New recipes, March 17 (St Patrick’s Day!) 2026

Traditional Irish Soda Bread from NYT Cooking, and Guinness Irish Meatball Stew from Food and Wine. The bread is very simple--flour, salt, baking soda and buttermilk—and is delicious as they suggested, slathered in salted butter. The stew has rich flavors from the vegetables, Guinness, Worcestershire sauce and a roux, as well as lamb meatballs. We liked them both and they both get a 4.

New recipe, March 16, 2026

Vegetable Tofu Curry from NYT Cooking. This is a pleasant dish, but it is rather simple and would have benefitted from more curry and more allium. It gets a 3.

New recipe, March 15, 2026

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Peanut Dressing from NYT Cooking. The avocado gives a lovely creaminess to the salad. The dressing is fantastic and makes this salad a 5!

New recipes, March 14, 2026

We hosted friends for dinner, and I neglected to free many photos. Ah well. We started with a non-alcholic cocktail from Zero, a book from Alinea Group dedicated to non-alcoholic drinks. Our beverage, which gets a total, is on the cover of the book—the Celery Serrano. The Serrano ice cube slowly melts and spices up the drink. This gets a 5!

The food is all Ottolenghi. We started with Hummus no Way of Southern France (Chickpea and Fennel Purée) from Comfort, then moved on to Curried Lentil Tomato and Coconut Soup from Bon Appetít. Our main course was Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Fig and Pistachio Salsa (pictured) from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Extra Good Things. The dessert was a repeat, Bitter Frozen Berries with White Chocolate Cream from
Plenty More. The food is all extraordinary, and every recipe gets a 5!

New recipe, March 13, 2026

We attended the Wonderball to celebrate the extraordinary Denver dance company Wonderbound, so the new recipe is The Bicycle Thief from Food and Wine. This drink has a bright brightness from the grapefruit juice, lemon juice and Campari. We give it a 4.

New recipe, March 12, 2026

Slow Cooked Fish with Citrus and Herbs from NYT Cooking. Leeks, saffron, garlic, citrus and dill on halibut. Yum!! This gets a 4.

New recipe, March 11, 2026

Citrus Beet and Avocado Salad from NYT Cooking. Exactly what it says, plus lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. And it is fabulous! We give this a 5.

New recipe, March 10, 2026

Sheet Pan Charred Meat Pitas from NYT Cooking. Turns out pitas with a central pocket are harder to find that they should be, so we could not put the meat on top of a half pita. The meat is nicely spiced, and it is the toppings that really make this shine. We enjoyed these and give them a 4.

New recipe, March 9, 2026

Roasted Cabbage Salad with Spicy Lime Dressing from NYT Cooking. The title makes this sound simpler than it is. Cabbage, scallions, serranos, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, carrots, tempeh, peanuts, and herbs. This is a great combination of flavors. We give it a 5.

New recipe, March 8, 2026

Coconut Kitchri with Jammy Eggs from NYT Cooking. This is a fabulous stew made with coconut nut milk, lentils and rice, and stunning Indian flavors. Worth repeating over and vote! This gets a 5.

New recipe, March 7, 2026

The Little Italy from Food and Wine. A Manhattan variant, with rye, sweet vermouth and Cynar. We like this a lot, it gets a 4.

New recipe, March 6, 2026

The Marny, from Food and Wine. If you, like us, like Grand Marnier and find it quite sweet, this is your cocktail. 2 parts gin, one part Grand Marnier, a perfect balance. We give this a 5.

New recipe, March 5, 2026

Fin Gin Mule from Food and Wine. Dry Gin, lime juice and Ginger beer, with mint sprigs. A fun variation on the Moscow Mule. We loose this a lot, and give it a 4.

New recipe, March 4, 2026

Bourbon Renewal from Food and Wine. Bitumen, crème de cassis, lemon juice and simple syrup. A variation on a bourbon sour, and pleasant. We give this a 3.

New recipe, March 3, 2026

Arsenic and Old Lace from Food and Wine. Gin, dry vermouth, crème de violette and absinthe. This is a fun drink, and one where the dry vermouth works well. We give this a 4.

New recipe, March 2, 2026

The Bensonhurst from Food and Wine. A variation on the Manhattan, but suing dry vermouth, and a combination of Cynar and Maraschino liqueur. We prefer sweet vermouth in this type of drink, the dry leaves it feeling a little out of balance for us. We give this a 3.

New recipe, March 1, 2026

The Trinidad Sour from Food and Wine. This has Rye, lemon juice, Orgeat, and an outrageous amount of Angostura Bitters. It is interesting, but we found the Angostura to be a bit overwhelming. We give this a 3.

New recipe, February 28, 2026

As we are spending a week skiing in Telluride (and sampling local restaurants for dinner), our new recipes are going to be cocktails. This is test French Blonde from Food and Wine. A nice combination of gin, Lillet Blanc, St Germain and grapefruit juice. This is a pleasant and slightly unexpected combination fo flavors. We give this a 4.

New recipe, February 27, 2026

Today's new recipe is a breakfast dish, Strawberry Lassi from NYT Cooking. The cardamom in here is subtle. It is a very strawberry and pleasant drink. We give this a 3.

New recipe, February 26, 2026

Sautéed Baby Bok Choy from NYT Cooking. This is a very simple recipe, but it packs a lot of flavor. We give this a 4.

New recipe, February 25, 2026

Ground Beef Bulgogi Sloppy Joes from Food and Wine. We love the flavors of Korean food, and this is a fun adaptation. We give this a 4.