THE BEST LAID PLANS

Top view of a platter on the table

Now that I’m getting to a certain age, I’ve started a bucket list of all the places I’d like to explore and visit while I’ve still got the energy and adventurous spirit to enjoy them. The idea is to do the hard trips first because you never know what type of monkey wrench life can…

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PANKO CRUSTED STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS

Top view of so much food on red base

Towards the end of each summer, I race to the greenmarket in time to beat the crowds before all the squash blossoms are gone for the season. These delicate zucchini flowers are great for stuffing and frying. But you have to handle them ever so gingerly. It’s way too easy to get a split in…

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EASY STUFFED POTATOES

Top view of food on a white color plate

If you’ve had a bad day and need a little comfort food, it’s hard to go wrong with these stuffed potatoes. You can fool yourself into thinking how all the wonderful nutrients from the potatoes are helping your heart and blood pressure, while ignoring all the evils from the bacon, sour cream and cheese. Given…

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ASIAN DUCK SOUP

Top view of a soup in white color bowl

About once a year, my friends and I head down to Chinatown for a Peking Duck feast. There’s a great restaurant — Hwa Yuan Szechuan on East Broadway — that serves this classic dish tableside. After the waiter slices every last possible bit of meat off of the carcass, I ask him to wrap up…

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STUFFED MUSHROOMS

So many small pieces of Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are an old classic that never goes out of style. Why have they stood the test of time? Could it be the bacon or garlic or Parmesan that gets stuffed inside each cap? Personally, they had me at bacon. I like serving these on a platter during a martini-fueled cocktail hour or placing…

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SALMON STEAK WITH GARDEN FRESH RELISH

Top view of Salmon Steak in a plate

Every summer we plant lots of cherry tomatoes on our deck. Of course, they all become ripe around the same time, so I’m always looking for new things to do with them. This simple relish is great on top of almost any fish. I like serving it on top of salmon steaks because the acidity…

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3-CHEESE GRILLED WHITE PIZZA

Close up shot of a Grilled pizza

I know this is sacrilege, but I’m not a big fan of tomato sauce on my pizza. To be honest, it’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that it doesn’t like me. It gives me terrible heartburn. But I refuse to give up pizza, so I came up with this recipe for a white…

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ASIAN GRILLED CHICKEN OVER GREENS

Close up shot of Asian Grilled Chicken Over Greens

When I was living and working in Asia, I had a tiny little kitchen in my flat. No oven, just a three-burner cooktop, a microwave, and a half-refrigerator. But I managed to cook up some feasts with all of the exotic ingredients I would find at the markets. This was one of my favorite go-to…

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GRILLED PEACHES

Close up image of Grilled peaches

I love peaches, but it’s really hard to get perfectly ripe ones here in New York without spending a fortune. One way I’ve found to bring out their flavor is to grill them. The heat helps bring out the juiciness of even the saddest peach. Here’s a recipe for a fun and easy summer dessert…

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KOHLRABI SLAW

Close up image of Kohlrabi Salad in a bowl

One of my favorite things to do is wander through our weekend greenmarket. I like to pick up unusual vegetables and figure out what to do with them. Kohlrabi, with its weird tentacles, is one of those challenging vegetables I just can’t resist. It’s part of thecabbage family, so it’s perfect for grating, and it…

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