My Mother’s Pantry
My Mother’s Pantry Glistening by the light of a single bare bulb are jars of canned snails from France, saffron and baby eels from Spain, bamboo shoots and plum sauce from China, and grape leaves in brine from the Middle East. Picture these delicacies in the...
Jamie Gillis Remembered on the 12th Anniversary of His Death
I’ve been working on Taking Orders, my memoir, for years and it is still a work in progress. I share with you this unedited draft on the 12th anniversary of Jamie’s death. Jamie Gillis Don’t cut what you can untie Don’t practice disaster. My first meal as...
Mole from Veracruz (Mole de Xico)
The mole de Xico or mole xiqueño is not as universally known outside of Mexico as the elegantly balanced mole poblano or as famous inside Mexico as the super-elaborate mole negro oaxaqueño (named for their cities of origin in neighboring Puebla and Oaxaca). But it’s...
A Valentine’s Thought: The Red Room
Every Valentine’s Day, I like to personally write a note to each of my friends to thank them for making me part of their lives and being there for me throughout the year. Though I closed my restaurant ZARELA after 23+ years of business...
The many lives of Zarela Martínez
Culinary legend Zarela Martínez introduced finely tuned, highly researched regional Mexican cuisine to a national stage, and has continued to blaze trails for more than three decades.