Ribollita (also written Ribolita—with one ‘l’) is a classic Italian vegetable-and-bread soup (or more of a stew?). I have had it multiple times, see it regularly on cafes all over town (I am currently living in Florence, Italy). In fact, I have two favorite ’stand-up-and-eat’ lunch windows—and one of the best bowls of Ribollita I [...]

I took a class called American Cuisine. Each week we would focus on a different region of America, to familiarize ourselves with its flavors, historical influences and topography, and  how they informed the table tops in this part of the country.
One week was all about Tex Mex. Texas is its own unique state, unlike any [...]

If ever you had a spoon, and could insert it into the computer screen with optimal effect: this would be the time. If you like mushroom soup, you should try this one. If you aim to embrace fall’s earthy flavors and welcome the changing season with seasonal menus, look no further.
I have been making this [...]

It isn’t very summery is it? Smooth beige soup in a bowl.
Though this soup has deep, earthy flavors, and beckons your deliberation of forest undergrowth and fertile mounds of earth, it may not pass as summer fare… you can almost taste the forest floor when a spoon of this mushroom soup settles in your mouth. [...]

I love good soups. When a good soup meets my lips and warms my throat down to my belly, even my toes get a wiggle.
This is a perfect time of year for soups; and for using my favorite kitchen tool: an immersion blender. You don’t need one for this soup, of course, but if you [...]

I was in a slump: I admit it.
I cooked impressive-sounding things like pinot noir braised red onions with roasted chicken, and soy braised beets with salmon in arugula cream sauce, and bruschetta with rosemary white bean puree. But things—these recipes—were just not going my way.
Some of them took too long to make, involved step upon [...]