Food & Dining

NEW YORK—Order a slice of pizza in Rome, and the worker behind the counter will break out the scissors. The city’s pizza of choice, pizza al taglio (“al taglio” meaning “by the cut”), is baked in large, rectangular pans, typically in electric ovens, then laid out on shop counters and scissor-snipped into pieces to order. […]

The same ingredients the ancient Greeks used still fill our markets today—we’ve just lost much of what the ancients knew about them. But in her kitchen, Maria Benardis draws upon that forgotten knowledge to craft her own healing recipes. She prepares her take on a healing carrot soup created by Hippocrates, meant to be fed […]

To the ancient Greeks, “everything had a purpose,” says Maria Benardis. These days, trendy superfoods bearing exotic names and origins are touted for their magical, cure-all abilities. But the ancient Greeks recognized the super in the everyday. All food was used for both sustenance and healing, and the ancients wrote extensively on the properties of […]

As a child, Maria Benardis had a secret hideaway: a magical fruit and vegetable garden in the mountains, overlooking the sea. The garden was hidden in the mountains of Psara, Greece, a small, remote island to the northeast of Athens—about five hours by ferry—where Benardis and her sister were sent to live with their grandmother […]

“Go back to ancient Greece.” The words came to Maria Benardis in answer to a prayer. Deeply ill, her body plagued with precancerous cysts and mind burdened with anger from childhood physical and emotional abuse, she turned to God for help when modern medicine failed her. “You’re just going to be sick all your life,” […]

The launch of a new global campaign promoting Italian wines was celebrated last night at the 33rd annual Gala Italia in New York City. Financed by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, “Italian Wine—Taste the Passion” will seek to educate consumers and trade during a three-year long educational program from 2018 to 2020. Italy’s largest […]

NEW YORK—Step into Angie Vargas’s home kitchen in Richmond Hill, Queens, and everything that meets the eye is pink—from the retro fridge to the KitchenAid mixer to utensils, down to her long straight hair. The color just makes her happy, and even the living room and bedroom are heavy on pink. Her husband, Ramon Ponce, […]

NEW YORK—Vegetables have their secrets. The key is knowing how to coax them out. Alana Chernila, who spent almost a decade working at the Great Barrington farmers market in Massachusetts, is a master vegetable alchemist. To marketgoers unsure about how to prepare their vegetables, she dispensed counsel, secrets gleaned over years of experimentation and conversation. […]

This recipe is reprinted from “Eating from the Ground Up: Recipes for Simple, Perfect Vegetables.” Copyright 2018 by Alana Chernila. Photographs copyright 2017 by Johnny Autry. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. Big Skillet Cauliflower Pasta This is my favorite kind of skillet cooking. I roast the cauliflower and sausage right in my big cast-iron skillet in […]

This recipe is reprinted from “Eating from the Ground Up: Recipes for Simple, Perfect Vegetables.” Copyright 2018 by Alana Chernila. Photographs copyright 2017 by Johnny Autry. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. Roasted Radishes With Feta Mint Sauce Roasted radishes are surprising—they get very juicy in the middle and sweet on the outside. Cooking radishes brings […]

This recipe is reprinted from “Eating from the Ground Up: Recipes for Simple, Perfect Vegetables.” Copyright 2018 by Alana Chernila. Photographs copyright 2017 by Johnny Autry. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Roasted Asparagus With Yummy Sauce I planted asparagus in my seventh year of living in our house, and I ate my first spear in the […]

NEW YORK—Food writer Joe DiStefano received a couple of beatings in the process of researching his new book, “111 Places in Queens That You Must Not Miss.” But they were presumably good for him. DiStefano, known for his food tours of Queens, took to the heat of Russian banya-style Forest Hills Spa, which, like the […]

Carolyn Federman recalls one of the first dishes she cooked as a child. It was meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and it was for her mom. “I remembered my dad was out of town, my siblings were gone. It was just the two of us,” she said. “I was so proud. I remember I made the […]

Zap it up in a blender—which takes about 1 minute—and even the least-great watermelon turns into a slushy, foamy, cooling delight.

This recipe is reprinted from “New Favorites for New Cooks” by Carolyn Federman. Published by Ten Speed Press. Copyright 2018. Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits You might have everything you need to make this dessert-y breakfast right now. What are you waiting for? A parfait is made with layers and served in a tall glass so you […]

This recipe is reprinted from “New Favorites for New Cooks” by Carolyn Federman. Published by Ten Speed Press. Copyright 2018. Sweet Potato Fries This is my daughter Romy’s after-school snack of choice. Roasty and soft, and just a little crispy on the outside, these baked sweet potato “fries” are a cinch. Aside from peeling and slicing […]

March Madness is upon us. Gather your friends for a viewing party from the comfort of your own couch, complete with plenty of good food to fuel the fun. To help you out, chefs share some of their favorite crowd-pleasing snacks, sure to be a win with your guests, brackets and team differences aside. Buffalo […]

NEW YORK—Ancient herbs, bubbly brews, and frothy tops took the stage at the 13th annual Coffee & Tea Festival NYC, where coffee-makers and tea connoisseurs from around the world convened to pour their best blends and brews on March 10 and 11. Coffee and tea have evolved far beyond your simple morning cuppa. As consumers […]

When last-minute company shows up, what do you do? In her new cookbook, “Chefs & Company” ($35), author Maria Isabella posed a question to chefs: “If you were to entertain last-minute guests at your own home, what would you prepare for them in one hour or less?” As a result, 75 chefs weighed in, not […]

It might seem like a hefty endeavor to cook Korean food at home. When dining out, a meal often comes with a dozen sides and condiments, and meats are barbecued at the table on infrared, smokeless grills—all things that seem better left to the realm of restaurants. But Korean cooking is as unfussy as it […]