Leah Eskin – Page 20 –

Pistachio biscotti bake up crisp and rich, studded with pistachios, the tops sprinkled with sanding sugar. (Joan Moravek/food styling.)

The right way to drink espresso (biscotti optional, but highly recommended)

June 16, 2018 at 6:55 p.m.

Espresso must be tipped from a tiny cup, in a crowded train station, standing up. Other methods exist, but they aren't as stylish. Lucia taught me. Actually, it was her...

Spaghetti squash tossed with nutty brown butter, toasty pecans and aromatic garlic and sage. (Joan Moravek/food styling.)

Brown butter and toasted pecans turn spaghetti squash nutty

May 31, 2019 at 1:38 p.m.

Squash season arrives midwinter. You thought the only fresh crops were snow and sludge, but your athlete knows otherwise. Squash, he scowls, racquet in hand. Not squash. He suits up...

Meyer lemons contribute their unique sweet-tart flavor to individual lemon souffles. (Joan Moravek, food styling.)

Meyer lemon surprise gift delivers welcome sunshine

April 23, 2019 at 1:20 p.m.

March, aptly named, is a slow, obligatory trudge. The scenery is best indoors: cup, counter, cookbook. A moment startled, one morning, by the buzzer; the man in the brown uniform...

Homemade granola bars travel well

May 31, 2019 at 1:38 p.m.

Driving seemed revelatory, then routine, then reviled. I still see the appeal of sad song, full tank and far horizon. But tracing circles to nowhere? Strictly out of necessity. So...

Homemade pad Thai, a tangle of noodles, peppers, spices, peanuts. (Styling by Joan Moravek)

Homemade pad Thai brings generations together

April 7, 2019 at 9:11 a.m.

Punctuation strikes you as handy, tidy and responsible. It's rash to sound off without the pause inspired by the comma or the deep breath mandated by the period. Punctuation saves...

Matisse cutouts inspire appetizers made from a Provencal dough. (Styling by Joan Moravek)

Matisse cutouts inspire pizza dough shaped in homage

August 23, 2019 at 8:04 a.m.

Paper litters my desk, chair and — thanks to the teething puppy — floor. I wish I could ship it to Matisse, who would paint it brilliant, cut it fanciful,...

The bones are gone, the sauce reduced to a glaze, but the olives, prunes and other flavor-packed ingredients of chicken Marbella remain. (Food styling by Joan Moravek)

Updating the classic ‘Silver Palate’ dish chicken Marbella

August 23, 2019 at 8:04 a.m.

Chicken Marbella anchored dinner parties of the '80s. Pull on shoulder pads, dig in; feel all David Byrne. Frankly, I tangled with the trend three decades late. "You've never tried...

Put your chicken broth to delicious work in a tortilla soup, studded with strips of tender chicken and chunks of rich avocado. (Food styling by Joan Moravek.)

Shortcut chicken broth ready to soothe in half the time

August 23, 2019 at 8:04 a.m.

Chicken soup is strong medicine and, like most pharmaceuticals, compounded under lengthy, complex, covert conditions. Saving lives is serious business. But certain afflictions — winter, flu season and empty-fridge syndrome...

Lamb stew with white beans, carrots and spinach. A dollop of harissa or another hot sauce livens the dish. (Food styling by Joan Moravek.)

The office worker’s best friend: Lamb stew in a slow cooker

June 16, 2018 at 8:13 p.m.

Office work comes with excellent perks, including colleagues and doughnuts and swift Internet. And a number of strictures. For instance, the office worker is expected to wear clothes. Not yoga...

Ginger, miso, tofu, spinach, green onion are piled in a bowl, then doused with broth. Soup, instantly. (Food styling by Joan Moravek.)

A stranger to the kitchen, teen picks up cooking skills nevertheless

August 23, 2019 at 8:03 a.m.

College looms and we've been working on college skills. The obvious, like living in sweats on minimal sleep. And the far-fetched, like cooking. Cooking does not come naturally to my...

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