Not every meal needs something totally off-the-charts different; sometimes a simple riff on a classic will do. This time of year, when I’m in San Francisco and the rain is slanted sideways and the fog so thick I feel alone in a city of nearly 1 million people, that’s when I crave recipes that are… Continue →

Last New Year’s Eve came and went as I worked on my cookbook into the wee hours of 2011, so this year I have two year’s worth of celebrating to do. I’ll be kicking things off with this festive gingery twist on the classic Champagne cocktail. It’s a simple sparkling wine cocktail that’s so effortless… Continue →

You know what bums me out? When I read a menu and find a dish that gets me salivating in anticipation, only to have it arrive looking completely different from what I imagined. Is that just me? Or do those sort of menu fake outs happen to you too? It makes me so dissatisfied that… Continue →

Strawberry and rhubarb: for me it’s a pitch-perfect pairing trumped for me by only a few other dynamic duos, like chocolate and malt or ginger and rum. But strawberry and rhubarb is the most elusive of the bunch. Growing up on the west coast, there wasn’t a ton of rhubarb around and it is still… Continue →

We’re in full swing season: that few weeks a year when flavors of both this and last season are in the market.

I’m not one to play favorites so I’ve never understood people who pander to the thick versus thin asparagus debate.