This is what we had on New Year’s day at my house:

And it was perfect!
The holiday season is over, and as much as I heartily welcome it each year; I am always ready to bid it farewell in January. Having the holidays fall on a a Tuesday this year really messed with my head. I can only handle merriment once a week and it’s usually on the weekend. Therefore, Monday felt like Saturday, and Tuesday was Sunday for sure! And Joe’s special is the perfect food to eat on a lazy Sunday– which is why we had it on New Year’s day. (Got that?)
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area I remember Original Joe’s, I don’t however remember Joe’s Special. Maybe that’s because when I was a kid, I didn’t like eggs. Yup, I wouldn’t eat them, especially scrambled, as they are in this dish. I am still quite [...]

I grew up in the suburbs, and have lived in one city or another for most of my adult life, so I had never had the pleasure of eating a fresh egg before. And I mean fresh.. like straight from the chicken fresh. But this all changed for me last week, when a generous neighbor gave me a few of his.
I live in a residential neighborhood in New Haven, CT– the kind of place where you are happy to have a car for mobility, but can still walk to a market only blocks away. It is hardly the sticks, and it’s not really the sort of place where livestock is prevalent. But this hasn’t stopped a neighbor of mine from raising a few chickens, coop and all, and sharing the wealth.
He gave me five perfectly incongruous eggs, ranging in color from barely tan, to a buttery [...]

I was recently talking with some friends about summertime desserts. Mainly about how much I love them. Got a cobbler? Send it right on over! Peach pie is divine! Plum cake? Superb! And then I mentioned an old stand-by for me– the clafoutis. No crust to beat down with a rolling pin, it uses whatever fruit of the season you choose, not quite a cake, not quite a custard. Simple, delicious, and my own prerequisite, great for breakfast the next day. The clafoutis is pretty close to perfect.
One of the conversation’s participants, Seth, had never heard of the clafoutis, much less eaten one (don’t worry, that will be remedied), but he asked if they were anything like a dutch baby. Well that opened up an entirely new can of worms, as some people had never eaten those either. [...]

I love a good sandwich; but I am also picky about them. The bread has to be excellent, toppings carefully selected, and any of my long-time readers know how finicky I am about ratios. But when the sandwich has each of those things going for it, it can be a thing of beauty. And I am not alone in thinking this, Nancy Silverton in her fabulous book, Nancy Silverton’s Sandwich Book echoes these sentiments, and gave me an outstanding midday meal.
A sandwich to be savored, with care placed in both the ingredients, and the composition, this sandwich of Soft-Scrambled Eggs, Long-Cooked Broccoli, and Feta Cheese was perfect. Nestled on grilled sourdough bread, the crowning achievement to this lunchtime meal was of course, the long cooked broccoli. Now I have eaten plenty of broccoli in my day. In fact, it was my favorite vegetable as a child. But I had never [...]

Sunday Brunch. It seems that lately I have been having guests over quite often to partake in that not-quite-breakfast-but-certainly-not-lunchtime, ritual. It is a wonderful way to entertain– more relaxed, carefree, an assemblage of sorts. There is no worry over what wine to serve (mimosas do just perfect), no sit-down courses to worry about getting on the table at the right moment, and dessert? No one really expects a ganache covered cake at 11:30 in the morning! (Though at my house one would rarely be turned away either.)
But what do you serve? With so many options it can be a bit of a conundrum. There are always the standards. Crisp waffles, their crannies cradling pools of melted butter; or stacks of fluffy pancakes, teetering tall on a crisp, white plate, but you have to wait for those entrees. Irons must be piping, griddles must be hot, there is turning and [...]

A peculiar thing is happening to Bay Area farmer’s market, and I’m not sure that I like it. They are becoming very much in fashion, in vogue, and not always in a good way. In other parts of the country a farmer’s market is a place to get wholesome farm fresh produce, much better than what you would get at the grocery, for rock bottom prices. The farmer’s market cuts out the middle man; they are a place where the farmer is also the purveyor. But in the Bay Area the farmer’s market is a place for a stroll, sipping your organic coffee, a place to see and be seen, they are dripping with folksiness, not a place for everyone, but a place for those who can afford their organic (sometimes) produce. Not every Bay Area farmer’s market is like this, but the weekend farmer’s market at Ferry Building [...]

Sometimes it is the simplest meals that are the most delicious. A soft-boiled egg, small and self-contained, proudly standing tall in its porcelain cup is the perfect brunch-time antidote to a weekend filled with too much wine, hearty foods, or both. An ideal vessel in which to dip a slice of lightly grilled rustic country bread, or better yet, take advantage of the spring season and dunk an crisp, lightly salted asparagus spear.

I am not the hugest fan of savory egg breakfasts, but there has always been something about the soft-boiled egg that just does it for me. Perhaps it is all of the accoutrements, the delightful little cups, mimicking the shape of the food that they hold, and the diminutive spoons just large enough to get into the shell without shattering it. By the time you prepare your egg just so, a pat of fresh butter, a sprinkling [...]