derbyshire: chatsworth… (2022)

Sixteen generations of Cavendish patriarchs – the earls, and subsequently dukes of Devonshire – stare across a grand staircase at the Acheson sisters – granddaughters of the wife of the eighth duke – who sweep across a sprawling canvas. The Cavendishes were painted by almost every notable portraitist in the last 400 years – from […]

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derbyshire: chatsworth… (2022)

Sixteen generations of Cavendish patriarchs – the earls, and subsequently dukes of Devonshire – stare across a grand staircase at the Acheson sisters – granddaughters of the wife of the eighth duke – who sweep across a sprawling canvas. The Cavendishes were painted by almost every notable portraitist in the last 400 years – from […]

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travel: grounded… (2020)

– This post is terribly tardy, largely due to a rapid resumption of life after a year arrested by a pandemic. The fair winds of 2019 sent me sailing confidently into 2020. Even before the calendar turned, the new year was already brimming with work and travel. There were new partnerships and exciting prospects shimmering […]

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travel: grounded… (2020)

– This post is terribly tardy, largely due to a rapid resumption of life after a year arrested by a pandemic. The fair winds of 2019 sent me sailing confidently into 2020. Even before the calendar turned, the new year was already brimming with work and travel. There were new partnerships and exciting prospects shimmering […]

Continue

favorites of 2019: the restaurant edition…

A tangle of claws cascading from scalloped rims brimming with ice and seafood. A shoulder of goat with crispy skin and tender meat melting off the bone. Glistening turbot, straight off the coals, and trolleys laden with all manner of goodies, from sweets to cheeses. These are just a few of the incredible scenes I […]

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favorites of 2019: the restaurant edition…

A tangle of claws cascading from scalloped rims brimming with ice and seafood. A shoulder of goat with crispy skin and tender meat melting off the bone. Glistening turbot, straight off the coals, and trolleys laden with all manner of goodies, from sweets to cheeses. These are just a few of the incredible scenes I […]

Continue

favorite desserts of 2019…

Is it me, or is pastryland slowly coming back down to earth? After years of frenetic experimentation and exploration, it seems like pastry chefs are finally getting back in touch with reality. There are still plenty of exciting and unexpected (and, yes, sometimes bizarre) ideas coming out of pastry kitchens. And sadly, one of the […]

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favorite desserts of 2019…

Is it me, or is pastryland slowly coming back down to earth? After years of frenetic experimentation and exploration, it seems like pastry chefs are finally getting back in touch with reality. There are still plenty of exciting and unexpected (and, yes, sometimes bizarre) ideas coming out of pastry kitchens. And sadly, one of the […]

Continue

favorite dishes of 2019…

– As you’ve probably noticed, this blog went silent over the summer. During that time, a wonderful team of smart people at WordPress and Automattic were working hard behind the scenes, giving this site a desperately needed makeover. While there are loose ends that still need tidying, I encourage you to start clicking around and […]

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favorite dishes of 2019…

– As you’ve probably noticed, this blog went silent over the summer. During that time, a wonderful team of smart people at WordPress and Automattic were working hard behind the scenes, giving this site a desperately needed makeover. While there are loose ends that still need tidying, I encourage you to start clicking around and […]

Continue

rumination 38: bonfire of the vanities…

– All first-year law school students in the United States are introduced to American jurisprudence through six, core courses: Constitutional Law, Tort Law, Property Law, Contract Law, Civil Procedure, and some form of legal research and writing. Almost all law schools also require a course on the federal rules of evidence (commonly known simply as […]

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rumination 38: bonfire of the vanities…

– All first-year law school students in the United States are introduced to American jurisprudence through six, core courses: Constitutional Law, Tort Law, Property Law, Contract Law, Civil Procedure, and some form of legal research and writing. Almost all law schools also require a course on the federal rules of evidence (commonly known simply as […]

Continue

travel: in dazzling relief… (2019)

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travel: in dazzling relief… (2019)

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12 days of christmas: kostow (2019)

The last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a tangle of excitement and exhaustion that is well-documented in previous years on this blog (a complete, hyperlinked list of every single dinner since 2012 can be found at the bottom of this post).  For the cooks there’s the afterglow of having hosted eleven guest […]

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12 days of christmas: kostow (2019)

The last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a tangle of excitement and exhaustion that is well-documented in previous years on this blog (a complete, hyperlinked list of every single dinner since 2012 can be found at the bottom of this post).  For the cooks there’s the afterglow of having hosted eleven guest […]

Continue

12 days of christmas: cantu… (2019)

– It seems only a short while ago that Val Cantu was hosting a pop-up in San Francisco.  Those early previews of Cantu’s modern, but studied approach to Mexican cooking generated considerable excitement.  Before I knew it, he had opened a small restaurant in the Mission and earned a Michelin star.  It was in those early […]

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12 days of christmas: cantu… (2019)

– It seems only a short while ago that Val Cantu was hosting a pop-up in San Francisco.  Those early previews of Cantu’s modern, but studied approach to Mexican cooking generated considerable excitement.  Before I knew it, he had opened a small restaurant in the Mission and earned a Michelin star.  It was in those early […]

Continue

12 days of christmas: lee… (2019)

– On the recommendation of a friend during a three-day layover in Singapore, I had the pleasure of eating at Candlenut.  That was the summer of 2016, just before the Michelin Guide arrived in Singapore, where it would award chef Malcolm Lee and his Peranakan cooking a worthy star later that year. Lee brought his […]

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12 days of christmas: lee… (2019)

– On the recommendation of a friend during a three-day layover in Singapore, I had the pleasure of eating at Candlenut.  That was the summer of 2016, just before the Michelin Guide arrived in Singapore, where it would award chef Malcolm Lee and his Peranakan cooking a worthy star later that year. Lee brought his […]

Continue

12 days of christmas: charles… (2019)

– I hadn’t heard of Jeremy Charles, or his restaurant Raymonds in Newfoundland.  But after doing a little reading, I uncovered an approach to cooking simpatico with my own perspective and preferences. In an age when social media make it easy for chefs to appear closer to nature, here you have a chef who seems […]

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12 days of christmas: charles… (2019)

– I hadn’t heard of Jeremy Charles, or his restaurant Raymonds in Newfoundland.  But after doing a little reading, I uncovered an approach to cooking simpatico with my own perspective and preferences. In an age when social media make it easy for chefs to appear closer to nature, here you have a chef who seems […]

Continue