I am a big believer in cultural immersion. When in Rome (pun intended) my family and I eschew the minibar-heavy tourist hotels for a down-at-heel Italian hotel in the Trastevere where we can rent their attached apartment and play at being locals: load shopping bags into...
Certain weather means certain things to me. Mountains in winter? That’ll be fondue. Dark autumn evenings in London make me think of boeuf bourgignon, cups of tea and hibernation. Summers? That’s margaritas (see also: winter, spring, and random Tuesday lunchtimes). As we go into our second...
I am a one-hit wonder when it comes to cake baking...
[caption id="attachment_6423" align="aligncenter" width="533"] Photo by Gabrielle Geiselman[/caption] I have been called stubborn before. I can't remember when or why but it rings in my ear like a familiar tune. I prefer to think of myself as not stubborn but dedicated. That sounds better. That sounds...
There are loads of things I learned while living in New York. How to survive, and thrive, in a 400 sq foot apartment. How to subsist when 60% of your income goes to rent. How to wear black in any season. How to get to...
You have probably finished buying gifts now. You *should* be done wrapping them. You might have them under the tree, packed into the car or in your closet on that very, very top shelf. Your menu is most likely planned and you think you have...
This article first appeared on ChefJohnBesh.com. There are tons of things I didn’t know about British people before I married one. For starters, they are incredibly funny. Not just the odd one here or there, but all of them. As a breed. Just funny. They also...
The holidays are here and in full swing. I can tell this not because of the wreaths adorning doors and the enormous tree at my dad’s house that blocks the entrance to his bedroom (true story) but because I have an ever-present knot of stress...
[caption id="attachment_6324" align="aligncenter" width="523"] Photo by Gabrielle Geiselman[/caption] There are 7,890,000 results that come up when you Google "Banana Bread Recipe" so I am comfortable with the possibility that you may not be in the market for a new one. I am also comfortable with the...
There were two unmistakable signs in my life that I had reached adulthood. The first was that I started keeping scissors in my kitchen accepting that, for the rest of my life, I would need to be able to cut open bags of frozen peas,...
When I first learned how to cook fish en papillote it felt a bit like I was learning magic. You cut a heart out of parchment paper, add a piece of fish, some seasonings, close it and bake it for 15 minutes. When you open...
One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years. --Tom Wolfe I moved to New York City from New Orleans at 24 years old having never visited before. The city immediately wrapped its high intensity arms...