Monthly Archives: December 2020

Well, the furnace quit

So last night around 7:00 pm, two weeks before a new furnace is going to be installed, the 20 YO one quits. The condensate pump had been misbehaving, primarily because it was filled with gunk, and I’d tried to rinse it out, but finally gave out and took it apart and really cleaned it out. Anyway, the furnace stopped igniting around the same time. It would turn on the fan, increase the fan speed, and then slow down the fan again. No heat. I called my power companies home warranty line around 9:30, and a repair guy arrived around an hour or so later. After a considerable amount of time, a diagnosis was achieved, and off he went to retrieve a new part. An hour or so later, the part was installed, and the furnace started running again.

Food! Glorious Food!

The Most-Read Food Stories of 2020
Readers turned to the Food section for advice on quarantine cooking, expiration dates and comfort food — lots of comfort food.
By SARA BONISTEEL

Remembering the Restaurants America Lost in 2020
This has been a harrowing year. From fine-dining trailblazers to longtime neighborhood favorites, we commemorate just some of the many places that had to close their doors forever.

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
Before They Closed, Restaurants Opened Doors for Us
Ligaya Mishan counts the many ways she misses eating out, and the lessons it taught her about the world and its possibilities.
By LIGAYA MISHAN

Is Dairy Farming Cruel to Cows?
A small group of animal welfare scientists is seeking answers to that question. Facing a growing anti-dairy movement, many farmers are altering their practices.
By ANDREW JACOBS

GOOD QUESTION
Will My Popcorn Explode?
The odds that all of your popcorn kernels will pop simultaneously aren’t zero. Maybe think instead of the multiple lotteries you’re more likely to win.
By RANDALL MUNROE

Road to Recovery
Grocery trends: Fewer new products, but more changes in supermarkets and shopping
By Cara Rosenbloom

With a Fortifying Soup, Haitians Share Their Pride in Independence
Even in the pandemic, they’ll celebrate Jan. 1 by doling out soup joumou, a dish defined by national and familial traditions.


Soup joumou is traditionally made with squash, beef, pasta and assorted vegetables. This version, from the New York author Cindy Similien, includes handmade dumplings.
By PRIYA KRISHNA

FRONT BURNER
Green Chutney From a Minneapolis Family Recipe
The sisters Sheilla and Yasameen Sajady turned the cilantro chutney made by their mother, Fatima, into a business.


Maazah Chutneys and Aioli, $8.99 for eight ounces, maazah.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Ending 2020 With a Sweet Bit of Release
The hot chocolate bomb is a tasty metaphor for a pent-up year.


By HANNAH SELINGER

Voraciously
If you want to see 2020 go up in flames, start with these 3 recipes
By G. Daniela Galarza

8 sweet and savory shortbread cookies to pair with tea, coffee or wine
By G. Daniela Galarza

FRONT BURNER
A New Source for Alcohol-Free Libations
Chris Becker, a former technology consultant, has about 170 nonalcoholic beers, wines and spirits on his website, Better Rhodes.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Indulge in Some Hot Cocktails
Festive and full of good cheer, these warm drinks will bring comfort to cold nights ahead.


The Winter and Smoke combines Scotch whisky and Lapsang Souchong leaf tea.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Smaller bowl, same punch: Scaling down New Year’s drinks for one or two

From left: Pomegranate Fizz, Stocking Clementine and Pear-tridge in a Chai Tea, individual punchbowl cocktails.
From left: Pomegranate Fizz, Stocking Clementine and Pear-tridge in a Chai Tea, individual punchbowl cocktails.
By M. Carrie Allan

Food! Glorious Food — The Too Close to Christmas Edition

It’s Peak Season for Tamales in Los Angeles
Big tamaladas are canceled this year, but many of the city’s tamaleras press on because tamales, along with the cultures and microeconomies they sustain, are essential.


At her outdoor kitchen in Montebello, Calif., Claudia Serrato and her family make tamales with blue corn and braised bison.
By TEJAL RAO

See the Beauty of Tamales de Frijol Being Made
Alfonso Martinez of Ponco’s Tlayudas, a Los Angeles pop-up, demonstrates how to make tamales de frijol
By GENEVIEVE KO

How Will We Eat in 2021? 11 Predictions to Chew On
Meal kits from your favorite restaurant, snacks that help you sleep and other ways the food world may respond in a year of big changes.
By KIM SEVERSON

Five Kwanzaa Celebrations Around the Country
For many Black Americans, the holiday is a time for bonding, joy and repose. The Times visited five households to see how people cook and gather, engage and reflect.
By NICOLE TAYLOR, NYDIA BLAS, CELESTE NOCHE, BRIAN PALMER and TIMOTHY SMITH

These Bacon and Eggs Practically Cook Themselves
A big holiday breakfast is great — unless you’re the one stuck making it. This sheet-pan recipe is the solution.


By GENEVIEVE KO

Reclaiming the Tiki Bar
Tiki bars are a beverage industry mainstay — with a painful and underexamined past. Can the format be repaired?
By SAMMI KATZ and OLIVIA MCGIFF

Henry Haller, Chef for Five Presidents, Dies at 97
He had the high-level skills necessary for the job but also a welcome flexibility, allowing him to thrive in the, well, pressure-cooker that is the White House.


Henry Haller preparing for the White House wedding reception of Lynda Bird Johnson, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s oldest daughter, in 1967. Johnson was the first of five presidents Mr. Haller served.
By GLENN THRUSH

THE LIVES THEY LIVED
Cecilia Chiang Lost Everything in China, and Built It Back in California
She twice escaped war in China, and eventually landed in an America that was hungry for a new kind of Asian cuisine.


By JADE CHANG

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Music | Directed by George C. Wolfe
Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman star in a potent adaptation of August Wilson’s play.


Viola Davis stars in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” August Wilson’s 1984 play about a recording session in Chicago in the 1920s.
By A.O. SCOTT

Food! Glorious Food!

Opinion
My 50-Pound Bag of Flour Is Gone. My Sanity Remains.
Turns out, all I needed to survive lockdown was sourdough.
By Farhad Manjoo

In Sweden, Infections and Calls for a Lockdown Are Rising
The country has been keeping restaurants and bars open, trying not to let the pandemic disrupt life. But the second wave is forcing the authorities to reconsider their approach.
By Thomas Erdbrink and Christina Anderson

A Deeper, Darker Look at James Beard, Food Oracle and Gay Man
A new biography traces the influence he wielded as a writer and the pain he endured for his sexuality in an unwelcoming world.


James Beard in his Greenwich Village kitchen in 1964, the year his memoir, “Delights and Prejudices,” was published. He wrote extensively about his childhood and food memories, but never publicly acknowledged that he was gay.
By JULIA MOSKIN

Make A DIY Seltzerator
With our constant need to hit ‘refresh’ right now, sparkling water is in high demand. Here’s how to save money and the planet by making it yourself.
By MEREDITH PAIGE HEIL

EAT
Your New Favorite Condiment: Salsa Macha
This chunky Mexican chile oil can make everything from fried eggs to potatoes more delicious.


By TEJAL RAO

A Traditional, but Unexpected, Christmas Showstopper
Yotam Ottolenghi usually leaves the Christmas meals to his husband. But dessert is where he shines, making this riff on the classic bûche de Noël.


If the flavors of winter could be rolled into one, then this meringue roulade would be the result.
By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

16 Delightful Cooking Projects to Brighten Up the Holidays
If you’ve got time on your hands, these recipes are a joy to make.
By ALEXA WEIBEL

Our Food Staff’s 18 Favorite Holiday Recipes
Reporters and editors shared the NYT Cooking recipes that have become holiday traditions in their homes.
By ALEXA WEIBEL

18 Easy Holiday Desserts
No-fuss treats for a sweet season.
By MARGAUX LASKEY

The Small Luxury of Chocolate Truffles
Enticingly imperfect, hand-rolled truffles are a one-bite affair.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Whimsical Sauce Bowls for Sushi Fans
The lids to these bowls from the designer Nam Yoon become chopstick rests.


By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
A Scandinavian Spread for the Holidays
Aquavit and sweDISHnyc.com offer Julbord kits for a festive celebration.


Aquavit Christmas to Go, $195 for two, 65 East 55th Street, 212-307-7311, aquavit.org; Christmas in a Box, $150 for two, $65 additional, sweDISHnyc.com, 917-251-7093.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

To the Ends of the Earth
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
A Japanese TV host is lost in and out of translation in Uzbekistan.


Atsuko Maeda in “To the Ends of the Earth.”
By GLENN KENNY

Gunda
NYT Critic’s Pick | G | Documentary | Directed by Viktor Kosakovskiy
This astonishing documentary offers an intimate look at the lives of a sow, her rambunctious piglets, a one-legged chicken and a herd of cows.


Gunda with one of her piglets in Victor Kossakovsky’s documentary.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Giving Voice
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary | Directed by James D. Stern, Fernando Villena
Netflix’s inspirational documentary follows talented theater kids who are devoting themselves to Wilson’s writing.


Cody Merridith performs an August Wilson monologue in the documentary “Giving Voice.”
By ROBERT DANIELS

— Of Possible Interest —

Let Them All Talk
R | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Meryl Streep plays an author trying to reconnect with college friends in Steven Soderbergh’s film.


Meryl Streep and Lucas Hedges in “Let Them All Talk.”
By MAYA PHILLIPS

Sing Me a Song
Documentary | Directed by Thomas Balmès
The French filmmaker Thomas Balmès follows a Bhutanese boy as he becomes a man and finds a life outside the monastery where he grew up.


“Sing Me a Song” a documentary film | Directed by Thomas Balmès about a boy in a Bhutanese monastery. It follows his film “Happiness,” which introduced the young boy, Peyangki
By KRISTEN YOONSOO KIM

The Prom
PG-13 | Comedy, Drama, Musical | Directed by Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy takes on the Broadway hit “The Prom,” with help from Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Keegan-Michael Key.


The bright (small) lights of Indiana meet Angie Dickinson glam: Nicole Kidman and Jo Ellen Pellman in “The Prom.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Funny Boy
Drama | Directed by Deepa Mehta
Deepa Mehta’s sprawling coming-of-age drama follows a boy who realizes he is gay in a country that criminalizes homosexuality.


Arush Nand in “Funny Boy.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Food! Glorious Food!

Reviving a Crop and an African-American Culture, Stalk by Stalk
On the Georgia coast, Maurice Bailey is making sugar cane syrup as a way to preserve a tradition, and the community, of his enslaved ancestors.
By KIM SEVERSON and RINNE ALLEN

Is American Dietetics a White-Bread World? These Dietitians Think So
A new generation of practitioners says the profession pays inadequate attention to different kinds of diets, body types and lives.
By PRIYA KRISHNA

How to Pretend You’re in Dakar Today
The Senegalese capital has an aura that seeps into the soul. Bustling and addictive, it makes you want to stick around.
By SEBASTIAN MODAK

FOOD MATTERS
The Appealing and Potentially Lethal Delicacy That Is Fugu
Eating has been a perilous act for most of human history, but Western diners have lately become that much more obsessed with the idea that our meals might destroy us.
By LIGAYA MISHAN

Celebrate the Holidays with Cheese Pancakes and a Performance by Taylor Mac
This week, learn to fold paper airplanes, watch a new ballet or bake Emily Dickinson a birthday cake.
By KATHERINE CUSUMANO and EMMA GRILLO

The Most Tender Short Ribs, the Most Satisfying Soup
Left with some spare short ribs, J. Kenji López-Alt made them sing in a Taiwanese beef noodle soup.


The broth is spicy and sweet, and fragrant with warm spices.
By J. KENJI LÓPEZ-ALT

FRONT BURNER
My, What a Sneaky Little Flour


Those looking to add more fiber to their diet have a flour in their corner: Flourish, made with a high-fiber strain of wheat.
Flourish Fiber from the Farm, $22.49 for five pounds, flourish-flour.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
This Cookbook Raises Money for the Ballet


The American Ballet Theater’s dancers and staff have created a community cookbook of cherished recipes.
“ABT Kitchen,” $15, abt.org.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Panettone, Fresh From Italy


Olivieri, a bakery in northern Italy, ships its feather-light breads to America.
Olivieri 1882, $70 including two-day shipping from Italy, usa.olivieri1882.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Chocolate Crackers and Yule Logs for the Holidays


Hide these festive treats from La Maison du Chocolat and Charbonnel et Walker in the stockings.
Artistic Piece Holiday Cracker, $40, lamaisonduchocolat.com; Yule Logs, $27.95 for a box of eight, surlatable.com/holidays/confections.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
This Austrian Cake Sparkles at the Party


Punch cakes from the Vienna Cookie Company are inspired by punschkrapferl, a liquor-soaked petit four.
Punch cakes, $60 for seven, viennacookiecompany.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Powerfully Flavored Pasta
Mark Bittman’s puttanesca is as easy and satisfying as anything you’ll make all month.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

For Holiday Baking: One Cookie, Three Ways
Baking experts show how to transform simple sugar cookies into dazzling treats.


Cookies from three expert bakers use the same dough recipe to create three variations.
By CHRISTINE CHITNIS

WINE SCHOOL
Among Sparkling Wines, the Other Half Lives Pretty Well
Consumers focus on Champagne, but in the bubbly universe many stars offer distinctive and delicious versions of their own.
By ERIC ASIMOV

Frank Carney, Co-Founder of Pizza Hut, Dies at 82
When he was 19, Mr. Carney and his brother Dan borrowed $600 from their mother to start their business in Wichita, Kan. Before long it became the world’s largest pizza chain.


Frank Carney, right, in 1996, after he began working for the Papa John’s pizza chain. Thirty-eight years earlier, Mr. Carney had been a founder of Pizza Hut.
By GLENN RIFKIN

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Mank
NYT Critic’s Pick | RBiography, Comedy, Drama | Directed by David Fincher
Gary Oldman plays a Hollywood hack with an ax to grind in David Fincher’s reinterpretation of the legend of “Citizen Kane.”


Gary Oldman as Herman Mankiewicz and Amanda Seyfried, in background, as Marion Davies in “Mank,” | Directed by David Fincher.
By A.O. SCOTT

76 Days
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary, Drama | Directed by Weixi Chen, Hao Wu, Anonymous
Shot in four Wuhan hospitals during coronavirus lockdown, the film takes a grounded, humane perspective on doctors, nurses and patients.


A scene from the documentary “76 Days,” shot at hospitals in Wuhan early in the coronavirus pandemic.
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Mayor
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by David Osit
This documentary focuses on the Ramallah mayor Musa Hadid, who leads a city in the global spotlight.


Musa Hadid in the documentary “Mayor.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

— Of Possible Interest —

Minor Premise
Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Eric Schultz
Experiments with consciousness go berserk in Eric Schultz’s lean neurological feature debut.


Sathya Sridharan in “Minor Premise.”
By KRISTEN YOONSOO KIM

Food! Glorious Food!

Singapore Approves a Lab-Grown Meat Product, a Global First
The approval for a U.S. start-up’s “cultured chicken” product is a small victory for the nascent laboratory meat industry. Less clear is whether other countries will follow Singapore’s lead.

A handout photograph showing a dish made with lab-grown chicken developed by Eat Just. In Singapore, it’s cleared as a chicken-nugget ingredient.Credit...Eat Just Inc, via Reuters
A handout photograph showing a dish made with lab-grown chicken developed by Eat Just. In Singapore, it’s cleared as a chicken-nugget ingredient.
By Mike Ives

Is China Laying Claim to Kimchi, Too? Some South Koreans Think So
When a state tabloid suggested that China had set a global standard for kimchi, social media users accused Beijing of misappropriating a Korean culinary staple.

Making kimchi at a Seoul market. Much of the factory-made kimchi eaten in South Korea now comes from China.Credit...Jean Chung for The New York Times
Making kimchi at a Seoul market. Much of the factory-made kimchi eaten in South Korea now comes from China.
By Youmi Kim and Mike Ives

UKRAINE DISPATCH
‘I Have Never Seen So Many Toadstools.’ A Bumper Crop of Mushrooms in Ukraine.
Hunting for mushrooms deep in the forest is the ideal socially distanced pastime.

Viktor Klimov, a professional mushroom hunter, stalking his prey in the forest near the village of Dobrianka, Ukraine, this month.Credit...Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times
Viktor Klimov, a professional mushroom hunter, stalking his prey in the forest near the village of Dobrianka, Ukraine, this month.
By Maria Varenikova and Andrew E. Kramer

SQUARE FEET
As Winter Arrives, Heaters Become a Survival Tool for Businesses
A rise in demand for heating equipment has left some products back-ordered for months, possibly jeopardizing prospects for some businesses of getting through the pandemic intact.


Propane heaters outside La Pecora Bianca in New York.
By C. J. Hughes

7 smart tips for baking better cookies
By Becky Krystal and G. Daniela Galarza

How to Make the Perfect Cookie Box
For years, Melissa Clark has been on a quest to make the most delicious cookie box to gift to loved ones, logging her triumphs and failures along the way. Here’s what she’s learned.
By Melissa Clark

Let This Festive Brandied Fruit Lift Your Holidays
A family tradition inspired Yewande Komolafe’s spiced and steeped fruit mix, which you could add to cocktails and scones, or serve alongside braised lamb.

This dried fruit mix, made with apricots, cranberries, cherries, pears and currants — and a generous amount of brandy — is a taste of the holidays that lasts well beyond them.  Credit...Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
This dried fruit mix, made with apricots, cranberries, cherries, pears and currants — and a generous amount of brandy — is a taste of the holidays that lasts well beyond them.
By Yewande Komolafe

WHAT TO COOK
Dorie Greenspan’s Amazing New Cookie

A French shortbread cookie with a puckery sharp lemon curd and a crunchy meringue top.Credit...Photograph by Heami Lee Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.
A French shortbread cookie with a puckery sharp lemon curd and a crunchy meringue top.
By Sam Sifton

What if Cocktail Mixers Were Actually Good?
Prefab drink mixes have long had a bad name, but here come several made with natural ingredients and a craft bartender’s sensibility.

For decades, the word “mixers” evoked industrially manufactured drinks. Newer options use freshly squeezed juice and handmade syrups.Credit...Adam Friedlander for The New York Times
For decades, the word “mixers” evoked industrially manufactured drinks. Newer options use freshly squeezed juice and handmade syrups.
By Robert Simonson

The Discreet Charm of a Flask
A Prohibition-era accessory once again seems practical.

A Prohibition-era flapper and her flask, circa 1926.Credit...GraphicaArtis/Getty Images
A Prohibition-era flapper and her flask, circa 1926. <
By Kate Bolick