Adam D. Roberts's Blog, page 142

The Best Chili of Your Life

If Craig had his way, this post wouldn't have this title. I just asked him, "Would you call the chili I made the other day the best of your life?" And he answered: "I don't even think of it as chili because there weren't any beans; just lots of meat and stuff. But it was certainly delicious."

Luckily, when my friend Diana ate it, she said the words that justify this post's title. "This is seriously the best chili I've ever had."

It's also the best chili I've ever had. And...

On Breadcrumbs & Croutons

Molly Wizenberg, who many of you know as Orangette, has cooked for me three times over the course of our friendship. All three meals have been documented here on the blog: the first meal was in January of 2007, the next was a New Year's Eve dinner (actually I can't find the post about that) and then, finally, the meal that Molly's husband Brandon made for me when I was stranded in Seattle during a blizzard. So actually she didn't cook that third meal.

But the point is that I was...

The New & Improved Amateur Gourmet

It's 7:45 AM and I can't contain it anymore. I laid in bed last night, jittery and nervous, anxious and excited. In just a few hours the new version of my blog, the blog I'd been writing for the past six years, would be launching. And now--standing before you in all its glory--is the new & improved Amateur Gourmet.

Take a moment to soak it in. Why does everything feel so clear and open? What's that revolutionary new feature on the right? The Amateur Gourmet Community Blog? Don't ask...

How To Make Your Own Matzoh

Moses had the burning bush which talked to him and told him to free the Jews from slavery and to lead them out of Egypt; I had a burning piece of matzoh. My burning piece of matzoh didn't talk to me or tell me to do anything, but it did fill my apartment with so much smoke I had to open all of the windows during a rainstorm. If I were superstitious, I might wonder if this burning matzoh was punishment for my non-seder at Five Guys Burgers the night before where, instead of dipping bitter...

Nick and Toni's Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola

Once, long ago, I found the following statement on someone else's food blog: "I'm sick of The Amateur Gourmet, all he cooks is pasta."

I usually let such cutting criticism roll off me, but this--like a piece of wet spaghetti thrown at the refrigerator--stuck. I haven't stopped cooking pasta (not by any means: it's my favorite thing to cook) but I've blogged about it less. What was the last pasta recipe I posted? Exactly: it's been ages. (Actually, it was my Heaven & Hell Cauliflower...

Where To Eat in New York

At least once a month, I get the same e-mail. It's an e-mail I like getting because it addresses one of my favorite subjects yet, often, the e-mail sits in my inbox for a few weeks before I can answer it. Then, when I do answer it, I shoot out a scrambled, sputtery response that may or may not be very useful.

The question usually goes something like this: "Hey Adam, I'm coming to New York for a few days: where should I eat?" There's usually something else thrown in—"I'm on a budget," "I'm ...

Collard Greens

The original title of this post was going to be: "How To Turn Leftover Collard Greens Into Soup." It was going to be a joke--you'll see why in a moment--with only two words in the body of the post itself. But then I realized that many of you don't have leftover collard greens sitting around in your refrigerator because many of you don't know how to cook them. Which is a shame because collard greens aren't only strangely delicious--deep, dark, almost musky--but they're good for you too...

Pimento Cheese

Growing up, I hated mayonnaise and I hated cheese. Strange for a kid, yes, but the cheese-hatred had some basis: my dad hated it, so we never had it in the house. And I became so conditioned to hating cheese, it took me years (and a cheese-loving boyfriend) to get over it. As for the mayo, that was entirely my own thing: nothing repulsed me more. The gummy, gooey whiteness mortified me; nothing could ruin a sandwich faster than spreading mayo on it first. I could abide it in coleslaw and...

Saravanaa Bhavan & Joe's Shanghai

I have the good fortune to be friends with a guy named Dan Fortune, a DJ with an incredible knack for hunting down obscure tracks--mostly show tune oriented--performed by unexpected artists (Stevie Wonder singing "Hello Young Lovers" from "The King & I," Nina Simone singing a medley of songs from "Hair," James Brown singing "September Song.") Dan's talent for weaving these songs together into a cogent stream of music has won him a large New York following; and because of that following...

How To Make Risotto

Here's our latest video from Food2, featuring beloved Italian chef Cesare Casella (of Salumeria Rosi). Chef Casella (who's also the dean of Italian studies at the French Culinary Institute) teaches us a technique so effective, I'll never make risotto any other way again:

For those of you who can't watch the video, here's the recipe (after the jump)...

Ingredients

Olive oil (a few Tbs)

1 onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

One glass dry white wine (one good enough to d...