Unless you happen to be a particular fan of Southern cuisine, you probably don’t think much about black-eyed peas. Except maybe around New Year’s, when it’s customary, again by Southern tradition, to cook up a pot of Hoppin’ John for good luck (a practice that’s seemingly been adopted far and wide, if the sudden scarcity…
Category: Soups/Stews
Chasen’s Chili and Champagne
Chasen’s Chili. Once upon a time, Hollywood stars served it at Oscar parties and soirées. Legend has it that Elizabeth Taylor loved this chili so much she had orders of it flown to Rome while she was filming Cleopatra (and conducting a torrid affair with co-star Richard Burton). The list of ingredients is pretty simple in comparison…
Cake and Crema
You’ve probably seen those jars in the dairy aisle, next to the sour cream or cream cheese. Something called crema — from Mexico, or Salvador, or Guatemala, or even L.A. And you’ve likely wondered what it was, or how exactly it was different from the nearby cream and/or sour cream. Well, stop wondering and pick up…
Carolina on My Mind
When our friend Angela entertains guests on her home turf—the beautiful and vibrant Charleston, South Carolina—she channels centuries of Southern hostesses and does hospitality proud. Perchance, on steroids.
Best of Both Worlds
I figured traditional chicken-and-dumplings (and my guests) would not suffer one little bit from a healthy shot of wine.
Riding the Storm Out
A weekend in D.C. for my birthday was in the plans; a hurricane was not. With event after event cancelled, including Kate’s planned entry in the D.C. State Fair pie contest, and threatened by the potential wrath of Irene, there were only two things to do: put the gumbo pot on and mix up the…
Chowdah Head
This is probably going to get me barred from New England, but I have to confess: I do not like clam chowder. I blame my landlubbing ancestors, who migrated from several landlocked locales and (deliberately, probably to spite me) settled in this country as far from the sea as possible. My family’s evolution among grain…
You Say Potato, I Say Papa Seca
I’ve come across any number of unusual dried food products while foraging through ethnic food markets. But I’d never run across dried potatoes, until Kate passed along a bag of dried Peruvian yellow potatoes (papa seca) found on one of her reconnaissance missions through D.C.’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Hmmmm. Makes sense. Every culture finds a…
The Remains of the (Holi)Day
In a rare moment of lucidity, we decided on Thanksgiving that we didn’t really need more than eight side dishes for 12 people. So the whipped chipotle sweet potatoes, a staple for about a decade, fell off the menu to make room for the new: Louisa’s lime-y cranberry relish and Amelia’s gratinéed squash, for example. Of course,…
Bon Appetit!
The new Le Creuset has been officially christened in what seemed the most appropriate manner possible–with a batch of Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon. (Extra points for authenticity by using my autographed copy of From Julia’s Kitchen). Oh dear, Julia, all those years you spent testing recipes continue to pay off decades later. They always work perfectly. Probably…
Three Points Kitchen 