Spring Panzanella
recipes

Spring Panzanella*

Hidden within this perfectly delicious spring panzanella salad is a secret ingredient you should know about: toasted croutons, made of sunflower seed bread. The mind reels at how this could change the concept of salad forever; crunchy and substantial, these croutons have heft to them. They make you feel like you’re taking good care of yourself with every bite.

Smoked Salmon Pizza
recipes

Smoked Salmond Pizza

This was the pizza to revolutionize all pizzas. Wolfgang Puck’s ingenuity in pizza toppings back in the eighties changed forever how we eat pizza today. He was the first to recognize the incredible versatility of pizza dough, and to see it as a basis for almost any ingredient – pineapple, kale, ham – it all began with this simple recipe for smoked salmon pizza with caviar and crème fraiche. I had forgotten all about this pizza until I saw the […]

Chicken with Calvados and Apples
recipes

Chicken with Calvados and Apples

My uncle had an apple orchard that I loved because I could climb the trees – apple trees being invitingly low to the ground and accessible for a small person. The apples were McIntoshes and it was hard to wait for them to be ripe enough to eat because they’re a particularly good eating apple. It was one of the pleasures of my childhood to climb a tree, pick an apple, and eat it while perched in the branches, but […]

Laura Bush’s Cheese Grits and Shrimp
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Laura Bush’s Cheese Grits and Shrimp

There’s a fascinating exhibit at the Bush Library in Dallas, called “First Ladies: Style of Influence” about the role first ladies have played behind the scenes and on the world stage throughout history. I recently spoke on a panel on that very subject at the Library, and wanted to pass along a recipe of Laura Bush’s, for spicy cheese grits with shrimp. This is a fabulous recipe, the best of the south, and a perfect mix of traditional and contemporary […]

Penne alla Vodka
recipes

Penne Alla Vodka

There are plenty of ways to make this ultimate Italian comfort food, but this version is my favorite. It’s certainly the simplest! You can add grilled chicken to the recipe if you want it to be more substantial, but as written it’s the most deeply satisfying meal imaginable. My favorite time for penne alla vodka is when you’ve been traveling for a couple of days, skipping meals or eating granola bars for dinner – or worse, inhaling half the (stale) […]