The Crabby Cook - by Jessica Harper

I am in Cape Cod today, on vacation with my husband’s extended family. Yesterday it was my turn to make dinner, and I envisioned a gorgeous piece of broiled bluefish. I made the fatal mistake of sharing this vision with my in-laws. Read More

I was looking for a new oven, cruising an appliance store with help from Sal the salesman. When I asked Sal (who sells a LOT of ovens) which brand his customers preferred he said, “Hard to say. 99% of them don’t cook.” Read More

My mother-in-law was flying in from the east coast, a long schlep for an 86-year-old. I wanted to make her a nice dinner, something easy to chew (to accommodate her denture issues) but delicious, to honor her arrival. I bought sparkling fresh swordfish, schmeared it with a lovely sauce and roasted it while I served her favorite cocktail (Michelob Ultra) and soft crackers. Read More

I went to the farmers’ market the other day and went basil crazy. I bought so much basil, the smell of it lingered in my car for two days (which was preferable to the smell of wet dog that usually dominates).

I often overbuy at the market, seduced by abundance. Then I go home and realize that I have set myself up for a lot of cooking, and irritation kicks in. But with the basil, this simply did not happen. I think it’s the way basil smells. It’s aromatherapy for crabby cooks; the perfume makes you actually willing to prepare food. Read More

Today it was announced that one hundred new words and expressions were being added to the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, including “infinity pool” (first found in an English-speaking publication in 1992), “kiteboarding” (1996), which is not a new form of torture but a water sport, and a personal favorite, “wing nut” (circa 1900), which is slang for a radical person.

But the word on the list that caught my eye was “pescatarian” (1993), defined as a vegetarian who will eat fish. A secondary definition would be a pesky dinner guest with irritating food preferences, like my cousin Jack, who occasionally drops by unexpectedly, usually at dinner time. Read More