Monthly Archives: October 2021

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Chess of the Wind
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani
Mohammad Reza Aslani’s 1976 film about family mendacity existed for mere days before it was banned and then lost in the ensuing tumult. Now it’s back.


Shohreh Aghdashloo in “Chess of the Wind” a 1976 film suppressed by the Iranian government and recently restored and distributed.
By GLENN KENNY

Last Night in Soho
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Directed by Edgar Wright
Two young women from different eras form a psychic bond in Edgar Wright’s sumptuous and surprising horror movie.


Anya Taylor-Joy, left, and Thomasin McKenzie in “Last Night in Soho.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Food! Glorious Food!

This Year’s Thanksgiving Feast Will Wallop the Wallet
Nearly every ingredient, from the turkey to the after-dinner coffee, is expected to cost more, for a host of reasons.
By KIM SEVERSON

How to make the perfect pumpkin soup – recipe
A good squash is your best bet for this substantial seasonal soup, so forget those grown-for-looks-not-flavour orange pumpkins

Felicity Cloake’s perfect pumpkin soup.
Felicity Cloake’s perfect pumpkin soup.
By Felicity Cloake

A GOOD APPETITE
Instant Pot Wisdom, Half a Decade Later
Melissa Clark on how to get the most out of your electric pressure cooker, whether you’re just starting out with it or already an expert.

Knowing what to cook in your electric pressure cooker can set you up for weeknight successes.
Knowing what to cook in your electric pressure cooker can set you up for weeknight successes.
By Melissa Clark

Mortars, Pestles and the Comfort of a Culinary Ritual
Few things yield texture and flavor — as well as connection — as affectingly as this kitchen tool, Yewande Komolafe writes.

Grinding and pounding aromatics by hand can yield textures and flavors that are full of nuance.
Grinding and pounding aromatics by hand can yield textures and flavors that are full of nuance.
By Yewande Komolafe

EAT
Dinner for 10? Make This Party Wreath.
This festively retro dish will delight a dinner with friends, however many you invite.


By TEJAL RAO

What to Do With All Those Apples
Did you bring home a ton from the orchard, too? Here’s how to use them.
Five apple recipes.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

FRONT BURNER
A Domestic Prosciutto From the Ozarks
True Story Foods dry-ages its new prosciutto for 10 months.


True Story Foods prosciutto, six 3-ounce packages, $69.99, truestoryfoods.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Come for the Focaccia, Stay for the History
“Liguria the Cookbook,” from Laurel Evans, shows the breadth of the Italian region’s cuisine.


“Liguria the Cookbook: Recipes From the Italian Riviera” by Laurel Evans (Rizzoli, $45).
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

New Orleans Po Boys

Breads

Pumpkin Cheese Cake from a couple of years ago (1570)

Curried Squash Galette

14 Showstopping Desserts That Don’t Require a Mixer
Shortbread cookies, famous brownies, peanut butter cups and other treats can be yours to enjoy with just a little elbow grease.

Dawn Perry’s peanut butter raspberry bars.
Dawn Perry’s peanut butter raspberry bars.
By Nikita Richardson

Last Call for the Beer Bar?
Once the best place in town to discover new craft beers, bars are finding it hard to compete with brewery taprooms.
By Joshua M. Bernstein

THE POUR
Embracing an Unloved Grape
Mountain Tides took on the challenge of exploring the subtleties of petite sirah, a brassy grape long used to help color and flavor wines.
The Mountain Tides labels are based on photos evoking the distinctive character of the vineyards. This one is from Clement Hills.
By Eric Asimov

In the department of who cares…

In order to easily install Windows 11, it requires the motherboard support secure boot. I’d looked it up a couple of times and watched a YouTube or two, but my attempts had always failed. Yesterday, a YouTuber mentioned changing the boot partition over to GPT, which I had not heard of before. I ran the command, and suddenly my secure boot motherboard settings were good for Windows 11. I ran the update assistant, and after quite some time, it choked on one program I had that it said had to be upgraded or else I had to stay on Windows 10. Several fruitless attempts later, after update attempts, uninstalling, and reinstalling, I removed it and rebooted, and then went to bed after starting the update assistant for what I hoped was the last time.

This morning after turning the computer on, it booted into Windows 11. I had to fool around and reset Google Chrome as my default browser — somehow Microsoft Edge had decided to take over, and my ancient Google Picasa is still broken. I hope to be free of the modal Windows Expiry message that has been haunting my computer for quite some time — a time considerably shorter than the July 2020 expiry date on the message. Anyway, everything appears to be working, although I can no longer move the toolbar to the top since it maintains one at the top and bottom. I can make them vanish, however.

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Dune
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation is an equally sweeping and intimate take on Frank Herbert’s future-shock epic.


Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica in “Dune.” Paul is considerably less complicated and conflicted onscreen than he is on the page, our critic writes.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Biography, Drama, History | Directed by Will Sharpe
Benedict Cumberbatch plays a British artist who found love, both human and feline, and became famous as the man who drew cats.


Claire Foy and Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain,” directed by Will Sharpe.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Warning
R | Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Agata Alexander
Agata Alexander directs this contemplative collection of science fiction shorts set in the near future.


Thomas Jane in “Warning.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Minyan
Unrated | Drama | Directed by Eric Steel
This queer and Jewish coming-of-age drama builds up a vision of neighbors who speak through gestures of care and affection.


From left, Ron Rifkin, Samuel H. Levine and Christopher McCann in “Minyan.”
By TEO BUGBEE

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama, Romance | Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
In three stories, men and women circle one another as they casually and cruelly share intimacies, express desires and voice doubts.


Shouma Kai, top, and Katsuki Mori in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Velvet Underground
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Documentary | Directed by Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes’s documentary paints a jagged, revelatory portrait of the New York avant-garde scene of the 1960s.


From left, the band members Maureen Tucker, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Lou Reed as seen in “The Velvet Underground,” a documentary directed by Todd Haynes.
By A.O. SCOTT

Bergman Island
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
In Mia Hansen-Love’s new film, Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth play filmmakers on the rocks in the Baltic Sea.


Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth as a filmmaking couple in “Bergman Island.”
By A.O. SCOTT

Noroît
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller | Directed by Jacques Rivette
When this unusual film, made in 1976 by the French director Jacques Rivette, opens in New York this week, it will be making its official debut here.


Kika Markham, foreground, in red, and Geraldine Chaplin, back, far left, in “Noroît,” a 1976 film directed by Jacques Rivette.
By GLENN KENNY

Food! Glorious Food!

Desperate for Workers, Restaurants Turn to Robots
They can make French fries, mix drinks and even clean toilets, and they never ask for a raise. But they also break down.
By JANET MORRISSEY

The Best Olive Oil in the World? This Village Thinks So.
Rameh, a Palestinian town surrounded by olive groves, has long had a reputation for producing especially good oil.
By Reem Kassis

The Smoky Taste of Wok Hei, Without a Wok
Keeping culinary traditions going sometimes requires adapting to the realities of daily life.


Brussels sprouts caramelize and become tender in less than 10 minutes on the stovetop.
By Genevieve Ko

EAT
Fried Oysters Are Delicious. They’re Even Better at Home.
They’re a seafood-shack favorite, but making them yourself can be an almost fine-dining experience.


By GABRIELLE HAMILTON

Roasted Squash Is the Start of Something Beautiful
Turn it into cozy rice porridge or a warm lentil salad, or dress it up with an all-purpose savory topping.
By TEJAL RAO

Tasting Coffee

Pasta

Indian Food from an Archeologist’s Perspective

WTF Is Beer?

WINE SCHOOL
Among Chardonnays, Chablis Is Not Better, Just Different
The 2019 vintage confirms Chablis’s distinctive qualities. As for other chardonnays, blame the winemaker, not the place or the grape.
By Eric Asimov

900 Pages of Drinking Wisdom, a Decade in the Making
The cocktail experts David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum have completed “The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails.”
By Robert Simonson

WINE SCHOOL
Greek Reds Have Yet to Have Their Moment. Is Now the Time?
An importer wondered why Italian wines have caught on more easily. One reason is simply familiarity. Greek reds can be superb but they are unknown.
By Eric Asimov

In Sonoma County, ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ Is the Next Big Thing
Carbon sequestration, pollinator habitat restoration and simple composting: An increasing number of the region’s winegrowers are going beyond sustainability. Here’s how to see, and taste, the fruits of their labors.
By AMY TARA KOCH

What’s Your Pleasure? How About a T-shirt?
In part because of Covid lockdowns, bars have gotten into the merchandise game.
By ROBERT SIMONSON

Food! Glorious Food!

The 2021 Restaurant List
The 50 places in America we’re most excited about right now.
By THE NEW YORK TIMES FOOD DESK

A New Cookbook by Indigenous People, for Indigenous People
A group of Indigenous chefs is releasing a virtual cookbook featuring digital issues, webinars and videos to reclaim narratives about Native foods.
By PRIYA KRISHNA

F.D.A. Issues Guidelines to Reduce Salt in Foods
The new recommendations are aimed at food manufacturers and restaurants. Some experts say they don’t go far enough.
By ANDREW JACOBS

Stanley Tucci’s Passion Was Acting. Now, It’s Food.
The actor’s new memoir “Taste” explains how a bout with cancer took his passion for ragù and risotto, but also Cuban-Chinese stews and minke whale, to new heights.
By ALEX MARSHALL

A GOOD APPETITE
A Sweet Goodbye to Pepper and Tomato Season
Stewed into a weeknight chicken dish, these vegetables become jammy, rich and so silky.

Tomatoes and peppers make up the backbone of this easy dinner, ready in 45 minutes.
Tomatoes and peppers make up the backbone of this easy dinner, ready in 45 minutes.
By Melissa Clark

EAT
The Haunting Power of Miso-Maple Loaf Cake
Sweet enough to be called cake but savory enough to be as good with a slice of Cheddar as it is with the gloss of warm jam spread over its top.


By DORIE GREENSPAN

It’s the Season for Cider. Here’s How to Drink It.
Added to cocktails, sipped on its own or even turned into a syrup, this drink with a long history is anything but simple.


This gin cider cocktail is an ideal entry point to fall drinking.
By REBEKAH PEPPLER

FRONT BURNER
Gin With a Hint of Mangosteen
Song Cai distills two gins in Hanoi, Vietnam. Try the dry version in a martini and sip the floral on the rocks.


Song Cai Viet Nam Dry Gin, $35.99; Song Cai Viet Nam Floral Gin, $38.99, songcaidistillery.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

ITALY DISPATCH
A Battle of the Bubbles: War Comes to the Prosecco Hills
A Croatian wine, Prosek, seeks an official designation, and Prosecco makers are up in arms. But they also can’t agree on what, exactly, should be called Prosecco.
By JASON HOROWITZ

Jimmy Neary, Whose Irish Pub Became a Power Brokers’ Hub, Dies at 91
Opening on St. Patrick’s Day, 1967, Neary’s attracted politicians, media players, archbishops and more, drawn as much by Mr. Neary himself as by the lamb chops.


Jimmy Neary inside his restaurant on East 57th Street in 2019. When the city’s movers and shakers gathered there, he said, he’d reflect on how far he’d come from the farm fields of his Sligo childhood.
By ALEX VADUKUL

Anne Saxelby, Who Championed Fine American Cheeses, Dies at 40
When she opened her shop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2006, she helped put American cheeses on the map, and on shopping lists.


Anne Saxelby in 2011 in her original cheese shop, at the Essex Market in Manhattan. Her store was a success within months of opening.
By Florence Fabricant

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

V/H/S/94
NYT Critic’s Pick | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Directed by Simon Barrett, Chloe Okuno, Ryan Prows, Jennifer Reeder, Timo Tjahjanto
This lo-fi horror omnibus is a grisly, gory gem.


A scene from the “Holy Hell” segment of “V/H/S/94.”
By CALUM MARSH

The Last Duel
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Action, Drama, History | Directed by Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott and his all-star cast rip the moldy fig leaf off chivalric romance in a he-said, he-said, she-said spectacle.


Adam Driver, left, and Matt Damon in Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Son of Monarchs
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Alexis Gambis
This lush Mexican drama tells a story about climate change and cultural identity using the allegory of monarch butterflies’ migration.


By ISABELIA HERRERA

Fever Dream
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Directed by Claudia Llosa
Claudia Llosa’s adaptation of Samanta Schweblin’s novel casts a spell, evoking more than it explains.


From left, María Valverde and Dolores Fonzi in Claudia Llosa’s “Fever Dream.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Lamb
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Horror, Mystery | Directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson
A strange birth on an Icelandic farm bodes ill for a grieving couple in this eerie debut feature.


Hilmir Snaer Gudnason and Noomi Rapace in “Lamb.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Jacinta
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Jessica Earnshaw
This haunting documentary by Jessica Earnshaw traces the journey of a young woman struggling with addiction after her release from prison.


Jacinta, left, and her mother, Rosemary, pictured in 2016 at Maine Correctional Center in the documentary “Jacinta.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Karen Dalton: In My Own Time
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Richard Peete, Robert Yapkowitz
A documentary chronicles the turbulent life of a singer whose music made a substantial impression on New York’s 1960s folk scene and still resonates today.


Karen Dalton as seen in “Karen Dalton: In My Own Time,” a documentary about her life and music.
By GLENN KENNY

The Guilty
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Jake Gyllenhaal plays an imploding 911 operator in this riveting remake.


Jake Gyllenhaal as Joe Bayler in “The Guilty.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Venom: Let There Be Carnage
PG-13 | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Andy Serkis
Starring Tom Hardy, this superhero sequel turns into a slapstick blood bath about two threesomes both in desperate need of throuples therapy.


Tom Hardy in “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.”
By AMY NICHOLSONH

Titane
R | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Julia Ducournau
Julia Ducournau’s new film, a prizewinner at Cannes, is a grisly, philosophical thriller that puts the pedal to the metal.


Agathe Rousselle in “Titane,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year.
By A.O. SCOTT

The Addams Family 2
PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Horror | Directed by Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon, Laura Brousseau
America’s creepiest family takes a road trip in this animated sequel, though their antics are far more kooky than spooky.


A scene from “The Addams Family 2,” from the directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon.
By LENA WILSON