Asparagus’ Breaking Point

By HAROLD McGEE
Published: May 4, 2009

IT’S spring at last: prime time for a vegetable that does not go gently into our food chain, that keeps binding up its harvest wounds even as it’s shipped and stored, growing and bending upward to find the sun. A vegetable whose texture horticultural engineers test by tapping it with a tiny hammer and listening to it vibrate. More

Guacamole and Middle Eastern Avocado Puree

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
Published: May 5, 2009

Everybody loves guacamole, and everyone has an opinion as to what an authentic guacamole should be. I leave it up to you whether to add onion and chile — but please don’t make it in a food processor. Guacamole should have texture; use a fork or a mortar and pestle to mash the avocados. More

Happy Birthday to Me, With a Spanish Lilt

By MELISSA CLARK
Published: May 1, 2009

“THE problem with dinner at your house,” my friend Robin laments, “is that if you make something I really like, I know I’ll never get to eat it again because you never make anything twice.” More

Recipe: Almond Birthday Cake with Sherry-Lemon Butter Cream (May 6, 2009)

5/6/09