Simple herb cheese spread.

Last week, I posted about discovering labneh, the Middle Eastern yogurt cheese. This stuff is fantastic, and it’s incredibly versatile. I mixed labneh with dried vegetable flakes, a splash of wine and some seasoned salt into …

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Fun ingredient of the week: Labneh.

Cooking with my mom recently, I encountered an ingredient I hadn’t tried before: labneh (also spelled labna) or Middle Eastern yogurt cheese. In a nutshell, it’s plain yogurt that has been strained for several days to remove the …

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Late-summer provisioning.

We took advantage of the Labor Day weekend to do a bit of provisioning. The advent of fall annually sends me into a mini-panic, as I realize that summer—and its bounty of the vegetables and fruits …

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Wine of the Week: A. Rafanelli Zinfandel

Wine: A. Rafanelli Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2005 Price: $45 Tasting notes: plush and full-bodied, with jammy fruit, caramel and not-too-sharp spice Story: One of our very favorite wines, and it does Rafanelli no disservice to say …

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Spiced steak and tomatoes.

There are two dishes that combined prevent me from becoming a full-on vegetarian: Rob’s always-perfect grilled hamburgers and this: Fennel-spiced steak that’s grilled and served over sliced tomatoes. When summer tomatoes are at their best—big ones, …

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Wine of the Week: MacMurray Pinot Noir

Wine: MacMurray Central Coast Pinot Noir Price: $15 Tasting notes: ripe red berries, soft cinnamon, a bit of pepper Story: This is a reliably delicious Pinot Noir, with a plusher mouthfeel that’s less astringent and austere than …

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Garbage gazpacho.

Though my smallish frame might indicate otherwise, my eyes are often bigger than my stomach. And so it is that in summertime I kind of overbuy produce. Everything looks so good at the farmers’ market and, …

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Summer succotash.

In the heart of summer, I cannot get enough of corn, zucchini and tomatoes. They taste intensely of sunshine, they’re incredibly easy to prepare and they’re endlessly flexible. An article in the July/August issue of Eating …

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