I am a Julia Child fanatic. I feel so cheated that she died before I had the chance to meet her and become her best friend (oh trust me, it would have happened!). Generally I couldn’t care less about the Oscars, but this year Julia is involved (albeit against her wishes). I will be preparing Julia’s Classic Roast Chicken to munch on while we watch the Oscars, followed by her most famous dessert, the Apple Tarte Tatin. Here are a few more of my favorite J.C. menu combinations and recipes.

Enjoy the Oscars tonight and Bon Appetit!

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Tags: movies, recipes & food
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Every now and then we’re reminded that, despite the state of the economy and lots of people struggling to make ends meet here in the United States, we’re still fortunate. Beyond fortunate, compared to many parts of the world. On the local news last night was a story of homeless people at Ridge Avenue shelter in Center City Philadelphia organizing a donation effort to help people in Haiti. As one of the homeless men noted, unlike many in Haiti, he had clean drinking water. [Read more →]

Tags: money, recipes & food
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America loves pie. The American Pie Council (yes, that seriously exists) recognizes this and has created National Pie Day (this Saturday, January 23) to promote it. I have come up with a set of Pie Day rules that I advise you to follow. If you do not follow my rules, you obviously hate America.

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Tags: recipes & food
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I’d like to start this post with full disclosure. I still eat beef occasionally but I struggle with it and I am working towards a meatless diet. I have come to accept that consuming four legged animals is quite simply bad for our health and bad for our environment. In terms of environmental pollution, the meat industry is worse than cars, planes, and all other forms of transportation put together. A 2006 UN Report says that raising cattle for human consumption is the greatest threat to our climate, forests, and wildlife. I feel pretty ridiculous going through the motions of environmentalism (recycling my plastics and newspapers, changing my light bulbs, carrying around a cloth grocery bag, limiting how much I use my car, etc..), while still committing the greatest sin of them all…eating beef.

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Tags: recipes & food
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It’s not often that a television commercial has the power to send me into a white-hot rage. You know the ones to which I refer: skinny, cooler-than-thou hipsters stuffing their faces and singing their songs of youth atop the roofs of a land that responsibility forgot. I tuned them out at first, assuming that the scruffily adorable trust-fund babies were shilling for vodka or the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.  Sure, they were annoying but they were harmless, right? Wrong. To my horror, I realized recently that these ads are for something much more soul sucking-ly lame than smart phones or American Apparel. These ads are trying to put a positive spin on something that is pure, unadulterated evil: Miracle Whip. And now I’m pissed. [Read more →]

Tags: diatribes, recipes & food
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I bought these bananas five days ago. They are just as green today. This has happened to me before — I buy green bananas and they stay green. What’s the protocol here? They’re defective bananas, refusing to ripen. Should I bring them back to the store and ask for a refund? Even if I should, and they would refund my money — they probably would, since it’s a supermarket chain and they want to keep customers happy — I don’t still have the receipt because I didn’t expect to need it five days later. And anyway, I don’t think I’d bother bringing the fruit back for the $1.30 or whatever it was I paid for three bananas. I guess purveyors of defective bananas are counting on that. If I did return them, what would I say? “I don’t have my receipt, but these bananas refuse to turn yellow.” It’s too much like a Seinfeld episode. And why is there a sticker of a masked professional wrestler? Is it there to scare people into buying the bananas?

Tags: recipes & food
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10. “Run for your lives! The electric carving knife has a mind of its own!”

9. “I didn’t have to stuff the turkey; it wasn’t hollow!”

8. “John, when you said you were bringing your new soulmate, Terry, we just assumed she was female.”

7. “It takes me a whole friggin’ year to forget how much I hate each and every one of you!”

6. “I realize it’s called that by some people, but can’t you just call it ‘white meat’?”

5. “Sorry about the pies. One’s pumpkin and one’s mincemeat, but don’t ask me which is which.”

4. “Yeah, my flat screen TV’s busted….Hey! Where ya goin’? We haven’t had dinner yet!”

3. “9-1-1? How do you get someone out of a tryptophan-induced coma?”

2. “Me? I’m thankful Thanksgiving just comes once a year!”

1. “You ate so much turkey, your belly button just popped like one o’ them Butterball thermometers!”
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, ends & odd, recipes & food
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Organic farmers are in crisis. After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to convert their conventional farms to organic in the past few years, they are now faced with the shrinking organic market and a mountain of debt. The middle class are looking for ways to cut expenses as they deal with job loss or job insecurity, and forgoing organic products has been an easy way to save a few dollars. [Read more →]

Tags: health & medical, recipes & food
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Jacob Sullum’s article “The Perils of Palatability” in Reason magazine is about the efforts of David A. Kessler to tell the rest of us how to eat and to define restaurants as malicious and deceitful because they make delicious food and then have the nerve to tell us about it. In 2007, Sullum interviewed me about my novel Mean Martin Manning, which has a character Kessler might admire: Caseworker Alice Pitney. In the interview, Sullum asked, “Is it hard to write satire in a world that gets sillier every day?” The answer is yes.

Tags: Pitney patrol, recipes & food
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Polenta is a ground yellow maize, meant to be cooked slowly over low heat, with lots of stirring. In this dish I combine rich vegetables and cheeses with a soft, creamy polenta to create a hearty vegetarian meal.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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10. Good N’ Porky

9. Bit-O-Runny

8. Gutterfinger

7. Nazi Rolls

6. Smelly Belly

5. Gecko Wafers

4. Almond Soy

3. Crummi Bears

2. Feces’ Peanut Butter Cups

1. I Can’t Believe They’re Not Raisinets
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, ends & odd, recipes & food
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I know what you’re thinking, “there’s no way making homemade gnocchi is an easy weeknight dinner”, but you’re wrong! If you have a food processor (and I realize not everyone does….but they’re on sale at Lowes this week so maybe you could look into it), then making these light and delicious gnocchi will take you about 20 minutes. And if you don’t have a processor, then save this recipe for a rainy weekend afternoon when you have an hour to kill and make them by hand.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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Pico de gallo (or “Rooster’s Beak”) is a raw Mexican salsa of finely chopped tomato, onion, chile, lime, cilantro, and usually some type of fruit such as mango or papaya. I use it on everything and I always have some in my fridge. It will stay fresh in the fridge, in an airtight container, for several days.

Fried Catfish with Pico de gallo: Serves 4

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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Pollo a la Sidra (or Chicken in apple cider) is a traditional Spanish dish made with alcoholic apple cider, or, Sidra. You can choose to make this dish with non-alcoholic cider if you prefer.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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As a general rule, foods that are brightly colored are really good for you. Pumpkin is no exception. Beta-Carotene is the nutrient that turns produce orange (carrots, bell peppers, etc..) and obviously pumpkin is loaded with it. Why do you want to consume lots of Beta-Carotene? Because it protects you against cancer and heart attacks, and keeps you looking younger.

Pumpkins are native to Mexico (dating back to at least 5500 BC), and are now grown and eaten all over the world, excluding Antarctica. I love Fall partly because I love roasted pumpkin. If you do too, try my easy weeknight Pumpkin and Lentil Salad.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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This time of year I look for Wild Alaskan Coho Salmon. It’s really sweet and mild, perfect for people who think salmon is too “fishy”. High levels of cholesterol-reducing Omega 3s make it a healthy choice, and It’s a certified sustainable fish so it’s great for the environment. At about $10 per pound, it will help you eat right through the recession. Pick some up on the way home from work and try my quick and easy Red Wine Salmon tonight.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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There is still a month or so left to make a weekend trek to Maine and have Wild Lobster at its peak. If you don’t have time to make the trip, The Lobster Place (in NYC’s Chelsea Market or by mail order) sells Wild Maine Lobster year round. My recipe for spicy Lobster Fra Diavolo with Spaghetti is an easy way to enjoy the end of the lobster season in your own home.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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Sesame Seeds are insanely good for you. Adding a sprinkle of them on top of your salads and Hamburger buns gives you a nice boost of iron, magnesium, calcium, Vitamins E and B, and antioxidants. My Asian Chicken Salad is the perfect vehicle for your daily dose;

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This is the only salsa recipe you’ll ever need- its delicious and takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. You can use it as a base and add whatever you like, maybe jalapeno, mango, or pineapple. Make it on the weekend and use it all week on grilled fish and chicken, in burritos, and with grilled Steak Fajitas (recipe below).

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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10. A David Frostie

9. Limburger Cheese Float

8. Rape on the Beach

7. Iguana Juice

6. A Crap Frappe

5. Khalid Shake Mohammed

4. A Screaming Sarcasm

3. Lemon & Lyme Disease

2. Dingleberry Smoothie

1. Swine Coolers
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, recipes & food, travel & foreign lands
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Eating broccoli regularly (more than once a week) has countless health benefits; It reduces the risk (by up to 45 %) of bladder, ovarian, lung, colon, breast, and prostate cancer, it helps correct sun damage to the skin, it helps prevent cataracts, it contributes to building strong bones, it fights birth defects in pregnant women, and it boosts the immune system. I feel healthier already just thinking about it!

Grilled Chicken Rigatoni with broccoli: Serves 4 [Read more →]

Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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Dear Ruby,
My boyfriend and I are hosting our first dinner party this weekend, and he just told me that two of the guests are vegans. This is a surprise to both of us and I’ve already bought the chicken to grill and most of the other dishes have butter or milk or cheese. I’m almost panicking! It’s not a payday weekend and I really don’t have another $50 to spend for a second meal. Please help!

The Flesh-Eating Hostess [Read more →]

Tags: advice, recipes & food
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I just bought the most delicious bunch of bok choy. This is the peak season for Long Island grown bok choy, also known as Chinese cabbage. It’s a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Calcium, and so easy to saute in five minutes or less. Serve it alongside my crunchy lamb chops for a simple weeknight treat.

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Gazpacho is a refreshing “liquid salad” originating in Southern Spain, made by blending seasonal raw vegetables into a cold soup. It is best made with the highest quality vegetables you can find since you really taste each individual flavor. I top my gazpacho with chunks of shallow-poached wild Gulf shrimp and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro. [Read more →]

Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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This is a great time of year for a simple, heirloom lettuce salad. Heirlooms are special because they are grown from seeds which have been around for decades at least, and sometimes for hundreds of years. They have been neglected by the big American factory farms because they require a little more care than mass produced varieties, but with the renewed interest in small family farms, these heirlooms are making a big comeback. Once you get them home, all you need is a little extra virgin and a squeeze of lemon to dress them. Unlike much of the lettuce that you buy at the grocery store, this lettuce actually tastes like something and is full of nutrients. An heirloom lettuce salad with a ripe, locally-grown tomato is the perfect weeknight side dish. Serve it alongside my recipe (below) for Orecchiette pasta with cauliflower and bacon;

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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When purchasing Lemon Sole (a type of flounder), make sure it is wild and Domestic- it is widely available throughout the U.S. and Canada. You can broil it, bake it, saute it, steam it,….and the naturally sweet flavor means minimal spices are needed if you’re in a rush. Simply season the fillets with salt, pepper, and olive oil and put them under a broiler for a few minutes. If you have a little more time, try my recipe for an easy, healthy, weeknight meal; Stuffed Lemon Sole with Pineapple Couscous.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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There are six weeks left to enjoy wild (Florida) Red Snapper before the end of the season. Below is a simple, healthy way to prepare this nutritious fish.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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10. “Wish somebody had told me this BBQ was BYO!”

9. “The DVD that Weird Uncle Frank rented certainly sounds patriotic: The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!”

8. “My hot dog has an engagement ring on it.”

7. “Come on upstairs; I’ll show you some fireworks!”

6. “Tell Lester to get on the other side of the volleyball net! He’s too fat to be jumping up and down directly over the septic tank!”

5. “Which is the burger and which is the charcoal?”

4. “Who chugged all the lighter fluid?”

3. “Alright, nobody light their cigarettes near Donald!”

2. “I think Grandma lost her dentures in the coleslaw again.”

1. “It’s deer meat! Couldn’t have been in the road more than a day or two.”
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, ends & odd, recipes & food
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If you are having company this weekend and you don’t know what to cook, I wrote this for you. An easy three-course meal that won’t stress you out.

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food
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There are certain foods that belong together; Pork chops and apples, prosciutto and melon, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly…. This salad focuses on another great team, shrimp and avocado. Use wild domestic shrimp and perfectly ripe avocado (just barely squeezable) and you can’t go wrong with this one.

Shrimp, Avocado, and Corn Salad: lime-cilantro vinaigrette

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