The counter to the side of your stove. It’s where you keep the foods you need most often. The ones you grab every day. Your kitchen’s speed dial. Your food friends list. Here’s a written snapshot of the space next to my stove, circa late spring 2019.
Continue Reading →
“Territorial” is a term of art for traditional regional British cheeses. As a definition it’s a bit loosey goosey. It can mean an area as big as a county where a cheese was made, like when it’s used for Lancashire or Cheshire. Or it can be as specific as the town where the cheese was […]
Continue Reading →
I used to joke that The Netherlands only had one cheese: Gouda. Gouda in endless varieties, gouda with endless wardrobe changes. Gouda aged one year. Two years. Four years. Gouda with red wax. Gouda with black wax. To me, Dutch gouda was an enjoyable cheese, but monotonous, dull. It never got me excited. It never […]
Continue Reading →
Molise is one of Italy’s forgotten provinces. Sandwiched between Abruzzo and Puglia, a two hour drive due east of Rome, Molise doesn’t have any fashionable cities, no luxury waterfront, zero famous foods. What it has are ingredients. Grapes, wheat, and olives, which, for the most part, are sold in bulk for companies in other more […]
Continue Reading →
Traditional cooking, the popular cooking of countries passed down through time, is the cooking of the poor because, let’s face it, there have been a lot more poor people than rich people in history. Traditional cooks figured out how to squeeze the last bit of flavor from the ham bone, to find flavor in foods […]
Continue Reading →
It’s a cliché to say that anchovies get a bad rap. Everyone knows they’re polarizing—and most people avoid the pole altogether. The thing is, it’s not anchovies’ fault. It’s ours. Just-caught anchovies are universally delicious. It’s mis-steps taken to cure, prepare, store and serve that cause such ruin.
Continue Reading →
We’ve carried Marash pepper flakes for over twenty years. I can still remember the first time I tried them, and how different they were. The color was deeper, a glowing burgundy. They were moist. The flavor was full, roasted and toasted, evocative of the sun. I kept waiting for a rush of heat to hit […]
Continue Reading →
Color indicates ripeness All olives start out green. A green olive is an unripe olive. It doesn’t mean it’s not a tasty olive if it’s picked and cured at that stage, but in the same way a ripe fruit will be more luscious and flavorful, a green olive is going to have less succulence, less […]
Continue Reading →
Yeah, I’ll say it. Virginia Diner peanuts are my favorite peanut. They may just be my favorite nut period. Their flavor is unmatched for two reasons. One, they start with great peanuts. And two, they fry them.
Continue Reading →
Basil pesto from Liguria is a food with working class roots, eaten by sailors to stay healthy at sea. Today people around the world make basil pesto, but the best is still made in Italy. And when you use it to sauce good pasta, you have the ultimate summer dinner.
Continue Reading →