Gai-lan

I have always loved green vegetables, like  Gai-lan, a type of Chinese broccoli found in Asian food markets. It works wonderfully in scrumptious preparations steamed or stir fried. Whereas spinach also a native of Asia goes simply in a dish like Goma Ae, a...

Preserving In Oil

Sottòlio is a method of preserving vegetables in oil, usually bathing them in vinegar as a pickling agent. With a batch of vegetables going south – from peppers to artichokes – I decided it was time to give this method a chance. Simultaneously, I was...

Puntarelle – Horray!

While getting my Monday food orders, I noticed my vegetable purveyor had puntarelle, that weird, winter, chicory-like salad green.  Being it's so rare, I ordered three pounds immediately. On arrival, they looked more hollow than the robust specimens found at...

Jean George’s Latest

Jean George Vongerichten’s latest restaurant, abcV, has a name that is hard to say quickly (just try!) but it’s easy to enjoy. And given it is the third restaurant he has located within the ABC Carpet building, I guess it has a particular logic. Whatever,...

Puntarelle

Puntarelle can be thought of as vegetable cousin to chicory. My first try, I was hooked by a marriage of this crisp fennel like vegetable with anchovy. It was, no overstatement, divine!  And now if I sound like a guy who sports twin toy poodles, so be it....