Hi everyone, can anyone provide suggestions on what type of cutting boards to use? I've read recently that we should not use plastics since they can emit microplastics that can be ingested....I don't like the idea of using wood for meat, poultry and fish. Any advice and recommendations on which are best? thanks.
Hearty agreement here on sticking with wood boards! I got rid of the plastic one years ago and now have wood boards only with one, separate and designated: NO ONIONS PLEASE! Hot water and soap works like a charm. Once a month, I rub each board down with food-grade mineral oil and they look like brand new!
I use wood for everything. My favorites are made by Boos. If you're concerned about bacteria, keep a bleach solution under the sink for sanitizing your board.
Nope. Soap and water, wood cutting board, and common sense are fine. Americans are overly afraid of bacteria. When I used to do a lot of cutting of animals direct from I’d we everything down with a bleach solution. But only then.
Well somehow I need to go to NY and see The Clock. Sounds right up my alley. I remember going to see Chronos in 1985 in San Francisco and loving it. Watching time
Dare I confess that I keep frozen cubes of garlic in my freezer. Sometimes they are the perfect short cut
The older we get the more we realize we really are pescatarian about 90% of the time but 10% of the time you just really need a great smash burger or a piece of bacon. Would love to see a couple of your favorite recipes that feature fish and/or veggies. So loved our month of January in the West village that we are going to do it again in 2026 who cares if it’s 15° if there’s so much to do that you don’t even notice the cold as you walk to see live music get a great meal go to IFC and see a movie. Coolest neighborhood we’ve ever stayed in.
So jealous of the writer's conference and you and Anne being there with Ruth Reichl whose writing I have always been so enamored with....on garlic...why use 2 utensils when 1 (knife) does the job...all about efficiency and storage space...
As someone who has been collecting cookbooks for many years, I say yes, we do, but my perspective on them has changed. I no longer feel the need to hang on to cookbooks I have had for many years and no longer use. Instead I tend to cycle through them and every few years I get rid of some and get a few new, different ones. There are ones that I never get rid such as your From Scratch, How to series, Ad Hoc, French Laundry and my bread baking cookbooks.
Thank you for your restorative newsletter; I got the books Ann recommended. As a vanishing dish from the early 70's; Three Bean Salad? My English mother made it for her English club; women in dresses and heels and fast chattering English accents.
Do you ever go to the Writers's Conference in Rancho Mirage?
Was planning to make a similar orecchiette recipe this week. Have been fooling around with making the pasta by hand, but haven't perfected it. Been able to make purportedly more difficult shapes, but the orecchiette always either tears or is too thick. Sigh...
Also, I don't use a garlic press. Crush to a paste if I need it that texture. Hate cleaning the darn thing!
Another wonderful newsletter Michael! I admit using the garlic press early in my home cooking duties and remember reading it overpowered the flavor so now just chop, slice or mince depending on the dish....I also use the Jacque Pepin method of smashing garlic with a little kosher salt into a paste used for salad dressing (dijon, balsamic, ev olive oil). I admit that I have way too many cookbooks and some I rarely use but love the idea of collecting the classics as discussed in this space and having the ready reference when planning a dish. A few I forgot to mention are a very early cookbook by Jacque Pepin called Everyday Cooking and Taste by David Rosengarten not to mention Anthony Bordain's Les Halles Cookbook. Thanks for the recipe for Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe....one of my favs! Looking forward to the next newsletter!!
I disagree that Nigella didn’t change the way we think about food. “How to be a Domestic Goddess” encouraged women that cooking for family and friends was a worthwhile and pleasurable undertaking even for driven career women. It was a welcome counterpoint to the ethos that serious women didn’t enjoy cookery and the ultra-intense chef cookbooks that were totally out of reach for a busy working parent. So, for me, a welcome and thoughtful rejection of extremism at the time.
Yes, we need more cookbooks. They expand your horizons. Ottolenghi opened my eyes to new spices, Vincent Schiavelli's "Many Beautiful Things: Stories and Recipes from Polizzi Generosa" was just an absolute joy to read. Yes, we need more GOOD cookbooks, not more Instapot bargain books.
As an Italian, my family would be horrified not to have a garlic press in the drawer. In fact, every bride gets one in her wishing well. Nothing punches up the garlic flavor like the press, and there are no small minced chunks that hit too strong in a meatball or pasta dish. If I could master Jacques Pepin’s smash and rock-the-knife maneuver, I would but I can’t seem to get the “smash” so the press stays!
When I was learning to cook back in the 80s, my mom had a garlic press and I grew up using it. I don't understand the antipathy so many people have for them except for one aspect: it always feel like you lose garlic that gets stuck in the hopper and in addition to losing garlic, they're really hard to clean.
I still have no real objection to a garlic press, but I haven't used mine for a very long time. These days I will either use a microplane grater or smash-and-chop method. Sometimes, if I really want to abuse the hell out of the garlic, I will use the salt-puree method I learned from Julia Child many years ago.
Hi everyone, can anyone provide suggestions on what type of cutting boards to use? I've read recently that we should not use plastics since they can emit microplastics that can be ingested....I don't like the idea of using wood for meat, poultry and fish. Any advice and recommendations on which are best? thanks.
Hearty agreement here on sticking with wood boards! I got rid of the plastic one years ago and now have wood boards only with one, separate and designated: NO ONIONS PLEASE! Hot water and soap works like a charm. Once a month, I rub each board down with food-grade mineral oil and they look like brand new!
I use wood for everything. My favorites are made by Boos. If you're concerned about bacteria, keep a bleach solution under the sink for sanitizing your board.
thanks Michael....will checkout the Boos board...do you use one for veg and another for meats/poultry
Nope. Soap and water, wood cutting board, and common sense are fine. Americans are overly afraid of bacteria. When I used to do a lot of cutting of animals direct from I’d we everything down with a bleach solution. But only then.
Well somehow I need to go to NY and see The Clock. Sounds right up my alley. I remember going to see Chronos in 1985 in San Francisco and loving it. Watching time
Dare I confess that I keep frozen cubes of garlic in my freezer. Sometimes they are the perfect short cut
Have never tried freezing. don't see why it wouldn't work!
That is one of my favorite dishes of all time.
The older we get the more we realize we really are pescatarian about 90% of the time but 10% of the time you just really need a great smash burger or a piece of bacon. Would love to see a couple of your favorite recipes that feature fish and/or veggies. So loved our month of January in the West village that we are going to do it again in 2026 who cares if it’s 15° if there’s so much to do that you don’t even notice the cold as you walk to see live music get a great meal go to IFC and see a movie. Coolest neighborhood we’ve ever stayed in.
Hi Margy, so so glad you love the West Village. It truly is a place like no other. And sorry we don't cook a lot of fish. Can I direct you to an actual book? Eric Ripert's Seafood Simple. https://www.amazon.com/Seafood-Simple-Cookbook-Eric-Ripert/dp/ruhlmancom/0593449525/ It's excellent.
So jealous of the writer's conference and you and Anne being there with Ruth Reichl whose writing I have always been so enamored with....on garlic...why use 2 utensils when 1 (knife) does the job...all about efficiency and storage space...
As someone who has been collecting cookbooks for many years, I say yes, we do, but my perspective on them has changed. I no longer feel the need to hang on to cookbooks I have had for many years and no longer use. Instead I tend to cycle through them and every few years I get rid of some and get a few new, different ones. There are ones that I never get rid such as your From Scratch, How to series, Ad Hoc, French Laundry and my bread baking cookbooks.
Sweet of you! Glad you like the books!
Thank you for your restorative newsletter; I got the books Ann recommended. As a vanishing dish from the early 70's; Three Bean Salad? My English mother made it for her English club; women in dresses and heels and fast chattering English accents.
Do you ever go to the Writers's Conference in Rancho Mirage?
Restorative? What a kind thing to say. Yes on 3 bean! And neither Ann nor I know the rancho mirage conference. Where, when is it?
I tried to find the word that described how I felt after reading your newsletters. Please tell Ann I'm loving River of Darkness. And it's a series!
nfo@rmwritersfest.org
It just finished but I bet you and Ann would be a welcome addition to the presenting writers in the next one if you were interested.
We love having a pre or post theater or concert drink at the Merchant whenever we're at our home in Belfast, but not for £1,000!!
Was planning to make a similar orecchiette recipe this week. Have been fooling around with making the pasta by hand, but haven't perfected it. Been able to make purportedly more difficult shapes, but the orecchiette always either tears or is too thick. Sigh...
Also, I don't use a garlic press. Crush to a paste if I need it that texture. Hate cleaning the darn thing!
Another wonderful newsletter Michael! I admit using the garlic press early in my home cooking duties and remember reading it overpowered the flavor so now just chop, slice or mince depending on the dish....I also use the Jacque Pepin method of smashing garlic with a little kosher salt into a paste used for salad dressing (dijon, balsamic, ev olive oil). I admit that I have way too many cookbooks and some I rarely use but love the idea of collecting the classics as discussed in this space and having the ready reference when planning a dish. A few I forgot to mention are a very early cookbook by Jacque Pepin called Everyday Cooking and Taste by David Rosengarten not to mention Anthony Bordain's Les Halles Cookbook. Thanks for the recipe for Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe....one of my favs! Looking forward to the next newsletter!!
I disagree that Nigella didn’t change the way we think about food. “How to be a Domestic Goddess” encouraged women that cooking for family and friends was a worthwhile and pleasurable undertaking even for driven career women. It was a welcome counterpoint to the ethos that serious women didn’t enjoy cookery and the ultra-intense chef cookbooks that were totally out of reach for a busy working parent. So, for me, a welcome and thoughtful rejection of extremism at the time.
And she didn't give a fig about being conventional
Good points! Ann concurs as well.
Hmmm, I wonder if you should make this exactly one week from now? I’ve heard it pairs well with Caymus 🤷♀️👌#IYKYK
Whenever I have a lot of garlic to crush, I just use my oxo meat mallet. Smashes it to oblivion.
Yes, we need more cookbooks. They expand your horizons. Ottolenghi opened my eyes to new spices, Vincent Schiavelli's "Many Beautiful Things: Stories and Recipes from Polizzi Generosa" was just an absolute joy to read. Yes, we need more GOOD cookbooks, not more Instapot bargain books.
As an Italian, my family would be horrified not to have a garlic press in the drawer. In fact, every bride gets one in her wishing well. Nothing punches up the garlic flavor like the press, and there are no small minced chunks that hit too strong in a meatball or pasta dish. If I could master Jacques Pepin’s smash and rock-the-knife maneuver, I would but I can’t seem to get the “smash” so the press stays!
Yes!
When I was learning to cook back in the 80s, my mom had a garlic press and I grew up using it. I don't understand the antipathy so many people have for them except for one aspect: it always feel like you lose garlic that gets stuck in the hopper and in addition to losing garlic, they're really hard to clean.
I still have no real objection to a garlic press, but I haven't used mine for a very long time. These days I will either use a microplane grater or smash-and-chop method. Sometimes, if I really want to abuse the hell out of the garlic, I will use the salt-puree method I learned from Julia Child many years ago.