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Ruth Reichl

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A Great American Vinegar - and a Great Mint Sauce

I've just fallen in love with an American vinegar, and I'm starting to put it into everything I cook. Shelburne Apple Company Cider vinegar makes just about everything taste better. I love it in salad dressings, where it's full, gentle flavor enhances every leaf of lettuce. But yesterday, as I was standing in the outdoor shower, where the fresh mint... Continue reading

Posted yesterday at Ruth Reichl

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Are French Fries Old Hat?

Had dinner at Michael White’s new steakhouse, Costata the other night. The food was astonishingly good: lots of raw seafood to start (I was especially taken with the sardines), a revelatory spaghetti con vongole, and a gorgeously marbled rib eye with the longest bone I’ve ever seen. But what really blew me away were the potatoes: small whole ones that... Continue reading

Posted 4 days ago at Ruth Reichl

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World's Best Pancakes

The first rule of pancakes: Don’t use a mix. Let me repeat that: Don’t use a mix. It saves no time, it tastes no good - and it costs more money. Pancake Rule Two: Don’t even think about using inferior maple syrup. A good pancake deserves the very best. Pancake Rule Three: Don’t skimp. I know my recipe, below, has... Continue reading

Posted Jan 18, 2013 at Ruth Reichl

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James Beards' Onion Ring Sandwiches

In my experience these are pretty much a love or hate proposition. If you love onions as much as I do, they're a huge hit. They're also very pretty, very easy, and a surprise to most people when you set them out with drinks. Onion Rings 1 loaf brioche or challah, cut into 1/4 inch slices mayonnaise 4 small onions,... Continue reading

Posted Jan 5, 2013 at Ruth Reichl

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Great Cornbread If you use artisanal cornmeal...

Great Cornbread If you use artisanal cornmeal that’s been coarsely ground, this very simple recipe yields something remarkable. The cornbread is crunchy, textured, just a little bit sweet, with a complex flavor tasting strongly of corn. Served warm, it’s irresistible with chili- and the little muffins are perfect the next morning, briefly warmed in the microwave, with eggs for breakfast.... Continue reading

Posted Dec 28, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Last Minute Suggestions

It's the day before Christmas, and you're desperate. I've culled past gift guides for a few last-minute presents that would make great gifts. Most are promises for the future - but then anticipation is one of life's great pleasures. Kishus from Ojai The Kishus are coming. Soon. Alice Waters introduced me to these tiny tangerines, which carry a little sunshine... Continue reading

Posted Dec 24, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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It's Not Too Late: Gift Guide, Day 23

Every year I try to include one interesting magazine subscription in my gift guide. Last year it was Lucky Peach, and if you’re still not reading this great addition to the food world, what are you waiting for? (While we're talking about great food magazines, Fool is another one you should know about. Published in Sweden, this wonderfully quirky publication... Continue reading

Posted Dec 23, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 22

Making great pie may be the ultimate test of a cook: so much can go wrong. That’s why Evan Kleiman’s wonderful new easy as pie app is such a thoughtful (and inexpensive) gift. Who wouldn’t want this? Kleiman, hosts the always interesting Good Food on KCRW radio (if you love food and aren’t listening to this show, you’re missing out... Continue reading

Posted Dec 22, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide on the Solstice

If you really want to impress a good cook, give them the best vanilla beans you can buy. Great vanilla bears no resemblance to the dark, sad, shriveled little pods you find in most supermarkets. The finest vanilla beans I’ve ever met were the organic pods sourced by Le Sanctuaire, which startled me with the intensity of their fragrance. They’re... Continue reading

Posted Dec 21, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 20

These tiny cocottes arrived in the mail yesterday - a gift from a friend - and I find them so useful, and so charming, that I’m instantly including them in my gift guide. These enamelled Le Creuset pots are really small : just two inches high and three and a half inches in diameter. Perfect for shirred eggs, baking individual... Continue reading

Posted Dec 20, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 20

These tiny cocottes arrived in the mail yesterday - a gift from a friend - and I find them so useful, and so charming, that I’m instantly including them in my gift guide. These enamelled Le Creuset pots are really small : just two inches high and three and a half inches in diameter. Perfect for shirred eggs, baking individual... Continue reading

Posted Dec 20, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 19

The first time I encountered a magazine called Garden and Gun I thought it was a joke. Then I looked inside. Terrific writing. Beautifully designed. Surprising. A heartfelt ode to the south - and lots of fun for those of us who don’t live there. The magazine’s got a store - well most magazines do - selling totes and caps... Continue reading

Posted Dec 19, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Eric: You're right: I should start the gift guide earlier. And next year, I will. Happy holidays to you!

Commented Dec 18, 2012 on A small Christmas miracle at Ruth Reichl

Gift Guide, Day 18

The Corkcicle pretty much falls into the why-didn’t-anyone-ever-think-of-that-before category. This instant icicle cools wine from the inside, eliminating the need for an ice bucket. (Anyone who’s ever tried to find space for one of those bulky monsters in a tiny New York kitchen can appreciate the beauty of that.) You simply store it in the freezer, and then replace the... Continue reading

Posted Dec 18, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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A small Christmas miracle

Todays’s gift is a gift to everyone who, like me, keeps doing stupid things with their IPhone. Last year I dropped it in the toilet (don’t ask). Last week I left it in the pocket of my jeans and then threw them into the washing machine. Yes, the phone went through the entire cycle. And yes, It came out (not... Continue reading

Posted Dec 17, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide Day 16

Adopt an olive tree? What a cool idea. Here’s how it works: You go to a beautiful website and scroll through the various orchards on offer. There are more than a dozen in Le Marche and Abruzzo, with a picture of each, a little biography of the olive farmer, and a description of the oil they make. You choose the... Continue reading

Posted Dec 16, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 15

You know how some bowls just call out to you, begging to be picked up? Daniel Bellow’s ceramics have that effect on me. I find myself wanting to wrap my hands around them. Shape is what interests Bellow - his glazes are very simple - and each one of his plates, cups and bowls has an earthy, tactile, sense. I... Continue reading

Posted Dec 15, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 14

Fresh wasabi root is one of those ingredients for which there is no substitute; the powdered stuff (basically just horseradish that’s been dyed) doesn’t come close. Real wasabi is subtle, with a kick that quickly fades into a clean, green flavor. Although it is now being grown in Oregon, it is still expensive enough to make a wonderful treat for... Continue reading

Posted Dec 14, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 13

It’s easy to find pretty aprons. Vintage aprons abound. And lately I’ve been inundated with ads for aprons that make you look sexy while you cook. But this classic bistro apron does more than that: It makes you feel more competent in the kitchen. This is what I love about these handsome aprons. They’re made of wonderful, heavy linen. They... Continue reading

Posted Dec 13, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 12

Anybody else who started a cookie company would call it Butter and Sugar. Not Dorie Greenspan. Her new company is called Beurre & Sel - butter and salt - because she understands the importance of salt. (Leave it out of cookies or brownies, and they fall absolutely flat.) But she doesn’t merely add salt to her sweets - iconic Sables,... Continue reading

Posted Dec 12, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 11

One of my favorite photographs - ever - is one we published at Gourmet about five years ago. It’s a roast from the test kitchen, so bristling with meat thermometers that it looks like an angry porcupine. All of the Food Editors cooked their meat like that, because not one of them trusted a single thermometer to be accurate. Why... Continue reading

Posted Dec 11, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 10

Little Miracles I remember the first time I tried Miracle Fruit. I was a total skeptic - can anything actually make something sour taste sweet? I put the bright red berry into my mouth and took a big swig of pure lemon juice. It worked! My mouth was flooded with shocking sweetness. For a while I kept the berries in... Continue reading

Posted Dec 10, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 9

No matter how much you want to buy a wonderful gift for a gardener, don’t even think about going to the Hudson Valley Seed Library’s website unless you’re willing to waste a significant amount of time; theirs is one of the most seductive sites I know. Started nine years ago by a group of heirloom seed savers they’ve grown into... Continue reading

Posted Dec 9, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 8

Shrimp Under Glass Most of us spend a lot of time talking about sustainability, but few of us get to see it in action. This gift will change that. Ecospheres are self-sustaining little worlds enclosed in glass. Designed by a NASA engineer, these beautiful glass globes are strangely absorbing. Filled with algae, bacteria and tiny shrimp, they are like little... Continue reading

Posted Dec 8, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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Gift Guide, Day 7

Personalized Scotch Until he retired a few years ago, I had a gifting relationship with my favorite sushi chef. Every year at Christmas, he presented me with a present, and it was incumbent upon me to return the favor. Knowing that the quality of the gift reflected on his prestige, I always gave him an ostentatiously expensive gift. But the... Continue reading

Posted Dec 7, 2012 at Ruth Reichl

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