CantaloupeAlone

Sour and savory grapeleaves filled with rice stuffing and steamed Some of you know stuffed grapeleaves as dolma , but in my home (half American-half Armenian/ Lebanese) we called them sarma s. The reason? Sarma means rolled and dolma means stuffed. I have an ancient memory of my father telling me that. My sarma has shredded vegetables, white wine, and parsley. Not traditional ingredients, but flavorful. I hold no recipe sacred. No food is safe from my kitchen meddling. This isn't an easy recipe. It involves multiple steps, and a little bit of a guessing game (How much rice goes in each leaf? How long to cook until the rice isn't chewy or too soft? Why is there extra water left in the pan) and time to manually roll each leaf. The good news is even if you mess up you will probably get something that tastes great. Make it for a special occasion, or a good party. If you're making grapeleaves , then you ought to show them off, er, um, I mean share. Sarma Grapeleaves ...

Letters courtesy of the dollar store Full disclosure: I haven't owned a bottle of vanilla extract in close to 2 years. I was annually buying a big bottle of Massey vanilla to last a year of baking. I fell out of that habit when I couldn't validate the extra expense during a tight year. So yes, I have been lying. Most of the recipes I've tested/written with vanilla actually contained almond extract, vanilla powder (an odd xmas gift from way back) or vanilla beans. Vanilla beans are $0.99 each at the Flatbush co-op, about half or less what you would pay at the grocery store or online. Planning for Christmas baking I decided it was time to end my vanilla drought. Vanilla extract isn't a magical elixir squeezed from rare plants. It's just cheap alcohol infused with vanilla beans. I can do that, so can you. You need 4 things: a bottle of cheap booze, vanilla beans , a dark place, and time. Two of those things are free. $12 worth of vanilla beans Small mouth glass bottl...

meal January to February is chili season, directly following Christmas cookie season. Easy, fast, spicy, warming, and and easy way to feel like you've eaten a round meal with just one bowl. Dangerously close to a year ago I was given venison loin by my cousin Mary-Tyler. The venison was hunted by her half of the family, likely in Virgina . Mary-Tyler will correct me in the comments if I'm wrong. I wasn't sure if the venison would be freezer burned (from a year in the freezer) or if the meat would be too strong. The venison was neither, and I ate a hunk hot off the stove. It was a little bit of a waste to cover up great meat in chili, but this is some outstanding chili. One thing to note, I defrosted the venison on a shallow plate in the fridge. The plate was brimming with blood when it thawed, and got everywhere. Gross. Watch out. Venison Chili 1 lb venison 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tblsp canola oil 1/4 tsp salt 1 onion, chopped 8 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 tsp fresh gr...

Bring the jazz and the noise. Open deck spinning after guest djs MNVC #32 - Jazz + Experimental Edition at Sycamore >> - - - - GUEST DJs - - - - 8-9:30 DJ Flail 10 -10:30 IMPOSE Selector Monday January 3rd, 8p-12a @ Sycamore Bar and Flowershop, 1118 Cortelyou, BK F R E E

Not a traditional list, but many lists of lists. Great flavors locked in the memory of my tongue's brain. Plus, the music in the background of all those happy moments. Flavors of 2010 -- Pickled lemons which I accidentally added cardamom to, and then later turned into hummous . -- Fancy maple syrup from Poor Farm Farm . The best I have ever, ever, ever, ever tasted. -- Horseradish -- Thums Up Cola -- Whole wheat almond crust on this pie. -- Chili ginger plums -- Jam jar cocktails at Fire Island -- Grilled asparagus -- Cucumber vodka infused with cucumbers from my garden -- Beets -- Mile End smoked meat -- Strawberry cupcakes from Sugar Daddy at Trophy Bar -- Sausages from The Piggery -- Vermont butter fresh from the owners, but sadly the packaged butter from the store was horribly over-salted. -- fried eggplant stuffed with shrimp paste -- Achiote oil -- Old fashioned organic oats from the Flatbush Co-op. Why are they so good? I love them. -- Momofuku cornflake cookie -- Roa...

Jamming From last Wednesday to this Tuesday I brought cookies to several offices of clients and many of the people who make my life easier all year long. I made 5 varieties of cookies, piparkakut , buckeyes , sugar cookies, chocolate cookies with candied bacon and these jam thumbprints. Without a doubt the most coveted and devoured cookies were jam thumbprints. I was glad. They're mine too, since childhood. A classic combination of rich butter cookies coated with nuts (or coconut, or neither) with a dab of jewel like jam in the center. Pretty and pleasing on multiple levels. I grew up eating the cookies with red currant jam. The tart jam suits the rich cookie with a pure ruby color. I'm far too experimental for traditions. I filled mine with mulberry preserves that I canned this summer. The chunky preserves don't sit flat or fill the thumbprint indent well. The flavor is great and under-sweetened, as like it. I had a revelation just a few days ago. If I don't need...

Yes! The Piparkakut Finnish Christmas cookie recipe I posted last year was made famous this week. They're great cookies, and aside from my pal Ava, who shared her family's recipe with me, I had never heard a peep about them elsewhere. Last year I submitted the recipe and photo to NYTimes online reader cookie feature. This year the fine people at the newspaper tested my recipe, and chose to feature it along with the other top cookies, my photo, and a short profile of me for the Diner's Journal column of the Wednesday Dining section by Emily Weinstein . An honor. I'm flattered. I will forever carry my copy of the article. It's validation at the highest. Validation at it's most real is the speed those cookies disappear when delivered to clients and colleges. I'm proud that I've brought this extraordinary little spiced cookie to homes this Christmas. Black pepper and cardamom bake a great cookie that is otherwise low in sugar and butter, in comparison ...