Chris Nordquist
One of the many unexpected benefits of having a child has been remembering some of the pleasures of my own childhood. Brownies, for instance. As I searched for the brownie of my childhood, though, I found that a really good one is hard to come by. Some were dry and chewy and tasted only vaguely […]
Lately I’ve been making paella on weeknights. Not so much the elaborate mixed seafood paellas that I love for summer entertaining, but simpler, humbler dishes that have more in common with a casserole from my childhood than a plateau de fruits de mer at Balthazar or La Coupole. My favorite chicken paella is still in […]
This dish is just the ticket for January, when many of us (myself most definitely included) are facing the possibility that we may have enjoyed a little too much good food and drink over the Holidays. Austerity, though, is no reason for boredom. For lovers of big, bold flavors, this lean dish is a bracing […]
I wish I could say that I found this alternative to the weighty and wonderful Gratin Dauphinoise in an effort to improve my diet, but the fact is I was just out of cream. I needed to get dinner on the table during the Holidays, and I didn’t have time to run to the market […]
We baked this weekend. A lot. Every year our kitchen turns into a Cookie Factory as we make 60 or more dozen Christmas cookies to box up and send out to friends and family all over the country. Julia’s favorite is gingerbread people (“gingerboys”), and so I always make plenty of those to keep around […]
A favorite childhood memory of mine is making bread with my grandmother. She didn’t mind free-form loaves, sticky hands and flour on the floor, and she worked the drawn-out process of bread making into her daily routine in a way that made it seem natural and easy. Her daily routine was a lot different than […]
Don’t worry –this isn’t another post about Thanksgiving leftovers. I like them as much as the next guy (preferably straight from the fridge), but by Saturday, I’m ready for something new. This is a dish I’ve made over and over this fall. The seasonal flavors — sage, earthy and slightly sweet chestnuts, and the always-welcome […]
As anyone who reads this blog knows, I’m always up for cooking something new for dinner. When it comes to Thanksgiving, though, I become a rigid and sentimental traditionalist. I want it all just like last year and the year before, and for me that means turkey with sage stuffing, mashed potatoes and pan gravy, […]
One of my favorite rituals this summer was sharing a cup of pistachio gelato with Julia. We both love it –if it’s good; that is, flavored with the subtle, unique taste of fresh green pistachios and little else. This ice cream is something different, though, and I’d never had anything like it until my friend […]
I was in San Francisco the last week of October, and, as usual, the highlight of my visit was dinner with my friends Marta, Dan and John. We’ve cooked together for many years, and this dinner came together like all the others –easily and over a cocktail or two and wine. We made a loose […]
