Brussels Sprouts

February 6, 2015 Clare Schapiro

I just realized that in all this time of blogging, I've neglected to discuss one of life's greatest winter joys–Brussels sprouts. Ridiculous really, because at this time of year, they're never not in my larder, waiting for some opportunity to leap onto the plate--perhaps not as the main star, but certainly gaining kudos as best supporting actor. So quick and easy, so versatile. So delicious. As friend, Pooh, would say: "What's not to like about Brussels sprouts? Nothin'"

The key for these cruciferous veggies, is to be desperately careful to not over cook them, lest that horrid sulfurous smell and taste, that can happen if they're overdone, be unleashed. No, let your darling little green bulbs just be heated very quickly and very hot for the minimum possible time so that their outside layers get crunchy and brown, and their innards stay bright and vibrantly green.

Spinach Salad

January 17, 2014 Clare Schapiro

You know that hideous feeling where you've let something go so long, you're too mortified to know how to address it? Well, that's me, somehow finding the gumption to write this.

I've just had lunch with a beloved friend, in which we discussed this very quandary. Well, actually, not this very quandary, but yet another thing that I've let get hideously awry. Anyway, I'll attack the other thing in a minute after I've gotten this post taken care of, but I thought her solution was ingenious and I don't know why I didn't think of it before: just tell the truth.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

February 15, 2013 Clare Schapiro

I have been remiss. It's not that I haven't been cooking, or writing, or even photographing. It's just that I've been up to my nose in other stuff and I haven't been posting. In going through my photographs from the last few months, I'm struck by how many lovely things graced our kitchen table that I've not shared. I shall do my best to make amends.

And speaking of sharing, just maybe, this is a good time to discuss the saga of "the great pantry debacle" which may provide some comfort, or at least amusement to you, my equally fraught fellow home cooks.

Buttermilk Waffles and Candied Bacon

December 9, 2012 Clare Schapiro

As the old saw goes, when the world hands you candied bacon, make buttermilk waffles.

At least that's what I told myself this evening, after an intense but wonderful three-hour performance of Death of a Salesman, when somehow, a midst the pudding-like fog of a chilly December night, suddenly no food on earth could be possibly more appealing than a bout of what Felix once, so adroitly, dubbed "Brinner."