The Bitten Word

Dinner with Mom: EJ's Simple Ribs and Rib Sauce

Everyday Food (July 2008)

Fearing that small plates would mean guests that might go home hungry, we wanted to ensure that our Dinner with Mom featured one slightly more substantial item to round out the meal.

These ribs from Everyday Food seemed just the ticket!

Dinner with Mom: Sesame Tempura Green Beans with Soy Dipping Sauce

Gourmet (November 2000)

It was a nasty, cold, damp night in New York City last winter. We were meeting our friends I. and A. for dinner at the Red Cat in Chelsea. A sprint through the chilly rain was followed by a too-long wait in the artificially hot, overcrowded entryway of the restaurant. We were finally deposited at our table, and the host was about to turn away. But I. put her hand on his arm before he could leave. "Excuse me," she said, "but we're going to need an emergency order of tempura green beans."

I.'s order was heaven-sent. The beans were snappy, crispy little bites of hope, restoring our good cheer and paving the way for a delightfully long dinner with friends.

When we were putting together the small-plates menu for dinner with Zach's mom B., we needed something fresh and green, but we wanted to continue the dinner's sophisticated, fun, finger-foods mood.

We knew just what we needed: an emergency order of tempura green beans.

Dinner with Mom: Turnip Chips with Crème Fraîche, Parsley & Red Onion

As we were putting our menu together with dinner with Zach's mom B, there was one item in our pantry that was giving us pause. We'd gotten a big batch of turnips from our CSA, and we wanted to feature them in our small-plates meal. But how? Steamed or sauteed turnips are great, but they wouldn't really fit with our tapas menu.

Then we were hit with divine inspiration: turnip chips!

And we were off! We would salt and bake the turnip slices, top it with a dollop of crème fraîche, and add a sprightly jolt of freshness with parsley and diced red onion.

The result? A great mix of flavors and textures that made for a scrumptious, sophisticated bite.

Dinner with Mom: Pancetta-Wrapped Peaches with Basil and Aged Balsamic

Food & Wine (July 2008)

Our small-plates feast continued with these drop-dead gorgeous peaches wrapped in pancetta and basil.

These are stunning, heavenly little bites that just strike all the perfect flavor notes: the sweet fresh peaches, the smoky-salty char of the pancetta, the dark, rich balsamic and the herbal, almost licorice scent of the basil.