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Nina Callaway

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The Best Kitchen Cutting Boards For Every Home Cook

Tools

Wood versus bamboo versus plastic? We're finally setting the record straight.

Nina Callaway

Mar 18, 2024

While Passover gives us a reason to make this candy-like dessert, really there’s no need to wait. Matzo (or matzoh or matzah), the Jewish unleavened cracker-like bread, is the perfect crunchy, flaky base for a thin coating of buttery caramel and melted chocolate, along with whatever toppings your heart desires. Crispy, flaky matzo covered with brown sugar caramel and bittersweet chocolate — this stuff is so addictive you won’t want to wait for Passover.

Nina Callaway

Aug 18, 2023

Five Tips to Cut Onions Without Tears

You’ve probably heard dozens of old wives’ tales and pseudo-scientific advice for cutting onions without tears. Two of the most ludicrous are holding burning matches in your mouth while you chop, a fire hazard to say the least, and chewing on a raw onion, which merely adds more onion close to your mucus membranes. Most of these homespun ideas just aren’t very effective, but we’ve got five tips which are.

Nina Callaway

Aug 31, 2022

Recipe: Buttery Salsify Puree with Horseradish

Here’s a recipe to help you beat those winter vegetable blahs. SalsifyIn New York, we’ve seen salsify at the Paffenroth Farms stand of the Union Square Greenmarket, Whole Foods, and Dean & Deluca. In a pinch, substitute Jerusalem artichokes.You can see a little more about salsify (and how to pronounce it!

Nina Callaway

May 11, 2022

Recipe: Borscht

We might lose our foodie card for telling you this, but we don’t really like beets very much. There’s something about their earthy flavor that’s a bit off-putting.BUT, we love borscht. That earthiness is perfect when combined with dill and vinegar in a sweet & sour soup. And you can fine-tune the amounts of ingredients until it’s as beet-y or non-beet-y as you wanna be.

Nina Callaway

Mar 1, 2021

Here's How to Make Hamantaschen, the Jam-Filled Cookies of Purim

Purim, the merriest of Jewish holidays, begins at sundown today — and there's a treat to celebrate.

Nina Callaway

Mar 9, 2020

Recipe: Raw Artichoke, Mushroom, and Parmesan Salad

When artichoke season begins in cold and damp March, we’re eager to warm up with comforting braises and bakes. But now, at the tail end of the season, we’re looking for light dishes that celebrate the artichoke while still being perfect for warm weather.So last weekend, we pulled out the mandoline and riffed on the classic Italian white salad.

Nina Callaway

Feb 7, 2020

Recipe: Summer Main Course Salad with Beans and Basil

It might seem strange to start a salad recipe by talking about a sausage. But when a friend gave us some beautiful homemade links, we immediately thought of the classic Tuscan sausage and cannellini bean soup. Since the warm weather wasn’t so conducive to soup, it became a light and flavorful composed salad.

Nina Callaway

Feb 3, 2020

Recipe: Pecan-Crusted Salmon with Sautéed Greens & Potatoes

Last weekend I took a walk through the spring farmers market. I wanted to make something special, and was looking for inspiration. At first my focus fell on the new arrivals of seasonal vegetables, especially ramps and leafy greens. I really wanted a fresh side that would hold up in a fancier dish. Then, walking past the local fishmongers, an idea was born. Bright sautéed greens with salmon, a fish that is nicely complemented but not overpowered by strong flavors.

Nina Callaway

Feb 3, 2020

Recipe: Spring Lemon Risotto with Asparagus and Fiddlehead Ferns

After two weeks away from our kitchen, we returned last week to find the market positively brimming with spring vegetables. When we’d left there were only the first signs of ramps, but now there was an abundance of asparagus, rhubarb, peas in the shell, and even fiddlehead ferns.After filling our basket, we quickly started dreaming of recipes that would show off our bounty to its best, especially those rare fiddleheads.

Nina Callaway

Jan 29, 2020

Store Review: The Park Slope Food Coop

When it comes to the Park Slope Food Coop, unbelievers are everywhere. They say that there are too many rules, which are too stridently enforced. They complain about crowded aisles and long lines. They resent having to work 2 1/2 hours once a month. They even go so far as to call the Coop a cult that only crazy people would join.We admit it. There is some truth to these complaints about the members-only Coop.So why is it still our favorite place to buy groceries in Brooklyn?

Nina Callaway

Jul 5, 2019

Recipe: Tart Lemon Tart

Early summer seems perfect for lemon meringue pie, blowsy with airy meringue and easy to wolf down before a late afternoon nap. But here on the precipice of spring, when it’s still cold outside and summer feels so far away, we’re looking for a jolt of flavor. This lemon tart hits that spot.Like a Shaker Lemon Pie, this recipe uses the entire lemon, peel, pith and all. After macerating, the lemons are combined with eggs for a bittersweet marmalade-like filling.

Nina Callaway

May 3, 2019

Tips and Tricks: How to Avoid Wasting Food

If you’re participating in the Kitchn Cure, you probably tossed a fair amount of outdated, spoiled, and just not useful food this week. Every time we clean out the fridge, we’re filled with agita at all the food we waste. Cooking for two people with busy schedules means that plans change unexpectedly, and that head of lettuce you bought two weeks ago is just not going to wait.

Nina Callaway

May 3, 2019

Party Appetizer Recipe: Cheddar Olives

When planning a cocktail party, I always make sure to have one “straight-from-freezer-to-oven” recipe, and I make extra. You can keep refilling the tray as long as you need to, and any leftovers stay in the freezer for the next party. There’s only one problem. With these cheddar olives, my favorite straight-from-freezer-to-oven recipe, there are never any leftovers. Ever. No matter how many I make.

Nina Callaway

May 3, 2019

Almost as Good as the Real Thing: Low-Fat Pesto

So we’ve been challenging ourselves lately to make a low-fat pesto that we love as much as the real thing.The problem with most low-fat pesto recipes is that they just don’t have that punch of basil flavor, or they aren’t very creamy. Most of them replace the oil with something less caloric, but yogurt is too tangy, and chicken stock doesn’t have the rich mouth feel that we love so much.Using Calorie-count.

Nina Callaway

May 3, 2019

Recipe: Strawberry Yogurt Lassi

It’s not officially summer quite yet, but the recent temperatures here in New York say otherwise. I decided to take advantage of the early days of strawberry season and cool off with an icy strawberry lassi. A lassi is a traditional Punjabi drink made with yogurt. The most traditional forms are salty, rather than sweet, and are believed to aid digestion. Sweet lassis often feature mango, sometimes with rosewater.

Nina Callaway

May 3, 2019

Passover Cooking: Huevos Haminados

These might look like Easter eggs, but actually they’re a traditional treat for Passover. We asked NYC caterer and culinary consultant Sierra Spingarn to share the family recipe for Huevos Haminados.Since observant Jews refrain from doing work on the Sabbath, they employ techniques for slow-cooked foods that can be started Friday afternoon, and still be hot on their table. This year, as Passover begins on Saturday night, these techniques will come in especially handy.

Nina Callaway

Apr 16, 2008

The Passover Seder Plate and New Traditions

We’ve already shown you some pretty Seder plates, but we’ve haven’t yet talked about what goes on them. Those who grew up celebrating Passover can probably recite the traditional items in their sleep. But you may not be aware that some Jews are adding and substituting new items to bring additional meaning to their Passover rituals. And, if you’ve never been to a Seder before, you might be lost entirely.

Nina Callaway

Apr 15, 2008

April Fools Day Recipe: Is This Really a Bowl of Cereal?

Our favorite April Fools Day food tricks are more nice than naughty – the classic idea of serving foods that look like other foods. You’ve probably seen the meatloaf “iced” with mashed potatoes to look like a cake. Maybe you’ve even seen mashed potatoes and gravy in a parfait glass, mounded up to look like a butterscotch sundae.This year, we were looking for a new trick to truly fool our favorite people. Did we fool you?

Nina Callaway

Mar 28, 2008

Store Review: Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks

We admit it. We have a cookbook addiction. Our bookshelves are overflowing, and yet we keep buying them. In New York, our favorite place to feed that delicious addiction is Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks. This tiny Greenwich Village shop is a must-see destination for cookbook lovers and anyone interested in culinary history.Crammed floor to ceiling with historic, vintage, and contemporary cookbooks, Bonnie Slotnick’s is a dangerous place for the cookbook addict to browse.

Nina Callaway

Mar 27, 2008

Measuring: Dip and Sweep

Ever wondered why a cake recipe doesn’t come out the same every time? It could be how you’re measuring.Pastry chefs and recipe developers typically weigh ingredients to get an accurate measurement. But since most American cookbooks aren’t written by weight, and not all home cooks own scales, it’s not fair to just tell you to weigh everything. So how do you get it right?

Nina Callaway

Mar 21, 2008

Simple Pleasures: Radishes with Butter and Sea Salt

We’re packing for a flight tomorrow, and of course that packing includes a snack to make the hours in the air more palatable. Inspired by Saveur’s March theme of butter, we washed some radishes, spooned some artisanal butter into a disposable container, and bagged up a bit of sea salt.Tomorrow, just when the flight seems intolerable, we’ll take a bite of peppery radish, slather on some cooling butter and add a little extra crunch with the salt.

Nina Callaway

Mar 5, 2008