The Martini has been my favorite cocktail for decades. So it’s a little weird that until now I’d never tasted, much less made, the Martini’s close relative: the Martinez. Or… [Continue Reading]
Bathe your love berries in bubbly
Alistair Cooke, the great British journalist who spent most of his career trying to explain the United States to his befuddled compatriots back home, never quite managed to develop an… [Continue Reading]
Restoring the Daiquiri’s dignity
I understand the attraction of the frozen cocktail. I really do. Just like I understand the attraction of Big Macs and professional wrestling and “Judge Judy.” There’s an undeniable appeal… [Continue Reading]
The Old Fashioned in a new era
The State of Oregon, in a perhaps questionable move, granted me my alcoholic beverage server’s permit in 2019. I had a chance to put it to use exactly once—serving up… [Continue Reading]
A rye for right now
OK, all you coronavirus quarantine bread bakers out there. It’s time to get serious. You’ve done banana breads, zucchini breads, blueberry muffins, and buttermilk biscuits. You’ve tried your hand at… [Continue Reading]
Who burned the ice cream?
Chef Sin and I have freakishly similar tastes in most things, but especially in food. We both prefer our meat medium rare. We both despise beets. We both think Dungeness… [Continue Reading]
What is this 25-year-old pizza stone telling you?
We bought our ceramic baking stone in the early 1990s—and it looks like it. If those stains could talk, here is what they’d say about pizza: The rise is worth… [Continue Reading]
Embrace the hype and pass the toast
My go-to sandwich when visiting an unfamiliar diner or lunch spot is usually a BLT. It’s hard to mess up bacon, lettuce, and tomato on bread — at least, not… [Continue Reading]
Smoke ’em if you stock ’em
We celebrated Thanksgiving last week. Not because we forgot that it was February. Or that we missed the November holiday. We celebrated Thanksgiving last week for basically one reason: We’d… [Continue Reading]
The best next-day beast
The holiday is over. The gifting is done. The feast has been reduced to an oddball collection of Gladware tubs and clingwrap covered dishes stacked in the fridge like an Irish famine… [Continue Reading]