WHY I WROTE, ‘MY FLORIDA KITCHEN’ I wrote my sixth cookbook, “My Florida Kitchen” because I felt it was time for an update on our rapidly changing state. The last cookbook written on the whole of Florida was an excellent book written by Caroline Stuart and Jeanne Voltz titled “The…
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My Kitchen Conversation with Jeremiah Tower
Here is my interview with the legendary Jeremiah Tower. I don’t say this very often at all … But this man was a true hero of cuisine for me. Ever since learning of his contributions to the evolution of “Chez Panisse” restaurant founded by Alice Waters, and especially the menus he…
Morels
Spring is the prime time of year when the wild mushrooms known as morels are shooting up in one more example of Mother Nature’s urging, beckoning, tantalizing and delivering magic. And though we are now past that month there are dried versions that can still be very nice. When the…
“To Kill A Mockingbird”, Harper Lee
I read this book when I was a freshman in high school. It flowed with truth and beauty. It described a small town in the South… a place I’d never been. It also had the precious dynamics of an older brother and his sassy, but also sensitive little sister. A…
“Remember When”, Alan Jackson
There are certain songs that make you fall in love with your life partner all over again… If you are very lucky. And this song is certainly one of ‘those songs’ that will release that emotion. It is his patience and strength that I find in his voice that makes…
Interview, D’Artagnan, “Center Of The Plate”
Courtesy: Center of the Plate
At D’Artagnan we proudly work with chefs across the country, providing them with quality ingredients to express their creativity in the kitchen. Some we have decades-long relationships with, and others are new to the family. The chef we interviewed for this blog post falls in the former camp. Chef Norman Van…
Meeting Julia Child, (The First Time)
I didn’t grow up watching Julia Child on television the way many people of my generation did. My television hours were not inclined toward any aspects of cooking, though we did cook in our home. My mother was a both a restaurant worker and also (for a time) a Girl…
“Culture and Cuisine” and The Origins of ‘Fusion’
“Culture and Cuisine”, Jean-François Revel I purchased this book at a shop on Fleming Street in Key West in mid February of 1988. I was part owner of my first restaurant. It was called “MIRA”. I was also in the middle of a huge amount of culinary self analysis as…
Chopped Steak
When I was about six years of age our paternal grandmother we grandkids all called, “Gra” took me to a fancy restaurant in the city of Chicago. I was excited by the menu. I ordered the Sirloin Steak Haché. I was absolutely crestfallen when what arrived looked like a damn…
Edward Lee’s “Buttermilk Graffiti” in the L.A. Times; A Review by Amy Scattergood
Courtesy: LA Times
To be candid I love Edward Lee. I came to know him after he came to know me. That happens when there is a generational divide sometimes. But something drew us together and in places like Atlanta, Napa Valley, Orlando, New York City and Miami we have had the chance…
My Kitchen Meditations: “On Knives”
My Kitchen Meditations ‘On Knives’ I went to bed after a long day of cutting. I thought back on the previous 24 hours as I hulled and then evenly sliced Florida strawberries in the ascending morning light using a Japanese knife its creator might have envisioned for other tasks. My knives…
Spring Rolls
We opened a cooking school in the Wynwood Arts part of Miami. Many people assume it is a school for professional types that are seeking a degree in cuisine. Nope. That is not what sparked me into seeking a way to do this. I have never been a student at…
Tomatoes Upon Waking
Three scents wake me. Not wake me initially. An alarm did that. These are the wakings of an appetite as they are touched by the brewing coffee, the emanations of ripening mangoes…but the third scent is more subtle than the first two. It comes from the tomato my knife and…
Peaches
There are ingredients that are so closely associated with a geography they seem inextricably tied to them and their terroir. The great Georgia born writer Flannery O’ Connor wrote this about the craft of storytelling, “When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs as you do, you…
Food & Wine Magazine/Time Out Market Miami
Courtesy: Food & Wine
Thank You Clarissa Buch and Food & Wine Magazine! Readers. Please hit the link to access the whole article by Ms. Buch. “In addition to the 18 food stalls, the 18,000-square-foot space in South Beach includes three bars, an art gallery, and a demonstration kitchen.” CLARISSA BUCH Updated May 07,…
Conch
Those of us who have lived here in South Florida for some time may remember when conch, freshly harvested from the sea was available in the grocery stores and fish markets. My first recollection of conch was watching young boys pulling them up on to the pier at Higg’s Beach…