Cooking class in Tuscany

Before the next food safety headline

Every major food safety headline begins long before anyone writes it. Before an outbreak is identified, a recall announced, or an investigation launched, countless quieter decisions shape what happens throughout the food system. A supplier is approved. A specification is accepted. Equipment is maintained. An unusual result …

Chocolate Orange Muffins

There’s a specific moment in late autumn when I start craving chocolate and orange together. Something about the combination feels right for the colder months, like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange but in baked form, warm from the oven with a crackly top. These muffins scratched …

French Dip Sandwiches

The French Dip was invented at Philippe the Original in Los Angeles in 1918, which makes the name a minor historical joke. What is not a joke is the sandwich itself: thin deli roast beef warmed gently in a savory jus, piled onto a crusty …

Ham and Cheese Strata

If you have never made a strata, you are missing out on one of the most practical dishes in all of home cooking. It is a savory bread pudding, assembled the night before, left to soak in the fridge, and baked the next day with …

Roasted Leg of Lamb

A roasted leg of lamb turns a regular Sunday dinner into something memorable. It sits at the intersection of impressive and approachable: a large, bone-in cut rubbed with garlic, rosemary, thyme, and Dijon mustard, roasted at a moderate temperature until the crust is deeply browned …