Chris Nordquist
The homemade brandied cherries that my friend Marta gave me for Christmas (last year) had run out, but it was still the height of Manhattan season (the cocktail, not the island). I had to do something. Supermarket Maraschino cherries weren’t an option. For years I told myself that they were an amusing retro touch to […]
Our 17 month-old daughter Julia and I share many favorite things — vintage disco, french toast, cardigans, and, perhaps less predictably, cauliflower. Raw, I find it almost inedible, and steamed or boiled it’s watery and dull. But roasted in the oven it’s transformed into a nutty, tender vegetable delight. It’s one of my favorite side […]
I love it when style, function, luxury and economy come together in one beautiful piece of gear. A good shaving brush is a perfect example of how this can happen. I’m not advocating going all retro with your shaving kit. The safety razor is a modern miracle of performance and thrift, and traditional straight razors […]
One of the many unexpected benefits of having a child has been remembering some of the pleasures of my own childhood. Brownies, for instance. As I searched for the brownie of my childhood, though, I found that a really good one is hard to come by. Some were dry and chewy and tasted only vaguely […]
Maybe it’s my advancing age, or the fact that I spend a lot of time carrying an increasingly heavy (yet adorable) child, but the strain of lugging cases of San Pellegrino home from the market was beginning to test my love of sparkling water. And the energy it took me to haul it the last […]
There was a time where the whole concept of Valentine’s Day irritated me. Of course, it’s a perfect example of a Hallmark Holiday; that is, a day that seems to have no genuine cultural purpose other than buying gifts. And even its ostensible purpose is unclear: it seems to be a celebration of romantic love, […]
I’ve made this dish more times than I can count, and it’s become a family favorite. In fact, I think this dish, a Tunisian-style lamb stew and bananas are in a three-way tie for our 17-month old daughter Julia’s favorite food. (For now at least, her culinary adventures seem only to be limited by her […]
I can’t take any credit for this beautiful host gift, except, possibly, for my taste in friends. It was given to me recently by my friend John, who is a prominent physician in San Francisco and also one of the most creative and thoughtful people I know. Around a bottle of wine, John made a […]
When the cold weather comes around, I always like the idea of butternut squash soup, but I don’t really like most of the soups themselves. Generally they’re too sweet and heavy for my taste. I’ve kept at it, though, and I’ve come up with a recipe that I really love. If you’re fond of squash […]
I’m always on the lookout for secret ingredients, little culinary gems that can quickly turn simple dishes into something special and new. Preserved lemon, discussed in my post here, is one of my favorites, and this is another. Vadouvan is an Indian spice blend with a French accent. It’s roots are in Pondicherry, a former […]
