Author Archives: Larry Sanderson

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

RRR
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Action, Drama | Directed by S.S. Rajamouli
Scenes of glorious excess make the screen hum with energy in S.S. Rajamouli’s action epic set in British colonial India.


N.T. Rama Rao Jr. in “RRR.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Donbass
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Sergey Loznitsa
Sergei Loznitsa’s film, completed in 2018, presents an absurd, horrific tableau of cruelty and corruption.


A scene from “Donbass,” Directed by Sergei Loznitsa.
By A.O. SCOTT

The Girl and the Spider2
NYT Critic’s Pick | Unrated | Drama | Directed by Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher
The twin brothers Ramon and Silvan Zürcher have created a wonderfully discombobulating feature about an apartment move.


Henriette Confurius, left, and Sabine Timoteo in “The Girl and the Spider.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

— Of Possible Interest —

Sonic the Hedgehog 22
PG | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Jeff Fowler
Jim Carrey’s reprised role as a villainous weirdo helps this fast-paced, family-friendly video-game-movie sequel maintain a refreshing silliness.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Food! Glorious Food!

At some point in time, the NYTimes decided to put a separate paywall around their recipes. (I used to put recipe links in, but stopped after the additional paywall.) I subscribed for a while, but then almost never accessed one, and so I quit that subscription. Well! Today I discovered they undid the paywall. Imagine that!

Where Breaking the Ramadan Fast Includes Caribou
At America’s northernmost mosque, in Anchorage, nightly potlucks will let Muslims celebrate iftar together over foods from around the globe.
By Victoria Petersen

Salad Secrets From Yotam Ottolenghi’s Test Kitchen
For his first column for the magazine, the chef shares a butter-bean salad perfect for spring.


Recipe: Yogurty Butter Beans With Pistachio Dukkah
By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

Vegetarian Pastas I’m Craving
After some time away from home, nothing satisfies like vegetable Bolognese.

Vegan Bolognese With Mushrooms and Walnuts
Vegan Bolognese With Mushrooms and Walnuts
Baked Alfredo Pasta With Broccoli Rabe and Lemon
Lemony Pea and Spinach Soup
By TEJAL RAO

FRONT BURNER
Understand the Science of Sourdough
A detailed new book by the molecular biologist Karyn Lynn Newman offers lively insight.


“Sourdough by Science: Understanding Bread Making for Successful Baking” by Karyn Lynn Newman, Ph.D. (The Countryman Press, $32.95).
By Florence Fabricant

A Matzo-Based Brittle for the Modern Age
An adaptation of a popular chocolate matzo toffee, this recipe pairs salted peanut and caramel for a sweet-salty crunch.

Peanut butter and crushed peanuts coat these treats, but you could also use any nut butter and nut combination you like.
Peanut butter and crushed peanuts coat these treats, but you could also use any nut butter and nut combination you like.
By Joan Nathan

A GOOD APPETITE
An Exuberant Take on Onions and Rice, for Passover and Beyond
Glistening with honey and pomegranate juice and studded with pine nuts, this baked onion and rice casserole is anything but unassuming.


This striking rice casserole, full of simple ingredients, makes a beautiful light dinner paired with a salad or a scene-stealing side dish next to fish or chicken.
Recipe: Pomegranate Baked Rice and Onions With Dill
By Melissa Clark

15 Recipes for Observing Ramadan
As a month of fasting begins, these flavorful dishes will enliven suhoor meals and iftar celebrations.

  1. Carrot Maqluba
  2. Fatima’s Fingers (Tunisian Egg Rolls)
  3. Menemen
  4. Qatayef Asafiri
  5. Yvonne Maffei’s Dates With Cream and Chopped Pistachios
  6. Opor Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Curry)
  7. Namoura
  8. Kunun Gyada
  9. Cucumber Yogurt Salad With Dill, Sour Cherries and Rose Petals
  10. Aloo Samosas
  11. Lamb Biryani
  12. Fattoush
  13. Harira Soup
  14. Seekh Kebab With Mint Chutney
  15. Mrouzia Lamb Shanks
    By Tanya Sichynsky

Doctor-Approved Recipes
Schnitzel with grapes, pasta amatriciana and more ideas from an afternoon of playing recipe concierge.

  1. Chicken Schnitzel With Pan-Roasted Grapes
  2. Pasta Amatriciana
  3. Spring Barley Soup
  4. Silken Tofu With Spicy Soy Dressing
  5. Salmon With Anchovy-Garlic Butter
    By Emily Weinstein

FRONT BURNER
New Mezcals With a ‘Mad’ Backstory
Fósforo, a new mezcal brand financed by Jim Cramer, is releasing two styles of the spirit made from tobalá.


Fósforo Tobalá ($90) and Tobalá Penca ($125), fosforomezcal.com/purchase.
By Robert Simonson

A Shuttered Bar’s Low-Alcohol Drinks Live On in a New Book
Forced to close her Lower East Side bar during the pandemic, Natasha David found solace in writing “Drink Lightly.”


“Drink Lightly,” a new book of low-alcohol and nonalcoholic cocktails, calls to mind the style of the artist Peter Max.
Recipe: Fair Play
By Robert Simonson

THE POUR
A Farmer’s Dozen From Bordeaux
These 12 wines, made by vignerons and not grand estates, are classically refreshing and altogether inviting.


By Eric Asimov

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Nitram
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama, Thriller | Directed by Justin Kurzel
In this unnerving drama based on a true crime, a lonely outsider reaches his breaking point.


Caleb Landry Jones stars in “Nitram.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

You Won’t Be Alone
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Horror | Directed by Goran Stolevski
A supernaturally altered young woman learns how to be human in this mesmerizing folk-horror tale.


Sara Klimoska, left, and Anamaria Marinca in “You Won’t Be Alone.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Babi Yar. Context
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary, History | Directed by Sergey Loznitsa
Sergei Loznitsa’s new documentary, about the mass murder of Ukrainian Jews in 1941, arrives in theaters with a grim context of its own.


Sergei Loznitsa’s new documentary “Babi Yar: Context,” about a Nazi-led massacre in Ukraine, is made from footage Germans and Soviets recorded of their campaigns there.
By A.O. SCOTT

— Of Possible Interest —

Moonshot
PG-13 | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi | Directed by Christopher Winterbauer
Cole Sprouse and Lana Condor have a meet-cute en route to Mars in the young adult rom-com “Moonshot,” streaming on HBO Max.
By CALUM MARSH

Better Nate Than Ever
PG | Comedy, Drama, Family, Musical | Directed by Tim Federle
Hearty performances elevate this effusive Disney+ family comedy, even as the movie itself is awkward in its handling of its core subject.
By AMY NICHOLSON

The Rose Maker
Comedy | Directed by Pierre Pinaud
A boutique cultivator competing with industrial farms initiates a war of the roses in this gentle French comedy by Pierre Pinaud.
By TEO BUGBEE

Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood
PG-13 | Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Sci-Fi | Directed by Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater’s new animated film tells the story of the moon landing with some tongue-in-cheek revisionism.
By A.O. SCOTT

Food! Glorious Food!

When ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’ Miss the Mark: Restaurants Rethink Gender’s Role in Service
A dinner out can be discomforting for nonbinary and transgender people. But efforts are afoot to change that.
By Rax Will

IN THE GARDEN
If You Think Kale Is ‘So 2010,’ You’re Not Growing the Right Ones
When it comes to kale, the organic farmers at Adaptive Seeds have a few things to teach you — and some versions of the familiar green that may not be so familiar.
By MARGARET ROACH

A GOOD APPETITE
The Best Parts of Stuffed Cabbage, Minus the Work
This interpretation of the classic features a streamlined recipe and a vibrant filling of anchovies, Parmesan and walnuts.


There’s no need to separate individual cabbage leaves, blanch them and roll them around a filling here. The stuffing instead is massaged into the crevices of raw cabbage.
By Melissa Clark

A Two-Ingredient Sauce for Pork Chops
Ali Slagle’s mixture of grainy mustard and fruit preserves is the ideal pairing for the seared chops.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

The Secret to Smoky Vegetables
You can achieve that irresistible savoriness of wok hei, even without a wok.
By TEJAL RAO

Protect Your Heart? A Genetic Study Offers a New Answer.
By studying the relationship between gene variants and alcohol consumption, scientists found no real cardiac benefit to drinking, even modestly.
The study analyzed the genes and medical data of nearly 400,000 people in the U.K. The average age of study subjects was 57, and they reported drinking an average of 9.2 drinks a week.
By Gina Kolata

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Everything Everywhere All at Once
NYT Critic’s Pick } R | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Michelle Yeoh stars as a stressed-out laundromat owner dragged into cosmic battle and genre chaos.


From left, Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, who play a beleaguered family in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
By A.O. SCOTT

You Are Not My Mother
NYT Critic’s Pick } Drama, Horror | Directed by Kate Dolan
A lonely teenager is traumatized by her mother’s volatile behavior in this impressive horror debut.


Hazel Doupe and Ingrid Craigie in “You Are Not My Mother.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Wood and Water
NYT Critic’s Pick } Drama | Directed by Jonas Bak
In this elegant feature debut about modern alienation, the German writer-director Jonas Bak casts his real-life mother as a retired secretary who travels to Hong Kong to visit her estranged son.


Anke Bak and Patrick Lo in “Wood and Water.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Superior
NYT Critic’s Pick } Drama, Thriller | Directed by Erin Vassilopoulos
Two identical sisters reunite under mysterious circumstances in a compelling debut feature from Erin Vassilopoulos.


Ani Mesa in “Superior.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

— Of Possible Interest —

The Lost City
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance | Directed by Aaron Nee, Adam Nee
Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and a vamping Brad Pitt run around in a romantic adventure that you have seen before and will see again.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Mothering Sunday
R | Drama, Romance | Directed by Eva Husson
A fine British cast is featured in this mildly transgressive love story set in the aftermath of World War I.
By A.O. SCOTT

— And Now for Something Completely Different —

THE PROJECTIONIST
Oscars 2022 Predictions: Who Will Win Best Picture, Actor and Actress?
In an interesting year with a duel for the top award and some wide-open races, here’s how our expert is marking his ballot.
By Kyle Buchanan

2022 OSCARS BALLOT

Food! Glorious Food!

MY TEN
Ina Garten Delights in Hitchcock Thrillers and Her Mini Cooper
With a new show coming to Discovery+, the Barefoot Contessa discussed her passion for French butter, Nordic dramas and a very American musical.
By ALEXIS SOLOSKI

FOOD MATTERS
In a Starving World, Is Eating Well Unethical?
A meditation on the true cost of dining when nearly one-third of the planet lacks regular access to food.
By LIGAYA MISHAN, ANTHONY COTSIFAS and VICTORIA PETRO-CONROY

FRONT BURNER
‘Six California Kitchens’ Details the Cooking Life of Sally Schmitt
The upcoming cookbook and memoir by Ms. Schmitt, who died this month at 90, weaves recipes in with memories of a full life.


“Six California Kitchens: A Collection of Recipes, Stories and Cooking Lessons from a Pioneer of California Cuisine” by Sally Schmitt with Bruce Smith, (Chronicle Books, $35), sixcaliforniakitchens.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Dress Your Spring Salads With Zeal, a Ramp Vinegar
Brightland, a company based in Los Angeles, gets its olive oils, vinegars and honeys, from small producers.

h


Brightland Zeal Ramp Vinegar, $28 for 6.7 ounces, brightland.co.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Pasta Alla Vodka, but Make It Beans
Ali Slagle takes the classic dish and gives it a 2022 update with chickpeas and kale.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

Thai Noodles, Far From Thailand
Cooks in the nation’s diaspora offer wisdom on making pad Thai and other classics at home. First tip: Sometimes taste is more important than tradition.


The Thai chef Pailin Chongchitnant in her kitchen in Vancouver, British Columbia, with homemade pad see ew and part of her soy sauce collection.
By Julia Moskin

How to Press Tofu
Get more crisp and crunch from your firm tofu — no special equipment required!
By TEJAL RAO

Review
I tried one of Dolly Parton’s new cake mixes, and it got me out of my 9-to-5 funk


By Emily Heil

There’s Nothing Like a Good Concha. Here’s How to Make Them Great.
The popular Mexican sweet bread, with its seashell-shaped topping, is a delight when prepared right.

This concha recipe, which includes options for café con leche, vanilla and chocolate toppings, results in springy and light buns.
This concha recipe, which includes options for café con leche, vanilla and chocolate toppings, results in springy and light buns.
By Pati Jinich

PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS
Near Japan’s Mount Asama, a Wine Bar Floats Among the Trees
Plus: a new bronze watch from Panerai, snails in Asian cuisine and more from T’s cultural compendium.

THE POUR
10 Grapes Worth Knowing Better
For many reasons, these varieties have either been unfairly dismissed or are little known outside their home regions. But they make joyful wines.
Altesse, Areni, Baga, Bobal, Brachetto, Fer Servadou, Frontenac, Mandilaria, Pecorino, and Trebbiano d’Abruzzese,
By Eric Asimov

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Întregalde
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Radu Muntean
A Romanian satire charts what happens when some humanitarian aid workers set out to save others (and need to be saved themselves).


A bump in the road to good works: from left, Ilona Brezoianu, Maria Popistasu and Alex Bogdan in “Intregalde.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

X
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Horror | Directed by Ti West
Ti West’s latest is a slasher film about the making of a porno film, but the result might not be what you expect.


Mia Goth in “X,” from the director Ti West, whose inspirations appear to include “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Debbie Does Dallas.”
By A.O. SCOTT

— Of Possible Interest —

More Than Robots
Documentary | Directed by Gillian Jacobs
Despite the movie’s title, robots are the subject and spectacle of this lighthearted film about a high school robotics competition.
By TEO BUGBEE

Food! Glorious Food!

The Case for Induction Cooking
As the perils of cooking with gas become more apparent, there’s ever more reason for cooks to turn to these flameless, easy-to-clean ranges.
By MELISSA CLARK

TRILOBITES
When Pigs Cry: Tool Decodes the Emotional Lives of Swine
An algorithm built by European researchers could help farmers “speak pig” to improve the animals’ welfare.
By CORINNE PURTILL

McDonald’s Ice Cream Woes Have Inspired Memes, Mockery and Now, a Federal Lawsuit
A California tech company that tried to solve the problem of malfunctioning ice cream machines claims in the suit that it was thwarted by McDonald’s.
When the ice cream machines stop working at McDonald’s, they set off particularly strong emotions in disappointed customers.
By Maria Cramer

COOKING CLASS
The Milk and Cookies Cake Roxane Gay Swears By
Frosted with buttercream and finished with chocolate chips, this confection is so good you don’t need a special occasion to bake it, the writer says.


Gay uses a slightly different recipe for the fluffy mascarpone buttercream.
By ANDRÉ WHEELER

The Pillowy Magic of Milk Bread
Milk bread at its best is soft and almost sweet, with a wispy, ethereal texture.


By ERIC KIM

These Garlic Noodles Are Magic
J. Kenji López-Alt’s recipe uses a garlic-butter sauce and ingredients full of umami for maximum flavor.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

Crème de Cassis for the 21st Century
You can use this black currant-based liqueur in more than just kir. Here’s how to use it at home.

Stirred into a split of bourbon and rye, crème de cassis helps create a contemporary take on a manhattan.
Stirred into a split of bourbon and rye, crème de cassis helps create a contemporary take on a manhattan.
By Rebekah Peppler

Chowhound Closes After 25 Years of Food Obsession, Wisdom and Debate
Founded in 1997 as a place for New York restaurant lovers, the site became a nationwide forum for dining and culinary discourse.
An early web home for food fanatics, Chowhound will close after 25 years, its moderators announced.
By Eric Asimov

Sally Schmitt, Trend-Setting Restaurateur, Is Dead at 90
She founded the French Laundry in the Napa Valley with her husband, Don, and is often cited as a pioneer in California cuisine.


The restaurateur Sally Schmitt at her farm in Philo, Calif., in 2019. In 1978 she and her husband, Don, opened the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., and helped solidify the Napa Valley as a food-and-wine destination.
By NEIL GENZLINGER

Charles E. Entenmann, Last of a Storied Baking Family, Dies at 92
Working with his brothers and their mother, he helped turn the company that bore their name into a nationally known symbol of sweetness.


Charles Entenmann at one of his company’s dough-making machines in 1976. One of three brothers who ran the company with their mother, he had a knack for engineering and administration.
By JAMES BARRON

Fred Ferretti, Reporter Turned Writer on Food, Dies at 90
He covered every aspect of dining for The Times from 1969 to 1986 and then became a columnist for Gourmet magazine.


Fred Ferretti in 2008 with his wife, Yin-Fei Lo, an authority on Chinese cuisine. For a time they reviewed restaurants together.
By SAM ROBERTS

Alain Graillot, Influential Rhône Valley Winemaker, Dies at 77
Skilled, charismatic and energetic, he found success in a region that had not been esteemed for its wines, helping to raise its international reputation.


The winemaker Alain Graillot, right, with his son Maxime in an undated photo
By ERIC ASIMOV

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

All My Friends Hate Me
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Horror | Directed by Andrew Gaynord
Things turn nasty when a peculiar stranger infiltrates a reunion of college pals in this clever horror-comedy.


From left, Georgina Campbell, Graham Dickson, Tom Stourton, Antonia Clarke and Joshua McGuire in “All My Friends Hate Me.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Last Exit: Space
Documentary | Directed by Rudolph Herzog
The director Rudolph Herzog, with his father, Werner Herzog, narrating, explores the feasibility of off-world colonization.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Turning Red
PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | Directed by Domee Shi
A 13-year-old girl becomes a red panda when she loses her cool in Domee Shi’s heartwarming but wayward coming-of-age film.
By MAYA PHILLIPS

Ultrasound
Sci-Fi | Directed by Rob Schroeder
This genre hybrid opens on a dark, stormy night, takes a turn into a narrative maze only to dead end despite some promising kinks.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Gold
R | Action, Thriller | Directed by Anthony Hayes
Zac Efron stars in an unrelentingly miserable post-apocalyptic movie from the Australian actor and director Anthony Hayes.
By AMY NICHOLSON

The Adam Project
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Shawn Levy
Ryan Reynolds plays a time traveling wise cracker in Shawn Levy’s science fiction adventure.
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

The Cherry Bushido
PG-13 | Drama, Fantasy | Directed by Hiroshi Akabane
Japanese nationalism and religious faith fuel a battle in the spirit realm in this awkward martial-arts fantasy.
By WESLEY MORRIS

— And now for something completely different —

How Well Do You Know ‘The Godfather’? The Quiz Nobody Asked For
Accept this quiz as a gift for the film’s 50th anniversary.
By TALA SAFIE

Food! Glorious Food!

Food Companies, Long Symbols of the West in Russia, Pause Operations
After years of cultivating the Russian market, McDonald’s, Starbucks, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola said they would temporarily close locations or stop selling products there.
By JULIE CRESWELL

One Huge Hog, One Long Day and a Nourishing Southern Tradition
At his farm in South Carolina, Marvin Ross is carrying on the ritual of hog slaughters, a disappearing staple of Black agrarian life.
By KAYLA STEWART and CLAY WILLIAMS

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
Once Obscured in the U.S., Lao Cooks Share and Celebrate Their Cuisine
At times spicy and bitter, salty and pungent, herbaceous and sour — Lao food is intensely delicious.


Thum mak hoong, or papaya salad, is a fundamental dish in Lao cuisine, with as many variations as there are cooks.
By TEJAL RAO

These Garlic Noodles Cross Cultures, but Are Deeply San Franciscan
J. Kenji López-Alt’s take on a beloved Vietnamese American dish, invented by Helene An of Thanh Long restaurant, is creamy, garlic-packed and full of smart techniques.

These simple noodles, ready in 15 minutes, go extremely well with seafood.
These simple noodles, ready in 15 minutes, go extremely well with seafood.
By J. Kenji López-Alt

The Dreamiest Desserts Start With These Two Flavors
Kesar pista, an intoxicating combination of fragrant saffron and earthy pistachio, is a favorite on the Indian subcontinent — and an excellent base for many sweets.


Kesar pista, or saffron and pistachio, is a flavor combination that can work well in practically any dessert.
By PRIYA KRISHNA

SHOPPING GUIDE
Shopping for Teapots
Because a beautiful teapot makes drinking tea even better.
By TIM MCKEOUGH

FRONT BURNER
This Greek Olive Vodka Calls for a Martini
Kástra Elión is distilled from wheat and a mixture of olives hand-picked in Nafpaktos, Greece.


Kástra Elión Vodka, $55, reservebar.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT