My father was the king of barbecue in our family. Whatever the weather, you could find him contentedly tending to pieces of chicken on the grill, turning them over and moving them around until each piece was a crispy, golden brown on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. A purist, Dad eschewed any type of seasoning on the chicken and turned his nose up at barbecue sauce,…
With the clock ticking and the dinner hour approaching quickly, I pulled out a package of boneless chicken breasts to make grilled lemon chicken. Thankfully, the few simple ingredients called for were readily at hand in my pantry or refrigerator. As the grill pan heated up, I paused when I realized that the directions called for marinating the chicken for at least one hour. With apologies to Julie Albert and…
I don’t believe that the term ichthyophobia, or fear of fish accurately describes my husband Stephen’s reluctance to eat fish. He will consume fish as long as it tastes like something that bears no resemblance to the species, such as fish burgers with extra ketchup, pickles and spicy mayo please, tuna fish sandwiches heaped with lettuce and tomatoes, and gefilte fish slathered with a thick layer of chrein, the magenta-colored…
My Mom made the best tuna sandwiches. What was her secret? It wasn’t the perfectly fresh slices of crusty rye bread, no caraway seeds please, pulled from the middle of the loaf. It wasn’t even the carefully diced little cubes of celery that speckled the tuna salad. It was the mayonnaise. Mom used only full-fat Hellman’s mayonnaise, and a very generous amount of it, (if we’re going to be completely…
When a recipe for slow-roasted salmon first came to my attention, I eyed it with suspicion and shifted it to the bottom of my “future consideration” pile. It was only after I saw this recipe for maple baked salmon by Genevieve Ko, published in the New York Times that I gave the idea of cooking salmon “lower and slower” more serious thought. When it comes to fish, I generally proceed…
After a busy day, I looked at the clock and realized that the dinner hour was upon us; in fact I had exactly twenty minutes to get supper on the table. Thankfully, I usually prepare a double recipe of tuna croquettes, my regular Tuesday night blue-plate special, and freeze half. I raced to the freezer and looked everywhere for my stash of fish patties but came up empty-handed. Clearly I…
Abiding by the dietary restrictions of our guests is all part of being a good host. When a dear friend explained that she only eats protein and vegetables for health reasons, I paused, but only for a second. I knew that this recipe for salmon, roasted with purple onion, colored peppers of every hue and long-stem broccoli florets, enlivened with a citrus-flavored, toasty chili vinaigrette, would fit the bill. I…
When my son complimented me on the chicken wings that I had made and asked me if they were fried, my feet did a happy dance under the dining room table. Frying chicken wings was not an option for many reasons, including the lingering scent of cooking oil, a greasy, hard-to-clean cook top, and fear of developing a muffin top. My goal was to obtain that crackling just-fried flavor, without…
Miami ribs are a cut of meat that our family always enjoys, especially at holiday time. Deeply meaty and succulent, each bite is rich, moist and tender. Eating ribs is not an occasion for formality or standing on ceremony. Extracting every last drop of the sticky, sweet sauce from each bone is everyone’s favorite part of the meal. So roll up your sleeves and tuck in your napkin. Eating Miami…
I looked down at the end of the dining room table where our teenage guests were huddled protectively over their plates. Male teenage guests, who apparently had not eaten in the last 6 months… or maybe 6 hours. The platter of brisket was fixed in position at their end of the table and would not be circulating again anytime soon. I hoped that the other guests had managed to stab…