Paper Palate

It is not often that a book is so enthralling that not only is it impossible to put down, but its lyrical mastery beckons to be read aloud. M.F.K. Fisher’s work, The Art of Eating, is spewing with poetical epiphanies on food, and memories that surround a life that finds meaning in living. […]

Growing up, the brown bag sac lunch was my nemesis. Every school night my mother would draw smiley faces on the “O” of our last name, overflow the bags with food, stick them in the fridge for the night, and lay them out the next morning to grab on the way out the door. […]

Meat-filled breads are always a surprising pleasure. While they can be a happy filler to a meal at breakfast or dinner, they make a not-so-guilty snack when one is craving carbs; forming more of a mini-sandwich than mere bread.
My grandmother makes a succulent Latvian variety known as Piedogs. Traditionally filled with chopped ham […]

There is nothing more horrifying than kugel. My mother used to make a halfway decent noodle kugel. It had a ricotta-like filling and overflowed with raisins. When she ran out of raisins, pineapple was substituted; often canned. The pineapple kugel sat in yellow piles on my plate molested by my fork; […]

A few years ago, I had an ideal roommate: she was an amazing baker while I was the meat and potatoes of the operation. Together we created some tantalizing meals that impressed all around us. We were an unstoppable duo, especially in the kitchen. She moved out, we moved on, and now […]

We all know that we have five senses: taste, touch, feel, sight and sound. But scientists and cookbook authors are finally coming to see what the food nation might have known all along, but just couldn’t name: there are five tastes; making the tongue just as sensitive as our bodies (if not more so).
Research […]

I am not Irish.
I never claim to be Irish or wear a “Kiss me I’m Irish” pin on Saint Patrick’s Day. My mother occasionally dyed things green: toast, eggs, mashed potatoes, and Chicago, where I grew up, still dyes the River green for the occasion. Once, in junior high school, for a bake sale […]

Stacey B. Ornstein is a half-Latvian writer and artist who loves food. Her culinary ambition stems from her grandmother, a former chef, and mother. Her most vivid memories growing up are rooted in food. Originally from the Chicago-land area, she has lived in New York since she was 18 years old.
As a […]

In this week’s New Orleans Times- Picayune, columnist Brett Anderson, in his article, “Love That Chicken,” surprised me with a little insider secret: fried chicken is a staple of the Mardi Gras festivities. I am not talking about something Mama used to make once a year for the special occasion, but as Anderson states, […]