Some braised meat dishes are so rich they take your breath away. I place oxtails in that category. Richness dictates smaller portion sizes, which fits oxtail perfectly since this is one piece of meat that is mostly bone. Oxtail belongs to that group of odd bits that butchers in a bygone era would practically give away. [...]
Tags: beef·braise·entertaining·fall
Our kitchen could be in a museum, it’s so old. But it’s big enough to fit a dinner party, start to finish, and the big island has enough counter space for a substantial buffet, a real advantage feeding a crowd. When six friends came to dinner last night we went to the pantry for hors [...]
Tags: buffets·entertaining·pickles
Can you guess what’s missing from this photo of the dessert portion of the chilaquiles fiesta we held here yesterday? Yes, I know it’s hard to take your eyes off the exquisite fruit platter assembled by our friend Keith, laden as it is with passion fruit and mangos and prickly pear. And friend Susan’s version [...]
We are engaging the concerns of a hungry planet--slowly--right here in our kitchen garden in the District of Columbia, about a mile from the White House.
What's in your turkey? We killed and butchered more than 80 birds on the farm of Mike and Michelle Klein in Prince George's County. Thankfully, Michelle did the gutting. Unfortunately, Mike bought his turkey chicks earlier than usual and they did not stop growing. Our prize for helping was a carcass that weighed nearly 40 pounds. It barely fit in the oven. Here, Mike is subjecting a slaughtered bird to the "magic fingers," a machine with a nubby, rotating barrel that removes most of the feathers. 
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