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Tzatziki and Summer Musings

Summer greetings—and here’s a summer tip that will serve you far better than “plant the corn early” or “take an umbrella in case of rain.” Ready? If a friend invites you to go cruising on a 215 foot yacht in the Aegean for a week, the answer is YES! I’m just back from Greece and Turkey---my first time since 1976, before I was born--- and was dazzled by so many incredible things: the majesty of The Byzantine/Ottoman Empire, the fun of Mykonos, the succulent, delectable FRESH

Tzatziki and Summer Musings

The Mansion on Turtle Creek

It’s impossible not to feel right at home at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, a pink-stuccoed masterpiece nestled in Dallas’ leafy Highland Park. It’s like you’re visiting a distant cousin’s residence---albeit a wealthy one’s---rather than the flagship of Rosewood Hotels’ impeccable roster. It was the city’s first five-star property when it opened in 1983, and whenever my cooking or speaking business takes me to Dallas, I just wouldn’t think of staying anywhere else. Hotelier C

The Mansion on Turtle Creek

In search of The Perfect Asparagus

THESE DAYS, it’s hard to imagine true seasonality in food, even though you may read about it every day. While everything seems to be available always, corn on the cob isn’t right for December, blueberries won’t cut it in March, and root vegetables, even if they’re made into a salad, are Verboten in July. You get it—but here’s another ploy: there’s a huge difference between organic and seasonal, and most people just don’t know the difference. You may be able to buy organic tom

In search of The Perfect Asparagus

Sunday Night “SPAGHETTI” at Nan's

WHENEVER NAN and Tommy Kempner were in town, Sunday nights were super-special occasions. Unlike the more formal seated lunches and dinners for 12 to 18 during the week, these Sunday parties were blockbuster sit-all-over-theapartment buffet suppers for 30 to 120 guests, several times a month. The phone would ring and there was Nan: “Do come for a spaghetti dinner,” her tone implying an evening as cozy and relaxed as something any old housewife might slap together for a crowd.

Sunday Night
“SPAGHETTI”
at Nan's

House Party

It’s considered the jewel of the South’s social season, and on that subject, 400 Georgians can’t be wrong. AN ANNUAL BENEFIT FOR THE ATLANTA History Center, the Swan House Ball always takes place in April. Last year’s black-tie dinner-dance celebrated the 86th anniversary of the Italianate masterpiece, which was originally commissioned by a cotton broker and his wife, Edward and Emily Inman. The chairman, my buddy Aimee Chubb, called me to design the party and cook for it. I

House Party

Queen Betts

Highlands Bar and Grill

After three decades, the Birmingham, Alabama, restaurant remains an American icon. In 1982, on a treelined central street in downtown Birmingham, local son Frank Stitt opened Highlands Bar and Grill, a temple of Frenched-up Southern cuisine inspired by the brasseries of Paris. Stitt had cut his teeth in the ’70s at Alice Waters’s Chez Panisse under then-chef Jeremiah Tower, followed by stints in kitchens throughout Provence and Burgundy, before returning home to Alabama, wher

Highlands Bar and Grill

Down by The Sea

Easy & Elegant Christmas Eve

The most talked about…Departure.

Alex Hitz remembers his friend Nan Kemper. Sometime during the early fall of 1998, when I was new in town and still living in the Carlyle Hotel, my telephone rang. An unfamiliar but booming voice came through the receiver: - “Hello Darling. It’s Nan Kempner.” - “Well, uh, hello, Nan,” I replied meekly through my shock. “How are you?” Certainly, I knew who she was, although we had never met. - “Very well, darling. Listen, I’ve got some people coming in for lunch on Friday, ab

The most talked about…Departure.

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