• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Pepys had seen grass growing in the streets of London, the Great Fire, and Cromwell’s head on a pike, and somewhere there is a first mention of a French wine called Ho Bryan—Haut Brion, surely—reminiscent of the much later Irish poet and writer, Harry Craig, returning to New York from abroad and calling out for bottles of “Chateau O’Brian” to celebrate. He had just been awarded the title of Pen of Islam for his work writing a film of the life of the Prophet Muhammad, a task made challenging because the Prophet’s likeness could not in any way be shown.

FRUITS THAT RIPEN OR DON’T · HIVES

ASPARAGUS · BREAD · CHOISISSEZ-VOUS

THE RITZ · SOLE · SUSHI AND SASHIMI

CARĚME · THARID · AUTOMAT · POILÂNE

NOT COMPLICATED DINNER · STRAWBERRIES

FRUITS WITH LIQUEURS · CHICKEN MARENGO

STEINBERG · SINGING · MARQUIS DE CUSSY

HOSPITALITY · PLACES NOT TO EAT

MEXICAN FOOD · BUTTERMILK · LEARNED HAND

BLUEBERRIES · DINNER COMPANIONS · FETA

WEDDING CAKE · THE GOLD RUSH

FRUIT WITH CHEESE

TWO RULES FOR TRAVEL

BLOODY MARY · PICNIC

SICK DOG

FRUITS THAT RIPEN OR DON’T

The slightly hard peach or melon that you buy in the supermarket and hope will ripen in a few days never will. It will soften, but that’s all. Peaches and melons do not ripen after they are picked. Other fruits in this category are:

ALL BERRIES · CHERRIES · GRAPES

ALL CITRUS FRUITS · PINEAPPLES

APPLES (EXCEPT FOR GOLDEN DELICIOUS)

Some fruits do ripen further at room temperature:

PEARS · PAPAYA · APRICOTS

PLUMS · BANANAS · MANGOES

The avocado will ripen only after being picked.

HIVES

If you’re susceptible to hives from eating too many strawberries or other acidic foods, there’s a way to cure them without an expensive doctor’s visit and prescription:

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Half a glass or more of water

Combine all ingredients. Drink the mixture and expect a cure within about half an hour.

ASPARAGUS

Asparagus should be cooked until just barely tender, so it still has a slight bite to it when eaten. Emperor Caesar Augustus knew this to be true when he coined the phrase velocius quam asparagi coquantor, or “faster than you can cook asparagus.”

Julius Caesar liked his with melted butter, while French encyclopedist Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle was partial to oil on this favorite dish. His cook was preparing some in just that way when the Abbé Terrasson arrived unexpectedly and asked to stay to dinner. Dismayed that he would be deprived of half his asparagus, Fontenelle nevertheless ordered that the Abbé’s be served with the white sauce he preferred. As dinner was about to be served, the Abbé suddenly toppled to the floor, felled by a stroke. Fontenelle immediately took action, calling out to the kitchen, “All the asparagus with oil!”

BREAD

Man may not live by bread alone, but it has been a staple of the human diet for ten thousand years. It was unleavened until the time of the Egyptians, who added the yeast that made it ferment and then expand when baked. While flatbreads can be made from many kinds of ground grains, wheat flour, by itself or mixed with rye or corn flour, is the only choice for leavened breads because it alone has enough gluten to rise without ending up either too moist or too dry.

The basic ingredients in a classic loaf are flour, water, salt, and yeast, but there are endless variations in terms of proportions and treatment. The spectrum runs from the thick, chewy, heavy-crusted loaves made by hand to the limp, presliced, sugar-added types made commercially and found in supermarkets. The baguette, almost a symbol of France, is bought fresh each day and is worthless by the next, though it doesn’t usually last that long. A good, handmade loaf will have a hard, golden crust and the inside will be slightly chewy, with large, irregular holes created by the expanding gas. Mass-produced loaves are pallid in color and uniform inside, with small, if any, air holes. They are often made of frozen dough and can also be identified