Judi Cooks & Looks

Guess it's my roots and culinary training, but I find it next to impossible – almost sacrilegious – to not use every last inch of a loaf of bread. Day-old bread is the best choice for tasty bits like french toast and bread pudding. This lovely albeit senior baguette from Balthazar was a natural for

WHATCHOO LOOKIN’ AT? Today it was figs. Brooklyn is studded with gems. These fig trees (private property so forget about it) on 13th Street never disappoint. Didn’t expect to see fruit yet. Nice surprise. My favorite way to eat small, ripe black figs? Roasted. Decadent Roasted Stuffed Fig Appetizers

It’s not everyone who has an upstairs neighbor with a frozen block of grass-fed chuck roast, but I am. In this pantry challenge I’m drawing from my neighbor’s freezer as well. It was still chilly out and not quite spring, so a braise was in order. Tomato paste, diced tomatoes, beef broth and stone g

Tonight, eggs, 1/4 jar of capers and tiny bit of canola mayo got checked off the list. Added hot sauce, black pepper and kosher salt. Simple but yummy. How to make perfectly hard-boiled eggs is nothing new. Here’s the technique I swear by: Put large eggs in one layer (no over-crowding) in a pot. Fil