"Too often, we think of French haute cuisine without remembering the old, rustic heart that beats beneath it." A Split Personality France is a two-faced country. About a month ago, I ordered duck confit at an English French restaurant. It... More
An American in Paris One thing I learned from the chefs at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris is that love and cooking are one and the same. I'm reserving some of their "cook from your heart" maxims for a later... More
A frisée aux lardons salad is one of my favorite bacon-and-egg combinations. I know I bore my friends when I order it just about every time I go to the quintessential New York downtown brasserie Balthazar (where the exemplary cooking... More
"Unwrapping the unlucky but delicious trout feels something like Christmas." My grandmother is my own Edith Piaf. Mémé has a voice that trembles on the air, buoyed up by soprano aspirations. It is a beautiful but homemade voice--like a quilt.... More
The Missing Ingredient Sometimes, at the end of the day, when you look at a recipe, you realize, too late and too tired, that you don't have all of the ingredients. And that delightful pesto pasta you were planning will... More
"Poaching eggs are stubborn creatures; they go their own way as they please. But if you just take a spoon, and turn them about a bit, confuse them, then you are in control. Just like with a man. Now, they... More
This is the story of the ugly duckling. I wrote last week that I was a vegetarian growing up, and this is how it happened. One night, I was staying at my father's house, and he had already gone to... More
One of the most wonderful things my boyfriend has ever said to me was, "Kerry, you make vegetables exciting." Sexier words have never been spoken. You may not know this about me, but I was vegetarian for twelve years growing... More
Like slippers, Chaussons aux Pommes are harbingers of home and of comfort. Though it is an old-sounding word, it expresses timeless human emotion far more effectively and evocatively than the more modern "turnover" ever could. Mine start simply with Golden Delicious apples, done French--as in, without cinnamon. They are folded into a simple pocket of bought puff pastry. The American apple-cinnamon duo is completed with a slightly sweet, certainly spicy cinnamon crème fraîche in which to dip the warm chausson before munching it down burning from the oven. More
My mother was born in Marseille only by accident. Mémé was traveling from Paris to visit my great-grandparents who were then spending a few years living in the new country of Israel. Mémé had gotten as far as the port... More
