Global warming may be disputed, but there is a consensus on American eating habits – our palates are heating up. Entire stores are devoted to chile peppers and the legion of salsas, sauces, rubs, pastes and edible paint strippers they spawned. Megamarts and farmers markets feature a growing selection of colorful, incendiary chile varieties. Flora and I recently enjoyed a sweet-spicy dark chocolate bark spiked with ancho chile powder.

Why have we embraced the piquant and downright hot?

Clifford A. Wright, in his cookbook Some Like It Hot: Spicy Favorites from the World’s Hot Zones, offers the reader 15 hypotheses as to why humans like spicy foods. Benign masochism? Food preservation? Digestive aid? In the end, Wright opts for the most obvious reasons; chiles taste good, create a pleasing sensation in the mouth and provide zest to bland foods.

Wright’s recipe chapters are arranged geographically, starting with the hottest cuisines of the chile pepper’s point of origin, the New World, then moving to West Africa, Morocco/Tunisia, Yemen, India/Pakistan, Sichuan, and Korea among others. The dishes, “written as if you were eating in those cultures,” range from piquant to thermonuclear. Caution: crazy hot preparations here will literally burn the impetuous or  ill-prepared.

Thanks to well-researched sidebars on piquant cuisine profiles (Thai, Cajun), unusual ingredients (grains of paradise), and spice history and lore (the travels of Leo Africanus) Wright serves up both heat and light. I consider the recipes within reach for a majority of enthusiastic home cooks, though the spectrum of ingredients required across food traditions, both fresh and preserved, is daunting. You might need to order online.

“The use of chiles in Sichuan (China) is, as with all ‘hot’ cuisines, meant to heighten one’s sensation of taste and to open up the palate.” The paradox of fiery food mystifies those who find only numbness and discomfort when consuming chile-laced dishes.

Yet, the pleasures of “hot zone” cuisines are attainable to those who build a tolerance over time. When I prepared Wright’s pungent, penetrating Jerk Chicken recipe for Flora’s delicate palate I discarded most of the ribs and seeds and substituted additional slices from the scotch bonnet pepper’s mild “lobes.” Try Wright’s amazing marinade on half a turkey breast, too.

Marinade:
2 tablespoons ground allspice
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons salt
6 large garlic cloves
1 one-inch cube fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sugar
½ bunch cilantro, leaves only
¼ cup soy sauce
¾ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup peanut oil
2 cups chopped scallions
4 scotch bonnet or habenero peppers, stemmed

Chicken:
6 pounds mixed chicken breasts, thighs, and legs
3 bay leaves (optional)

Place all ingredients for jerk marinade in blender and puree until smooth.

In a large bowl toss the chicken pieces with the marinade. Divide the pieces and marinade between two heavy-duty, zip-lock plastic bags. Seal the bags, pressing out excess air, and let the chicken marinade in the refrigerator, turning the bags over several times, for at least six hours and up to two days.

Prepare a charcoal fire on one side of the grill or preheat gas grill on high for 15 minutes, then turn off one set of burners. If using charcoal, toss three bay leaves on coals if desired. Grill the chicken over indirect heat, in batches if necessary, and cover if possible, until golden brown with bits of blackened skin, about 1 ½ hours, turning now and then and basting with leftover marinate. During the last 30 minutes of cooking keep the chicken breasts skin side up so the meat is further away from heat source, and stop basting. If the pieces blacken too quickly it means the fire is too hot and you should either keep the cover open, push the coals further away, or lower one of the gas burners. Transfer the jerk chicken to a platter and serve.

(Some Like It Hot: Spicy Favorites from the World’s Hot Zones, by Clifford A. Wright. Boston: Harvard Common Press, 2005. $18.95)

It won’t be long before the chill of late autumn and winter remind northerners to start planning their escape to the sunshine state of Florida. When investigating Gulf of Mexico getaways, do consider the new Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa.

Set in an idyllic waterside locale, balanced between the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the picturesque Intracoastal Waterway, this casually elegant Clearwater hotel and resort is characterized by a contemporary West Indies style.

It is not often that I long for a rainy weekend to stay inside a hotel, but my husband and I actually welcomed the stormy weather during our recent visit. The hotel is offers the ultimate in relaxation opportunities with comfortable sitting areas, a great bar for sipping an afternoon mojito (views of the Gulf of Mexico included), the Shor restaurant, focusing on a farm-to-table menu and a luxury spa offering a wide array of pampering treatments.

There are packages for men, women and expectant moms, all geared to reestablish your spiritual and emotional balance through your choice of energy or relaxation massages, facials and body wraps. Bring a book and sip green tea and homemade lemon bars in between your treatments. I chose the oxygen facial (rumor has it that Madonna owns one of these specialty machines of her own) is almost like an instant lift, smoothing the creases around eyes and on forehead.

A fun half-day trip is yours when you jump on the Jolly Trolley, which winds its way all the way to St. Petersburg Beach. Or plan a day trip up to Tarpon Springs to enjoy the Greek culture and cuisine, shopping and a look at the natural sponges that made this town famous in the early days of Florida’s history.

If your preference is to stay right where you are for a few days, reserve a private cabana on the fringe of the gracious swimming pool – it’s the perfect expression of vacation-indulgence, even climate controlled inside. These Hyatt climate-controlled cabanas are equipped with wireless internet access and a high definition flat-screen television. So convenient for checking the Food Network or pick up the latest sports scores.

Since every room is a suite with a full kitchen, I recommend bringing cheese and fruit and a few bottles of champagne to enjoy in the afternoons on your private balcony before heading downstairs to Shor, the resort’s American Seafood Grill. The menu is simple and the food is simply delicious. Chef invites each guest to select the preparation and sauces that accompany fresh seafood. Or opt for an incredible melt-in-your mouth steak. Not every hotel restaurant grabs my attention and taste buds for repeat visits, but Shor gets it right under the culinary talents of Chef Brad Gillespie and with limited creative dining options nearby, I recommend reservations both nights of a weekend getaway.

___________________________________

Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa
301 South Gulfview Blvd.
Clearwater, Florida Tel: 727 373 1234 Fax: 727 441 3672

Jeffrey Saad is a chef, restaurateur, runner up for the Next Food Network Star (season 5) and he’s soon to have his own cooking show. His motto is “cooking without borders” and he proves it in his global cooking style and his willingness to travel anywhere for a culinary thrill. Saad started his food adventures in Chicago at age 13 when he was hired to work in a diner. Today he owns Sweet Heat Mexican restaurants and several others in San Francisco and he is available to the world on his popular Web site www.jeffreysaad.com.

Lately Chef Saad is interested in simplifying the world of food and wine pairings. He revealed that he experienced his food/wine match epiphany in San Francisco at a small French Bistro over foie gras and a glass of Sauterne.

According to Saad, this was the first time he truly understood and appreciated that “aha” moment when a perfect match occurs between food and wine. And he was the successful matchmaker. Saad recently shared his favorite food and wine pairings and tips for finding your perfect match.

“Approach your food and wine the same way you approach your relationships,” said Saad. “Stop and listen to your food and wine. Really pay attention to what’s in front of you and give the first couple tastes your full attention. When you do this, you will start to notice how your food and wine communicate with each other, learning which relationships are complementary and which are not.”

Saad urges people to trust their palates. When experimenting with a food/wine pairing, the expert suggests you take a sip of wine first, then follow with a bite of food and then another sip of wine. Now stop and focus on the flavors going on in your mouth. If you do this enough times, you’ll begin to appreciate what flavor combinnations work for you. Some of Saad’s favorite food/wine matches: are ribeye steak and Malbec wine, sherry and Marcona almonds, foie gras and sauterne and Pad Thai with Sauvignon Blanc.

Want more? Then try Chef Saad’s tips when matching food and wine.

* Foods higher in fat pair with more acidic wines, such as Yealands Sauvignon Blanc. The acidity cuts through the fat allowing the flavors of the food and wine come through. Most cheeses pair well with Riesling, sauterne, Tilia Torrontes, or chenin blanc wines.

* Salty foods best pair with wines lower in alcohol, the saltiness will exaggerate the alcohol in wine. Try an off-dry or sparkling wine like Zardetto Prosecco.

* For rich protein foods such as steak serve a wine with tannins. The proteins soften the tannins and the fruit will come forward. A good pairing is High Note Malbec with duck or Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon with Kobe beef strip.

* Spicy food such as Indian cuisine or West African accelerate the tannins in wine so choose an off-dry or fruity wine, such as Clean Slate Riesling.

In his repertoire, Chef Saad has “wines to the rescue.” These are bottles he considers to be most food friendly. Fail-safe alternatives for novices. “The Barbera grape has enough acid and bright fruit flavors to pair well with a wide range of food so look for this grape,” he said. “A dry or off-dry Rosé goes with most foods because it has enough acid to match the acid in a salad; enough fruit to offset spicy food; and just enough tannin to stand up to most protein.” Europeans drink more rose wines than Americans who have yet to fully appreciate the food range that a good rose can cover. Investigate these wines.

Finally, the low alcohol and high acidity of Champagne make it a perfect choice for most meals, according to Saad. From canapes to chocolate for dessert and anything in between, if you don’t know what to order, choose a good quality champagne and no one at the table will every complain about your wine-choosing skills.

Now it’s time to discover your own “aha” moment of matching. It’s less about right and wrong and more abut what pleases your individual palate. So experiment. That’s what great chefs do.

Despite the lush and beguiling detail of an old-master still-life painting of peaches and blackberries on the cover of this novel,   The Cookbook Collector is not really at the heart of things about cooking; you’ll find no usable recipes therein. Cuisine is significant but only tangentially. The character who represents the title is a serious bachelor home cook who begins to collect culinary publications because he owns a bookstore and covets first editions for his own private library. He’s also in love with one of the main characters.

In food terms, however, this book is a complex relationship stew that bubbles and simmers finally delivering an experience that satisfies the senses. The story tracks along parallel lines in Boston and Berkeley, where the two under-30 single Bach sisters live. They are the main ingredients.

Jess is a romantic on no particular career path who works part time in a bookstore and thinks she is love with an environmental activist named Leon who doesn’t treat her well. Emily is an ambitious CEO of a Silicon Valley tech company on the brink of major success. The sisters’ friends, love interests and family members add to the rich and spicy broth in this character-driven book that can also be put into the category of the 9/11 novel since that tragedy becomes a defining moment for one of the characters.

The story is basically about the tension between pursuing what you think you want and finally knowing what you actually need. Skilled author Allegra Goodman takes her time letting these young women find their way. Jess (who is such a vegan that she won’t eat harvested honey from “indentured bees”) is always hungry but it’s obvious she has a longing that can’t be sated with calories. Emily takes food and her romantic future for granted until everything changes forever in a matter of minutes.

Along the way to self realization for the sisters (and others who orbit them) there is some lengthy talk of food as nurturing or seductive elements – Alice B. Toklas Haschich Fudge, Cinnebons to serve at at Emily’s I.P.O. brunch, a lovely poetic Tudor description of a strawberry tart. And there is this lusty daydream of George, the shy cookbook collector:

“If he could have Jess, he would feed her…he longed to nourish her with clementines, and pears in season, fresh whole-wheat bread and butter, wild strawberries, comte cheese, fresh figs and oily Marcona almonds, tender yellow beets. He would sear red meat, if she would let him, and grill spring lamb. Cut the thorns off artichokes and dip the leaves in fresh aioli, poach her fish – thick Dover sole in wine and shallots – julienne potatoes and roast a whole chicken with lemon slices under the skin. He would serve a salad of heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and just-picked basil. Serve her and watch her savor dinner, pour for her, and watch her drink. That would be enough for him. To find her plums in season and perfect nectarines, velvet apricots, dark and succulent duck. To bring her all these things and watch her eat.”

Who could resist such a lover?

(The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Coodman. Dial Press, New York. $26.)

Every January since leaving Key West in 2001 my husband and I return to that magical island for the incomparable Key West Literary Seminar (www.kwls.org). Almost three decades ago a group of local writers created this annual event that now draws the very best in literary minds to the American tropics.

The Seminar is a four-day January vacation for book lovers who come from all over the globe to mix in a casual setting with writers, critics, travelers, educators and other passionate readers. A theme is chosen each year and addressed by the invited poets, novelists, journalists, essayists and historians. They share their art, inspiration and passion for the written word through conversations, panel discussions, readings and performances held at the San Carlos Theater in the heart of Old Town Key West on Duval Street. The cost is currently $495 for the seminar, not including lodging or transportation, but the fee does include some evening buffet dinners in idyllic settings, such as the gardens at the Audubon House.

The 2011 topic, The Hungry Muse (January 6-9 or 13-16), explores the role that food plays in literature. Just some of the writers coming to chew on this topic include Gail Greene, Frank Bruni, Ruth Reichl, Adam Gopnik and Calvin Trillin. Naturally, all this talk of food turns a visitor’s thoughts to one of the Southernmost City’s great treasures – unique restaurants!

Morning becomes Key West. Long before the tropical sun climbs high enough to melt the sidewalks, before the breeze hides in the tree tops with the White Crowned Pigeons and the cicadas come to life with their song, the locals are awake. They’ve walked the dogs, swept the porches and now with newspapers in hand they are heading out, before work, for a grande con leche or buchi (no milk, spoonfuls of sugar).

Most of the delightful small hotels and inns in town serve continental breakfast but we still feel “local blood” running in our veins and never miss a quick stop at 5 Brothers Grocery and Sandwich Shop on the corner of Grinnell and Southard streets. where the Cuban coffee is dark and rich and the cheese toast hot and crunchy.

Those with time to tarry stop by Sarabeth’s (www.sarabethskeywest.com) at 530 Simonton Street for a Key West pink shrimp omelet, served with fresh muffins and homemade marmalade. Or they trek to Azur (www.azurkeywest.com), 425 Grinnell Street, for The Morning After, which is a fruited honey yogurt and granola ambrosia. Some of the hungry head up to Croissant de France (www.croissantsdefrance.com), 816 Duval Street, for a cafe au lait, truly authentic Breton galette and superb pastries.

The organizers of the Seminar know that after a wonderful morning of intense literary discussions and readings one needs a leisurely lunch. You need not go far from the San Carlos to find global cuisine. Just around the corner at 509 Southard Street The Café offers vegetarian and vegan dishes from all compass points – fresh and exciting. Turning southwest into Bahama Village, one finds the Blue Heaven Restaurant
(www.blueheavenkw.homestead.com) on Thomas Street, which is famous for its outdoor courtyard ambiance, Floribbean flavors and flock of resident Key West chickens.

Other restaurants within an easy walk are the very French Banana Café (www.banana-cafe-key-west.com) on “Upper” Duval Street. Another five minutes of strolling will get you to Camille’s Restaurant (www.camilleskeywest.com) on Simonton Street, offering Caribbean/Key West cuisine in a bright, rambling, art-filled former bar.

Lynn Kaufelt (a founder and president of the Board of Directors), the Board and Executive Director Miles Frieden entertain Seminar registrants with lavish receptions, truly gorgeous buffets and a champagne dessert gala held at various historic locations throughout old town so one needs little more.

We save an evening for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants meeting friends and catching-up. Step one block off glaring Duval and you stroll down quiet residential streets of Victorian gingerbread houses built in the mid-1880s by Bahamian sea captains and wreckers. The air is soft and scented with jasmine and the deep clove of nicotina. Lights are dim, screenless windows are open to the evening breeze, ceiling fans hum and cats on picket fences tilt their heads begging for a gentle touch.

In a tiny, chic local bistro on Olivia Street, the menu at 7 Fish (www.7fish.com) ranges from the favored meat loaf to yellowtail snapper in Thai curry sauce. Santiago’s Bodega (www.santiagosbodega.com) on Petronia Street in Bahama Village just knocks you out with their selection of hot and cold tapas and stunning salad combinations. Sit outside on the covered porch and watch a different world glide by. For urban sophistication and a menu to match you must try Café Marquesa (www.marquesa.com/cafe) on Fleming Street. The world-class boutique inn, The Marquesa Hotel, is next door.

Although we lived in Key West for over 23 years we still rely on the Web site for the Key West Literary Seminar (www.kwls.org). There you’ll find a carefully selected list of accommodations, the complete program for both sessions of The Hungry Muse and their on-line registration, pod casts and blogs (I often visit Littoral by Arlo Haskell for insights and literary news) and such evocative photographs of the ‘true’ Key West paradise that I catch my breath just looking at them. Enjoy!

A good Romesco sauce is nothing new to professional chefs; we all learned to make it and it’s a staple in our repertoire. The reason is that this sauce is easy to make, looks pretty on a plate and is highly versatile. Toss it with a little pasta for lunch or a side dish. Use it with shellfish, meats, poultry, or fish. It works every time to add zing and color to your food. You can even use Romesco (thickened version) as a dipping sauce for roasted vegetables.

Lately, I’ve been noticing that Romesco sauce is turning up on restaurant menus again all across America. Its commercial popularity ebbs and flows with culinary trends. But I think Romesco is a sauce that home cooks should master and use in their repertory because it has few ingredients and is simple to prepare. Yet, it produces a genuine wow factor for food. Vegetarians should learn to makes Romesco (and then add your own variations) because this this sauce really flavors up all kinds of vegetables.

Romesco is a sauce that originated in the city of Tarragona in the Catalonia region of Spain. It dates back to Roman times. Traditionally, it is made from blanched almonds and hazelnuts (you can substitute pine nuts), roasted garlic, olive oil and sweet red pepper. Personally, I use the jarred red peppers, drained well, along with fresh roasted red tomatoes and sherry wine vinegar.

Although Romesco is a wonderful sauce to use on a cheese ravioli, I also use it as a base for grilled fish, spicy grilled shrimp, grilled leg of lamb and grilled Hallumi cheese or fresh mozzarella cheese. It’s great with fresh tuna too.

Make your Romesco at least a few hours before serving so that the complex flavors can meld and deepen.  Because of the oils in the nuts, the sauce will last 4-5 days in the refrigerator. You’ll never regret making this sauce.

Romesco Sauce:
12 blanched almonds
12 hazelnuts
1 head garlic
1 slice stale bread
2 ripe medium tomatoes
2 large roasted red peppers, well drained if using jarred
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Approximately ¼ cup sherry vinegar

Roast garlic by cutting off the head a brushing with olive oil. Place on a cookie sheet in preheated 350 degree oven and roast for 20 minutes or until garlic inside is soft.

Place almonds and hazelnuts into food processor and grind until finely ground.

Pour 1-2 tablespoons oil in a medium pan and quickly fry bread until both sides are browned. Remove from pan and cool.

Cut tomatoes into quarters. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan and sauté tomatoes for about 4-5 minutes, (or roast tomatoes for a sweeter taste).

Once bread is cool tear into 6 pieces and add to the nuts in the food processor. Add sautéed tomatoes and blend in processor. Squeeze roasted garlic from the skin and add to processor. Add roasted peppers and blend until you create a thick paste. Drizzle in sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil according to the desire thickness. My recommendation is keep it on the thick side. So delicious!

A chef’s preferred steak dinner? Hanger steak. Almost every time.

Also known as a bistro steak and similar to a flank steak, a hanger steak is flavorful and versatile. These is nothing more appealing to a chef than a marinated piece of hanger steak, perhaps topped with buttered panko crumbs, aged Stilton and a reduced cabernet sauce.

Chefs aren’t the only professionals who prize this cut of beef. Butchers traditionally save the hanger steak for their own meals at home. It’s time you knew what they know. Hanger steak is a bargain and a treat.

Hanger steak is best when marinated and then broiled or grilled, cooked to a rare or medium rare to avoid toughness. Hanger steak is a better cut of cow than skirt steak and I highly recommend using a hanger steak for flavorful fajitas, along with spicy guacamole and fresh chopped pickled vegetables or Korean style. Chef Ming Tsai of the famed Blue Ginger restaurant in the Boston area shared this marvelous Asian hanger steak recipe. It’s easy to make and sure to impress your family or guests with bold flavors and a respect for this under-appreciated cut of meat.

Hanger Steak, Barbeque Korean Style
(4 servings)

1/2 cup Korean chile bean paste (gochu-jan)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sesame seed oil
1 cup chopped scallions
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
3 pounds hanger steak, sinew removed
Sliced green scallions, for garnish
Fried shallots, for garnish (optional)

Directions
In a food processor, add chile paste, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sugar, soy and black pepper. Blend well than drizzle in the oils. While still running, add the scallions and cilantro. Check for seasoning. It should not be salty since salt is added right before grilling. Remove 1/2 cup of the marinade and reserve for sauce. In a dish, completely coat the hanger steak with remaining marinade and let rest in refrigerator overnight. On a hot, oiled grill, season hanger with salt and grill, about 8 minutes for medium-rare.

Gochu-Jan (Korean chile paste) Sauce
1/2 cup of above marinade
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Mix all in a bowl.

Cucumber Kimchee and Sesame Fried Rice
4 cups rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 English cucumbers (hothouse), 1/8-inch half moon slices
2 large red onions, 1/8-inch slices
1/2 cup sliced garlic
1/4 cup Korean chile flakes (gocho-karu)
4 halved Thai bird chiles, de-seeded
1 cup scallions, 1/2-inch pieces

In a large non-reactive pan, heat the vinegar, sugar and salt. When boiling, add the cucumbers, onions, garlic, chile flake, chiles and scallions. Bring back to a boil, pull off heat and let stand to room temperature. Store in a glass jar with a loosened lid at room temperature to ferment slightly. After 2 days at room temperature, store in refrigerator.

Sesame Fried Rice
Canola oil to cook
4 large whole eggs
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
6 cups cooked jasmin rice, cooled and broken up (usually day old)
1/2 pound picked bean sprouts
2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

In a hot wok coated with canola oil, quickly scramble the eggs to soft stage. Set aside. In the same hot wok coated with oil, add garlic, ginger and scallions. Cook until soft then add rice, bean sprouts, soy and sesame oil. Season and add back the eggs. Heat thoroughly and check for seasoning.

Plating: On a large white plate, zig-zag the sauce. Place small mound of rice and top with hanger steak sliced in half, on the bias. Place kimchee on top and garnish with sesame seeds, scallions and fried shallots.

Hanger Steak with Pinot Noir Reduction and Bleu Cheese
(Adapted from Napa Valley Greystone Cookbook, serves 4)

Marinade
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 thyme sprigs
Four 8-ounce hanger steaks, trimmed of excess surface fat

Crispy Shallots
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, for dusting
4 small shallots peeled, cut into 1/8-inch slices and separated into rings
2 cups canola oil, for frying
1/4 tsp. salt, or as needed

Pinot Noir Sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots (about 2 ounces), peeled and finely chopped
1 cup Pinot Noir
1 cup rich chicken or beef stock
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon cold butter
1/2 tsp. salt, or as needed
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or as needed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 freshly ground black pepper
24 small grapes
4 ounces Point Reyes blue cheese (or another blue cheese), at room temperature

For the marinade: Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Place the steaks in a non-reactive dish just large enough to hold them. Pour the marinade over the steaks, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours, turning at least once.

For the crispy shallots: While the steaks are marinating, place the flour in a medium bowl. Toss the shallot rings to coat lightly with flour. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the canola oil (about 2 inches deep) to 360 degrees. Carefully add the shallot rings and fry until crispy and golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove the crispy shallots with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.  Sprinkle with the salt and reserve.

For the pinot noir sauce: In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and sauté until softened but not brown, about 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the wine to a thick sauce, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the stock and reduce by at least half or until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme leaves. Remove the pan from heat and add the butter to finish the sauce. Season with the salt and pepper. Re-warm when ready to use.

Light a charcoal fire or turn the grill to medium-high heat. Remove the steaks from the marinade and scrape off any marinade still clinging to the meat. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season with the 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Grill the steaks over a medium-hot for 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the steaks over and grill for another 5 to 7 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the steak registers 125 degrees for medium-rare. Place the steaks on a cutting board and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes.

While the steaks are resting, warm a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the grapes and roast, shaking the pan, for about a minute. Reserve until needed. Cut the hanger steaks across the grain into 1/2-inch slices, keeping the slices together. Place the steaks on plates and pour the pinot sauce around the steak. Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over the top of each steak and a quarter of the crispy shallots over the cheese. Place 6 roasted grapes on each plate and serve immediately.

The 1,100-square-foot house where I grew up was built in 1918. It was in a middle class suburb of a middle sized New England city. The house style was euphemistically called a California Bungalow, meaning that real estate agents lied then too. But this house had, what my mother always ceremoniously pointed out, a butler’s pantry. She prized it.

No butler was ever sighted in this dwelling but mother could hope. Maybe six feet square, this little room sat between kitchen and the dining room. As you walked through, to your right were the lower cabinets, counter over and upper cabinets with glass French doors, all facing a window. Practical and pretty storage.

I just Zillowed the address and today this little room is the only mentioned feature of the house! Listed at $140,000 and 92 years old, but old featuring evidently only one great thing – a butler’s pantry.

Why did all the older houses have them? Pantries, not butlers! Because there were so few cabinets in early kitchens. The pantry was where everything was kept. However by the time I arrived, so had kitchen cabinets. (Look it up. SVP arrived in a kitchen cabinet. A hardy little tyke). By then the pantry was used for extra serving pieces, bulk food storage, the cookie jar and the Manischewitz bottle. And gin for Uncle Charlie’s visits!

Today pantries are really a big deal, in all sizes and configurations.

For example, our friends Ellen & Yalc Mattoon live in the scenic Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts. Yes, it’s Yalc. He’s Samagainian. Climatewise they seem to be about six miles from the North Pole but for sure it’s 40 minutes to the grocery store, so their pantry is their critical in-house commissary. The size of a minivan, it has deep (18″) shelves. The back half of some shelves are three inches higher than the front half. Easier to see you, my dear mango chutney. Plus the upper shelves, from six feet up to the nine-foot ceiling, have doors. Here live the seldom used fondue pots and similar stuff slated for their 2012 tag sale.

Regarding deep shelves, please note right here, Mrs. Philips: There is absolutely no truth to the fact that men don’t like deep shelves as they can’t see anything if it’s not in front. This is such a cruel bit of fiction and so very false. Borderline litigious.

All the open shelves are in an off-white laminate, walls are same hue and the lighting is dual warm fluorescent tubes in ceiling. Plus L.E.D. light strings illuminate the lower shelves. Easier to see you tomato paste. And you want lightness but not glare, thus the warmer hues.

One wall has a Corian 18″ shelf, with bar sink, running full-length with plugmold power outlets all along, fluorescent strip lighting over. For the Mattoon’s big parties here’s where the serious coffee maker and the blender and the warming oven sit. Due to the fact that they live where the snow stays until late June, they also have their wine cooler in here. But although the wine is present, it is a total untruth that Ellen hid in here for several winters from her lovely and adorable children. Please understand that the Dixie cup dispenser was/is for water!

Advantage of a separate room? You can close the door on any clutter. If you’re planning to add a pantry to the architectural plan of a new home or if you’re renovating and want to include a pantry as an upgrade, here are some things to keep in mind.

• On new construction, ask: What am I going to use this pantry for? Is it for dinnerware, food, party stuff, livestock or a mix? Maybe even add in the Mattoons bar idea? (A kiddie-proof haven? You’ll need a lock high on the inside of the door!).

• Have underused existing space? A closet, that adjustable shelving could pantryfy? Over-sized dining room that could lose some square footage along a wall? Or take over your mother-in-law’s whole bedroom.  Hint-hint! Then you could include an extra refrigerator in the pantry or a wine storage unit.
• For dinnerware always use solid shelving. Make all shelves adjustable. Tuna cans, spaghetti sauce jars and cereal boxes have incompatibility issues. Make lower shelves solid. Upper shelves can be wire shelving. Wire allows light to filter down, but bags of rice can slip through.
• Keep the pantry well-lit but not at criminal-interrogation intensity. If possible a skylight or a high window, but definitely “warm” lighting.

• Your ideas still vague? Your skills are hammer-impaired? Try a kitchen design or a closet company.
• Kitchen cabinet manufacturers have great slide-out storage units if the separate area doesn’t work out.
• Hint from the Berkshires. Sprinkle dried basil on shelves. Those swamp Yankees claim that basil = no bugs.

Adam Nicholson, son of Nigel Nicholson (author of Portrait of a Marriage, the 1973 biography of the complex marriage of his parents, Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West), spent his rather sylvan childhood at the family estate at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, UK.

His memoir, Sissinghurst, An Unfinished History, begins with his family’s return to the property after Sackville-West’s 1962 death in order to care for Harold and their extensive holdings, and to preserve the famous gardens that she had created after purchasing the ruined estate in the 1930′s.

The disintegration of his family, his parents’ divorce and the withdrawal of his father into silent scholarship is delivered through the eyes of a lonely child in love with his home who finds solace and peace in the surrounding forest.

An adventurer, author, publisher, conservationist and historian, Nicholson traveled extensively as adult and married Sarah Raven, an English gardener and writer. He farmed a nearby property before he returned to the Sissinghurst, now owned and administered by Britain’s National Trust, after the death of his father in 2004.

In this recently published book on Sissinghurst and what he calls its unfinished history, Nicholson braids together a sweeping view of English natural, political and social history, the evolution of farming and gardening and the complex relationship between the National Trust and the “donor families” in the preservation of the grand English estates. The presentation of his vision of a “new” Sissinghurst Castle and grounds and the subsequent battles he has with the National Trust over these ideas is balanced by the
chronology of ownership of the properties, full of political intrigues and machinations, and the record of carefully managed growth and development of the buildings, farm and gardens.

This is a love poem to a place – an ode to the majesty of the natural world and the effort it takes to preserve it. Nicholson’s style is lyrical, wandering, dreamy. You find yourself steeped in medieval history, filled with visions of Elizabethan excess, heart aching at the wanton destruction of buildings and land in the 18th century and, finally, elated at the rebirth of this majestic estate. The subtitle is apt; the tale continues and it is a delight to read.

(Sissinghurst, An Unfinished History: the quest to restore a working farm at Vita Sackville-West’s legendary garden, by Adam Nicholson, Viking).

Summertime, yes, but where temperatures soar the living isn’t easy. Flavors and More organic produce authority Mitch Blumenthal recommends a simple pleasure to beat the August heat—stone fruit.

At a recent visit to his home nestled amongst fields of lemongrass, blackberries and Chinese long beans, Mitch and his family served Flora and me a bowl of chilled Rainier cherries to salute a sultry dusk. The pink champagne-colored fruits were sweet and refreshing, preferable in my estimation to the familiar Bing variety. Mitch said peaches, plums and other stone fruit reach their peak in the summer months, and represent one of your best produce buys.

In response to my question, “what is your favorite organic food/cuisine destination,” Mitch replied that he could name a few in selected cities, but his favorite remains his own backyard. Like the purple string beans I planted years ago as a novelty, burgundy okra turns a pedestrian green when cooked. But according to Mitch, the handsome, tender pods he grows and picks every day are best enjoyed raw. Yes, raw okra.

Where can growers find heirloom seeds? Mitch pointed me to the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, which specializes in open-pollinated, nongenetically modified varieties grown prior to 1940 (http://www.southernexposure.com/index.html). Commercial agribusinesses rely on hybrid seed lines producing vegetables that ship well, ripen uniformly and tolerate a controlled, chemical growing environment. Heirlooms, however, were selected for their attractiveness, flavor and local adaptability. Tomatoes are the marquee heirloom item, but even heirloom habenero peppers are available. I suggest wearing a Hazmat suit when extracting those seeds.

Mitch has an enlightened philosophy concerning pests. “Sometimes, the bugs win.” Organic farming has developed natural strategies to combat insects, fungus, and the like, yet Mitch concedes that occasionally it is better to start over with a new crop. He prefers fruits and vegetables with quick growing cycles as a means to thwart the worst infestations.

Getting back to Mitch’s pitch for stone fruit, poaching is an overlooked preparation for these summer delights. Give “Betty” and “Melba” the night off and try the recipe below.

Poached Peaches
(courtesy of Wild Women in the Kitchen: 101 Rambunctious Recipes and 99 Tasty Tales by The Wild Women Association).

2 cups red wine
2 cups water
¼ cup brandy
¼ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
10 peppercorns
4 cloves
¼ allspice
1 bay leaf
1 stick cinnamon
6 ripe peaches, peeled, halved, and pitted
6 lemon slices

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except peaches and lemon. Bring to a boil, lower heat, simmer five minutes. Add the peaches and lemon to the pot, cover, and poach on medium-low heat until tender, about 20 minutes. To serve, strain the sauce, place two peach halves in each dessert dish, and spoon the sauce on top. Serves six.