months! This is what I've been up to. Carving spoons. It took me a long time to get decent at it. Today I counted, 80 spoons so far since the spring. I intend to get a book out of this, provisionally called FOOD CLAY WOOD. I just started writing. Stay tuned. In the meantime the Gelatin book is in the warehouse and ready to be shipped! And the cookbook now entitled OPULENT NOSH is about to be contracted. All ready to go.  ..read more

 There's a first for everything in life: Leftover Lobster. It called to me from the fridge all night. So I gave in, made some fresh egg noodles, tossed with butter, parm and a little lobster stock. OH my goodness!  ..read more

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 My first shot at macaron and a bit lumpy, no smooth top and no "legs" but they taste very good, with raspberry jam everyone ate them happily. But mine I filled with this chopped filet mignon. It has very little flavor when cooked as a steak, only softness. But that makes it ideal for eating raw.  The sweet almond flavor of the macaron with meat makes me think of medieval flavor combinations, and if there had been a little spice to it, definitely so. As it was, the compliment of the bitter green and pungent horseradish went perfectly.  ..read more

  When the heat lingers for weeks on end, these Southeast Asian inspired jello drinks are seriously refreshing. The dark one is grass jelly cubes in white vermouth and sweetened condensed milk. The green is a pandan mung bean noodle in ice cold sake, also with sweetened condensed milk. I'm not sure why jello is so cooling in this form, but it sure is.   ..read more

How to do Recipe Testing First get on your sturdy hiking shoes and a good hat and a little blue backpack from Disney Word with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit on it. Set out early, but not too much before stores open. Head north. Don’t forget your earbuds. Prepare to spend about 4 hours listening to Trout Fishing in America, which will lull your brain into a state of hypnosis. This will help you focus on the recipe at hand, still as yet unimagined. Drop into a little party supply store that is almost always closed, and for no good reason buy a few 3-inch tinned brioche molds for $2.40 each. Keep go ..read more

  Makes one dozen fritters 1 lb box of bacalão (salt cod) 2 tbs olive oil ¼ c heavy cream ½ c dry fino sherry 1 c okonomiyaki flour or regular pancake mix, plus more if necessary for a very thick batter 1 tbs lard or butter   2 large red peppers                                                     ½ cup toasted almonds, crushed                       2 cloves garlic ¼ c olive oil 1 tsp salt 1 ..read more

Have you ever considered how many cultures roll things up in starch or a bread-based wrapper? Burritos and spring rolls presumably have no real connection, but the flavors inside and the way they’re eaten are so similar. A good example of convergent evolution, two distinct species move toward the same solution, though unrelated. Like humming birds and bees sipping nectar from flowers. I decided to throw in another rolled favorite of mine. Though I seriously thought about shredded turkey or cabbage leaves, egg just seemed perfect and in terms of flavor, I think I was right. 6 tomatillos, husk ..read more