The acid-and-salt combination of marinades was once used to preserve meats and fish. Now, we use marinades more for flavoring, tenderizing and moisturizing.
Though any marinade could be made from more or less of any of its parts, here’s a basic formula for making one:
acid (vinegar, wine, yogurt, citrus juice) + oil (olive, vegetable) + aromatics [...]

When you’re in the mood for a hearty, warming and healthy one-pot dish, this stew-like soup hits the spot. The combination of beans or legumes, pork and a starch is classic. A bright splash of lemon juice at the end of cooking adds a tart acidity to the dish — a great tip for just [...]

A vegetarian’s friend, lentils are petite legume seeds that come whole or split in a variety of colors. Popular throughout the world, brown European lentils are the most common, if not the most delicious, variety. Because they tend to grow mushy when cooked, they are often used as a base for lentil soup.

The dark green-blue [...]

Whether you happen to live in Charleston, SC, plan to visit soon or you’d just like to know what’s going on with lowcountry cooking these days, you have to get a hold of Holly Herrick’s new book The Charleston Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes From The Heart of the Old South.
Herrick has somehow selected and become [...]

On Saturday, I had a few people over to watch college football’s SEC title game. The game was amazing as advertised, and fortunately the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide beat the hell out of the then undefeated Florida Gators, 32-13.
Food-wise, I decided I’d keep things simple and cook up a few game-time standards. I’ve always loved [...]

Last weekend, my dad was in town for a visit. About an hour after his plane touched down, and on the recommendation of several friends, we went fishing for redfish, trout and whatever else would bite with guide and longtime Charlestonian Peter Brown. Though the redfishing was really good, the speckled trout ended up the [...]

Now that fall’s here, I’m settling into my new home on a small barrier island near Charleston, SC. And after a long summer hiatus, my cookbook writing and testing has begun in earnest — an exploration of the relationship between Southern (U.S.), and Southeast Asian food and cooking. More on that later.
Meanwhile, I started the [...]

This space has been quiet for the past couple of months, and we’ve neglected to explain why. The short answer is that we’ve had a really busy summer.
My book about the pluot was published last week by Bloomsbury and is now available at bookstores everywhere. In The Perfect Fruit: Good Breeding, Bad Seeds and the [...]

Today is the 10th anniversary of Attila Ambrus’s escape from prison. A folk hero around the world, Ambrus is a former professional hockey goalie (maybe the worst ever to play the game) who was finally arrested in 1999 after robbing more than two dozen Hungarian banks (often with great panache).
Known as the Whiskey Robber [...]

I just got back from a good long trip to the panhandle of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico coast, where we’ve been vacationing since I was little. I’ve always appreciated the amazing seafood down there, but there’s one thing in particular I look forward to each trip — the shrimp.
Shrimp, of course, look and [...]