Do you have good memories of regular family meals, gathered around the table, but find it difficult to make that happen nowadays? For many of us, it's a scene we'd love to see, but the logistics, the preparations, the decisions and the details sink the idea before we even get started. That's why Cynthia Graubart wrote her latest cookbook: Sunday ...
Cookbook Reviews
“Cake: I Love You!” Is One Brilliant, Beautiful, Must-Have Cookbook
If you love sweet treats, beautiful irresistible desserts, simple home-made goodies, and elegant expressions of the professional pastry chef's genius, you will love Jill O'Connor and her latest cookbook. Entitled Cake, I Love You: Decadent, Delectable, and Do-Able Recipes, this bright, delight-filled book is a whimsical valentine to the pleasures ...
Delicious Chicken Wings, Taiwanese-Style, from Cathy Erway’s “The Food of Taiwan”
Here is a recipe from my friend Cathy Erway, for fantastically delicious chicken wings. They are san bei ji wings, or three-cup chicken wings, the three referring to the trio of ingredients involved: fabulous: Soy Sauce; Toasted Sesame Oil, and Rice Wine. Fresh basil leaves go in as the dish finishes cooking in a wok, a deep skillet, or a large ...
“Victuals” by Ronni Lundy ( say “Vittles”!): A Rich and Beautiful Cookbook
This handsome, eloquent, meditative and luminous cookbook came from the hands, heart, and mind of my friend Ronni Lundy. She wrote her heart out telling stories and making observations on her home region, the Mountain South. Much mocked, misunderstood, maligned, and marginalized over time, the complex and beautiful Southern Appalachian region ...
“Cooking With Coconut”: A Delicious New Cookbook
I've been in love with coconut since childhood, thanks to the blessing of having a Southern grandmother who loved to cook, and occasional access to candy bars as very special treats. My grandmother's coconut cake was magnificent, and I still make it often, thankful that my sister Linda took time to sit with Grandmother and ask her how to make it. I ...
Chile-Spiked Chocolate Pots: Luscious Easy Dessert from The Chile Pepper Bible
I fell in love with chiles and the heat they bring to the kitchen and the table during my time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Chile peppers may have originated botanically in my particular portion of the world, but here in the American South, we never did take to them much in terms of everyday cooking. Exceptions abound, particularly in ...
President Obama’s ‘bun cha’ Supper with Anthony Bourdain: Photos and a Recipe
I love this photograph of President Obama enjoying bun cha for supper with Anthony Bourdain, world-renowned chef, author, and host of delicious food and travel television programs, on his first night in Vietnam. Their supper will be featured in Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown down the road. Can't wait to tune in for the details. I missed this ...
Springtime Supper at Nong’s Thai Kitchen
I'm in Washington DC this week, tagging along on my husband's business trip. He's attending an enormous international conference of scientists, focused on gene therapy, and while he's listening and taking notes in big rooms, I've set up my office in our beautiful hotel room by day, and enjoyed visiting with friends over wonderful food in the ...
Best Cookbooks of 2015: Nancie’s List!
I love cookbooks and could not begin to count how many I have in my kitchen and office, on my bedside table --- even a few in the pantry. Despite this abundance, I take pleasure in finding new ones, and wish I had more time to read them and cook from them each week. The year 2015 brought an exceptional number of new cookbooks and food books into ...
Meet Me in “Nong’s Thai Kitchen” – DC-Area Cookbook Event at Thai Basil
My friend Nongkran Daks is a chef and restaurateur whose cooking and culinary classes at her restaurant Thai Basil have won her dedicated fans, accolades, and great success in the Washington DC area for almost 20 years. Born in Southern Thailand, Nong began cooking to help in the family's catering business when she was all of 8 years old; she made ...