Stories

Tis the season for reflection on the past year, so we asked our contributors to tell us what their favorite bite or meal was of 2011. The one thing we all love is food and there's nothing better than sharing great food with the ones you love. Wishing you many delicious bites in 2012!

It is white truffle season, so naturally, anything with finely sliced white truffles would be memorable, but this year I made Cacio e Pepe – a delicate Roman pasta recipe made with egg tagliolini, butter (or olive oil), Cacio de Roma (a mild goat cheese) grated Romano, and lots of freshly grated black pepper. Combined with white truffles it becomes the ultimate sophisticated melt-in-your-mouth comfort food… and the aroma! Heaven! – Nancy Ellison

The favorite thing I ate in 2011 was, without a doubt, a nectarine I had just bitten into when Obama came on TV and told us that Bin Laden was dead.  And while I admit that even a bowl of gravel would've tasted delicious upon hearing that the world was rid of this scum bag, I also remember thinking that now there was at least one more nectarine for someone else to enjoy which leads me to believe that it was an outstanding piece of fruit in its own right. – Alan Zweibel

If I see that any of my 600 Facebook friends, (of whom I really only know 14), are in New York, I tell them, “Don’t miss the cheeseburger at Prune!” – Fredde Duke

From the L.A. Times

When most cooks read "season to taste," they automatically reach for the salt shaker. That's not a bad start: A judicious sprinkling with salt will awaken many a dull dish. But if you stop there, many times you'll be missing a key ingredient. Because just as a little salt unlocks flavor, so can a few drops of acidity.

Add a shot of vinegar to a simple stew of white beans and shrimp and notice how the seemingly simple, earthy flavor of the beans suddenly gains definition and complexity. Do the same thing with a soup of puréed winter squash and see how a dish that once was dominated by rich and sweet now has a round, full fruit character.

Though the results may be similar, salt and acidity work slightly differently. Salt is a flavor potentiator -- in other words, it works chemically to make other flavors taste more of themselves. Acidity works as seasoning by giving a dish backbone or structure, which allows other flavors to stand out and shine.

Read article...

There’s not really anything to do with noodle kugel – put it back in the oven and heat it up. There’s not really anything to do with Katherine’s Mother’s carrot ring either (which is more like carrot cake) and which we ate too much of, except wrap it in tinfoil and put it in the oven and heat it up, too.

Brisket, however, is a whole other story. Brisket hash for Sunday brunch with poached eggs on it. BBQ Brisket sandwiches. BBQ Brisket tacos (just go with this, they’re really great!)

BBQ Brisket Sandwiches

So easy. Sauté a little sliced green pepper in olive oil. Slice and shred brisket. Add shredded brisket and heat for a minute or so. Throw in a half a cup of bbq sauce and simmer or more if it seems too dry. If you’re feeling really brave, throw in some sliced jalapenos. Lightly toast a hamburger bun and spoon bbq brisket onto bun, put on top bun, and slice in half, cause it’s kind of messy!

Then there was the thick morning fog rolling in like brush strokes of soft gray paint giving the town of Chinon and my deep sleep a dream like feel.

The shill sound of a phone broke the silence into unidentifiable pieces. Who could be calling—me? I somehow found the phone in my deep dream (unearthly) like state.

“Madame, they are leaving in 5 minutes for the truffle hunt, with or without you” and the high pitched voice went silent and the phone went dead.

In seconds, I pulled on my clothes from the evening before, jumped into my shoes and grabbed a mint. Down the long carpeted stairs I ran, tussled hair and all. I was the last person in the last seat of the multi car caravan as we watched the other two cars fishtailing in the soft pebble driveway.