I’m guessing a lot of you are, like me, trying to lighten things up after the rich treats of the holidays. I make a real effort to include lots of veggies and salads at meals from Thanksgiving right through New Years Day, but is anyone really going to fill up on broccoli when there is lox and pâté on the table? I know I don’t. So, to get 2011 off on the... 
Read More »

Sweet pears, crispy fennel, and crunchy walnuts are, to me, the trifecta of delicious fall salad ingredients. This super simple Pear Fennel Walnut Salad can be made more and less complicated – use a variety of pears, use a mandoline to slice the fennel ultra-thin, toast the walnuts (in a dry pan on the stove or in a hot oven, in any case watching carefully – they burn... 
Read More »

I have made this endive kumquat salad a dozen times in the last few weeks. At least. I’ve made it for company, for my family, for myself at lunch. I’ve made it with both green and red Belgian endive. I’ve made it with and without the parsley. I’ve made it with and without the mint. I’ve made it with a few kumquats pureed into the dressing (sounds... 
Read More »

Regular readers know that I like to eat seasonally. This time of year it gets pretty tricky, though. The initial magic of root vegetables and hearty greens and simmering stews that sounded so perfect at the beginning of winter have lost a bit of their appeal several months in – especially as things turn a bit sunnier and brighter in San Francisco and a person starts thinking... 
Read More »

I love celery. I love the crunch and the crisp and all the water and even the strings you can pull off with your teeth. The slightly grassy, quite watery, herbal flavor pleases me greatly. I ate enough celery sticks when I was a kid to last me a lifetime, but I still cut them up whenever I serve crudités, even if I’m the only one who’s going to eat them. If you’re... 
Read More »