Monthly Archives: January 2024

Food! Glorious Food!

5 FAVORITE PLACES
Linda Ronstadt’s Tucson
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer known for hits like “Blue Bayou” and “Long Long Time” recommends spots she adores in the city where she was born and raised.


San Xavier del Bac Mission, completed in 1797, is the oldest intact European building in Arizona. Inside its walls, Linda Ronstadt says, she can feel magic.
By ABBIE KOZOLCHYK

A GOOD APPETITE
This Simple Ingredient Makes So Many Meals Shine
Coconut milk effortlessly lends its subtly sweet flavor and richness to countless recipes.

Coconut milk’s creamy sweetness tempers the earthiness of black beans in this easy soup.
By Melissa Clark

Tasting History: https://youtu.be/_bx2DjFU5eE?si=4BiU_z1M9gWJVtwz

After a Boom, Craft Beer Considers a New Creed: Less Is More
Many breweries, bars and supermarkets that once offered a dizzying array of new beers are now paring back to a chosen few.


Sacred Profane Brewing in Biddeford, Maine, brews only two beers, a pale lager and a dark lager, that customers can order with varying levels of foam or blended.
By JOSHUA M. BERNSTEIN

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Totem
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Lila Avilés
In Lila Avilés’s second feature, a 7-year-old girl begins to grasp the severity of her father’s illness while birthday preparations are underway at home.


“Totem,” Naíma Sentíes stars as Sol, who peeps into rooms and listens in on adult conversations, a child explorer in a strange land.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Pictures of Ghosts
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
The Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho draws on fact and fiction in this image-rich documentary that moves fast and far, but always returns home.


“Pictures of Ghosts” bounces from topic to topic. Among them are cinema and its history, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s own amateur films and images of his moviegoing recollections.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Mambar Pierrette
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam
A gifted seamstress, played by the filmmaker Rosine Mbakam’s cousin, has to put out a string of fires in this rich portrait of Cameroonian womanhood.


Pierrette Aboheu Njeuthat as the title character in “Mambar Pierrette.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Food! Glorious Food!

Hippy, capitalist, guru, grocer: the forgotten genius who changed British food
Nicholas Saunders was a counterculture pioneer with an endless stream of quixotic schemes and a yearning to spread knowledge – but his true legacy is a total remaking of the way Britain eats
by Jonathan Nunn

How Coffee Farmers in Hawaii Fought Counterfeit Kona Beans
A testing method borrowed from geology helped farmers sue a slew of stores selling supposed “Kona” coffee.
By VIRGINIA HUGHES

24 Breakfast Recipes to Make You a Morning Person
Don’t rise and grind. Rise and dine.
By KRYSTEN CHAMBROT

The Trick to the Fluffiest Muffins May Already Be in Your Kitchen


Let these lemon blueberry muffins be the hit of brightness you need this dreary winter.
By Genevieve Ko

All Breakfast, All the Time
Spicy, cheesy eggs Kejriwal, broiled salmon with mustard and lemon and miso-pecan banana bread are delicious at any hour.
By MELISSA CLARK

A GOOD APPETITE
What Makes Chicken and Rice Even Better? A Little Bite.

In this easy sheet-pan meal, turmeric-ginger chicken roasts on a bed of crispy, scallion-flecked rice.
Cooking rice on a sheet pan lets it crisp up gloriously, adding crunch to this classic weeknight pairing.
By MELISSA CLARK

Exploring Caribbean Food, Island by Island
Tavel Bristol-Joseph of Canje in Austin, Texas, is one of many chefs around the United States who are exploring their Caribbean heritage through the cooking of specific countries and islands.
By Korsha Wilson

Did a Delicious Mistake Lead to This National Dish?
Everyone agrees that sopa Paraguaya, a custardy cornbread, is one of a kind, but historians debate whether its creator was an overzealous presidential chef.


This dense and cheesy cornbread is commonly served alongside grilled meats in Paraguay.
By CHRISTINA MORALES

The Ghosts of Black Appalachia Visit Her Kitchen
In her new book, “Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts,” the poet Crystal Wilkinson explores her family history through cooking and recipes.
By KORSHA WILSON

The Best Bowl of Beans I’ve Ever Had
A pantry staple can be exciting, even thrilling, with a little time, care and cleverness.


By ERIC KIM

THE POUR
The Wine Heiresses Apparent


Angela Fronti, left, with two employees, Cecilia Csizmadi and Sofia Rimini. Ms. Fronti used her family’s vineyards to create Istine, now an excellent Chianti Classico estate.
By Eric Asimov

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

The Kitchen
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares
Directing their first feature, Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya spin a warmly humane story of cross-generational connection.


Kane Robinson, left, with Jedaiah Bannerman in “The Kitchen.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Thien An Pham
An uncommonly strong debut from the Vietnamese director Pham Thien An asks existential questions without answers.


Vu Ngoc Manh, left, with Le Phong Vu in “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

The Settlers
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Crime, Drama, History, Western | Directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle
This harrowing drama takes place in Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago in the southernmost part of South America, in 1901.


Mishell Guaña in “The Settlers,” a film directed by Felipe Gálvez.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Inshallah a Boy
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Amjad Al Rasheed
In this film by Amjad Al Rasheed, a young widow in Jordan strains against the tradition, underpinned by law, that without a man she is nothing.


Mouna Hawa in “Inshallah a Boy,” directed by Amjad Al Rasheed.
By LISA KENNEDY

Apolonia, Apolonia
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Biography | Directed by Lea Glob
The painter Apolonia Sokol is the ostensible subject of a wide-ranging documentary about life itself.


The artist Apolonia Sokol in the documentary “Apolonia, Apolonia.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Food! Glorious Food!

Do you eat foods that leave you hungry or full? Take our quiz.
If you find yourself snacking, craving foods or feeling hungry a lot of the time, you may be eating the wrong foods.
By Anahad O’Connor

In the Ozempic Age, Has ‘Craveable’ Lost Its Selling Power?
The food industry has long touted its products as impossible to resist. But with a spotlight on the perils of compulsive eating, that tactic is getting another look.
By KIM SEVERSON

Exploring Caribbean Food, Island by Island
A new guard of chefs is getting specific about a cuisine that is often flattened into one large region.
By KORSHA WILSON

The Secret Ingredient Your Rice Krispies Treats Are Missing Simple to make but complex in taste, these marshmallow confections highlight the delicious balancing act of black sesame and sugar.
By ERIC KIM

Our best brownie recipes for when no other dessert will do
By Becky Krystal

Food! Glorious Food!

How to prepare your home for extreme cold, and stay warm in a power outage
(DePayWalled)
By Victoria Bisset

Cook like you’re on holiday
Malta
‘Broad beans are so loved’: how to cook and eat as though you’re on holiday in Malta


‘Fresh, vibrant, zingy’: Simon Bajada’s recipe for qarnit bit-tewm (Maltese octopus salad)
Writer and photographer Simon Bajada shares his insights on Maltese cuisine and his recipe for a vibrant seafood salad
Sarah Ayoub, recipe by Simon Bajada

Middle Eastern food and drink
Mildreds’ vegan takes on Middle Eastern classics – recipes


(L to R) Red lentil harira, jackfruit walnut wraps, Chermoula cauliflower galette. Photograph: Ola O Smit/The Guardian. Food styling: Tamara Vos. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food styling assistant: Florence Blair.
Sarah Wasserman

A GOOD APPETITE
An Oatmeal Cookie for Raisin Haters
A puddle of blueberry maple jam is stuffed inside these tender, gently spiced treats.

An overhead image of oatmeal cookies on a baking rack. A single cookie is pulled apart to show a blueberry jam filling.
Cooking a jam may seem intimidating at first blush, but it’s quite simple and makes these cookies shine.
By Melissa Clark

THE POUR
How to Define a Good Wine? It’s Complicated.
Yes, a wine ought to taste good. But there’s much more to consider, including farming, winemaking and intent.
By Eric Asimov

Anthony Dias Blue, Whose Writing Elevated California Wines, Dies at 82
A longtime editor at Bon Appétit and a radio personality, he helped millions gain a new appreciation for the American wineries he loved.

A black-and-white photo of Anthony Dias Blue, in a dark sport jacket and an open-collared shirt, gesturing with his index finger.
Anthony Dias Blue believed that good wine needn’t be expensive or difficult to appreciate; all that people needed, he said, was a guide, like him, to show them what was worth buying.
By Clay Risen

Tony Fortuna, Restaurateur With a Congenial Flair, Dies at 76
He turned running a dining room into a fine art at each of his restaurants over a 40-year career, most notably TBar on the Upper East Side.

Mr. Fortuna wearing glasses, a white button-down shirt and jeans, leans against the bar of a brightly lit restaurant and smiles at the camera.
Tony Fortuna in 2021 at a satellite of his Manhattan restaurant TBar in Southampton, N.Y. He was associated with a succession of New York restaurants, including Restaurant Lafayette, Tavern on the Green, Lespinasse, Mad. 61 and the Monkey Bar.
By Florence Fabricant

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Biography, Music | Directed by Brigitte Berman
Brigitte Berman’s dazzling 1985 look at the self-taught virtuoso clarinetist and bandleader is showing after a restoration.


Artie Shaw as seen in “Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got.”
By GLENN KENNY

Good Grief
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Directed by Dan Levy
In his feature directorial debut, Daniel Levy applies a light but wise hand to a man navigating life after loss.


Daniel Levy, left, with Arnaud Valois in “Good Grief.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Who the Academy Should Nominate in 2024 According to Times Movie Critics Manohla Dargis and Alissa Wilkinson

Barbenheimer, big stars and high stakes: it’s Golden Globes time again
Benjamin Lee

Food! Glorious Food! Now that the hurly-burly’s done.

A GOOD APPETITE
An Easy, Thrilling Tofu Recipe for Just About Any Resolution
This grain bowl, finished in with a sweet chile sauce, is perfect for the vegetarian curious or anyone wanting lighter fare.


A simple to make, complex in flavor sauce anchors this adaptable grain bowl.
By MELISSA CLARK

What’s With All the Different Salts? Here’s How to Use Them.
Table salt, kosher salt, finishing salt: The choice can be confusing, but we offer a little explanation and advice.


Salt comes in many varieties. Black salt often gets its color from purified charcoal. Red and gray salts have traces of clay; pink salt can get its hue from algae or clay; smoking salt over an open fire turns it golden-beige.
By MELISSA CLARK

Making a Cooking Resolution? These 9 Recipes Will Get You Started.
Whether you want to eat less meat, bake more crowd-pleasing desserts or (finally) learn how to cook, here are some first steps for the new year.
By TANYA SICHYNSKY

Mike Grgich Dies at 100; His Wine Stunned the French by Besting Theirs
A Croatian immigrant’s California chardonnay was judged the top one in a famous Paris tasting. He later established his own acclaimed winery in Napa Valley.


Mike Grgich in 1980 with a bottle his California winery produced. A Croatian immigrant, he struggled for years to establish himself in Napa Valley.
By ERIC ASIMOV

Bill Granger, Chef Who Brought Avocado Toast to the World, Dies at 54
His breakfast cuisine catapulted Australian cafe culture to international acclaim, although some saw his best-known dish as an example of millennial excess.


Bill Granger handing out plates of scrambled eggs in Tokyo in 2006. Known for serving unfussy but sophisticated fare, he popularized Australian cafe culture around the globe.
By NATASHA FROST