My bookcase is lined more with cookbooks than anything else, yet still I can’t resist adding another new release to its shelves if its topic is contemporary and inspired. But I do have my collection of quirky, old favorites that I come back to every year because they hold a recipe that is tried and [...]

Two years ago this holiday weekend, the Washington Post chose me and two other local chefs to design, easy-to-make and good tasting homemade menus that could spruce up an intimate picnic.  In the article entitled “The Picnic Spread,” by Bonnie Benwick, I was given the challenge of doing the entire meal under $10 (a much [...]

On a trip to Sicily my parents took a cooking class with an old Italian grandmother who taught them the most surprisingly simple and delicious recipe for tomato sauce. In our family it is now used on everything from pasta to pizza, and always as a topping on breaded Italian cutlets. True to the Italian [...]

In the two week lead up to the start of Top Chef season 7 I can’t help but get excited for two reasons.  For starters, it is the first time the show was filmed in my hometown of Washington DC. But more importantly, one of the contestants and a strong candidate for the show’s top [...]

As area farmer’s markets open this month for business, seasonal produce is gradually unveiled, starting out sparse only to unfold into a bounty of lush produce later this summer. After an especially harsh winter, market shoppers turn out in droves to snatch up the first tender offerings from the spring garden, and local vendors do [...]

Many of the areas farmer’s markets have opened for business this month, and while the first few days were spotty with produce as they ramp up for the season, stands have begun to flesh out with the finest from the Spring garden.
I can’t seem to get enough of strawberries these days. Finally getting to the [...]

Genetically I am hard wired to be an early riser. My Mom tells a funny story about dating my Father in college and how like clockwork he was sound asleep and snoring loudly by 9 o’clock every evening. This apparently put a damper on any plans to socialize late into the night. His [...]

Fig Molasses Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite cuts of meat to grill. When cooked so that it is still slightly pink in the center it can be incredibly juicy and flavorful.  It’s a great alternative to chicken because it’s lean and cooks quickly, but is a much more tender cut of pork [...]

I savor Mexican tortilla soup the way I imagine other people respond to chicken noodle soup or beef stew. That is to say it is comfort food in the purest sense for me, and I find I can eat it for days on end without boredom. Its beauty lies in the aromatic broth which is [...]

Part I: Vinaigrettes
It has been many years since I have counted a store bought salad dressing among my pantry staples. In my opinion, it is pointless to prepare a fresh homemade salad only to offer a selection of prefabricated bottled concoctions along side it. The veggies quickly become muted by an overbearing blend of artificial [...]