Gillian’s Shame Cake

The other day, at a presentation, an artist described images created by artificial intelligence as “ingrained with violence” and AI products in general as the “spiritless disembodiment of the internet gone mad.” Here are two real things that I actually touched – pineapples and anemones (both at Robin Hollow Farm and Flowers). I did not … More Gillian’s Shame Cake

So Very Many Peas

Sometimes, at the tail end of golden hour, if you are American and living in the Northeast in late winter and therefore darkness is about to swing your way like a sledgehammer, and someone has scheduled a 5:30 pm haircut for a kid who doesn’t want his hair cut, and your job is still sending … More So Very Many Peas

Knife Skills

Sometimes the “s” that makes things plural is a lie, depending on your expectations. For example, here I can offer information on only one knife skill, and it’s… not really about cutting or chopping. Here it is! The helping hand should be in bear claw position. The helping hand holds the onion or the jicama … More Knife Skills

Peanut Brittle

Are you looking for a conceptually muddled dessert featuring two textures that fight each other and an edge of post-prandial danger? For once, I know exactly what to tell you. Peanut brittle with ice cream.  I started making peanut brittle during the pandemic as a gluten-free thing to give out over the holidays and because … More Peanut Brittle

Key Information

and also rice pudding We have a gas oven that, when you turn it off, exhales loudly and constantly until the oven’s interior has cooled. There is not an option to turn off whatever fan makes this happen. It sounds like an exasperated dragon, or a general malfunction. It is a noise that suffuses the … More Key Information

Never

Have you ever used a straight razor or a paring knife to chop up dog tranquilizer and then sprinkled the dust onto a slice of sharp cheddar? I have. I have! And then I have proceeded to put that in the microwave. And then I used a child’s play spatula to roll that mess into … More Never

Covid Tasting Notes

When confronted with options for when, what kind, and how often you get the plague, even though it’s largely not up to you, there’s a lot to consider. Omicron This is a full-bodied variant, with a violent attack, notes of rotted wood and psychotic fermentation in the joints and a spicy jalapeño-like fire that rests … More Covid Tasting Notes

Providence AF

One night while sitting at a bar where I thought they served no food, we discovered they did indeed serve food, albeit only Spanish tinned seafood. Specifically: cockles in brine. Cockles in brine! We did not opt for it. By the time I got home, the first word had stretched to “cockerels;” “cockerels in brine,” … More Providence AF