On faking it: Dinner etiquette with a picky eater
If you’ve read this column for any period of time you’ll know that onions and mushrooms are my sworn enemies. People who aren’t picky eaters tend to think I’m just being stubborn, and that they are the one who will convince me to drop my sword and end the fight. No, I don’t like onions, … Continue reading
Julia’s kitchen
My enthusiasm is usually a good sign that something is on the way out, and in fact by the time you read this, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History will have started to take down its display of Julia Child’s kitchen. Originally planned for an 18-month exhibition in 2002, and tucked away out of … Continue reading
Homemade chicken and dumplings soup
It’s strange to string up Christmas lights around a window framing palm trees and sunshine, instead of cloudy skies and snow. Listening to Christmas music on Pandora just felt like a sham. I wonder how parents in San Francisco justify Santa’s sleigh. There’s nothing for his runners to skate over in California but fresh asphalt … Continue reading
Garlic bread
My grandfather wouldn’t eat garlic. While my family has produced a number of picky eaters, I don’t normally think of my grandfather as having been one of them. I don’t remember running into many things that he wouldn’t eat, although that may be been one of the privileges of eating mostly at one’s own house … Continue reading
Holiday party food and foibles: grown-up edition
Sometimes I forget that I’m a grownup. I still feel like I’m only 21. Every now and then, something will remind me that I’m no longer the target audience for Ke$ha’s music. This week I had drinks with someone born in 1990. I get cranky about the music that’s popular—why is it all club music? … Continue reading
Mac and cheese
Everywhere I go, I’m finding macaroni and cheese. Family restaurants like Max and Erma’s have added it to the menu. For a while, Burger King was offering Kraft mac & cheese as an option in its kid’s meals. It’s become the go-to when my wife and I take the girls out to dinner, and it’s … Continue reading
Cranberries before you know it
I love Thanksgiving. It’s probably my favorite holiday of the year. I love that when it comes down to it, it’s really an entire holiday devoted to food. Yes, yes, there’s a bigger meaning, and it’s great to sit down and figure out what you’re thankful for, and blah, blah, blah, but the celebration itself … Continue reading
Giving thanks
Inside her annual Halloween card, my grandma had included a little paper slip of the Thanksgiving Day schedule, carefully typed and bolded. Because my grandparents were planning to go to Florida over Christmas, they wouldn’t be hosting our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, and would instead double up on Thanksgiving. We’d eat Thanksgiving dinner at one … Continue reading
Winter in California: turkey white bean pumpkin chili
It’s that time of year when the first snowfall makes everyone lose their minds, as if they’ve never seen snow before. People in Massachusetts had an actual reason to lose their minds when some areas got over a foot of snow at the end of October. My family in Massachusetts was without power for days. … Continue reading
