Chris Morocco

“We've all been there. Your roux looks good, you add stock until your gravy is the ideal consistency, and then those pan drippings go in and suddenly you've got a sauce that's thinner than chicken soup. Before you panic, remember that there's always a way to thicken it, whether you're an hour or a minute away from dinner time.”

“Have you ever walked into a store and wanted to leave your old life behind and become the person you would be if your life was full of the things in that store? I hadn't until I walked into At Land in Dobbs Ferry, New York.”

“My brain still recoils at memories of the tofu stir-fries in my college co-op. A student 'cook' made them in a wok the size of a prosperous Martian's flying saucer, and, man, were they bad - steamy, crumbled bits of tofu and limp greens sloshing around in a warm bath of liquid aminos. I couldn't eat tofu for decades.”

“Vancouver is a coffee-lover's paradise, capable of impressing even the most hyper-caffeinated and jaded New Yorkers, such as myself. The coffee is fantastic, whether I happened to be craving a world-class espresso served with monastic intensity or a single-origin pour-over at a vibrant all-day cafe.”

“When I cook Thanksgiving in the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, every tool I need is within arm's reach, groceries are delivered, and colleagues know better than to talk to me when I have that look on my face.”

“I live on a lonely culinary island, built on (very thin) bedrock consisting of things I know, or believe, my family will eat. It is a small island. Fortunately, nachos are on that island with me, and nothing gets my family fired up like nachos for lunch.”

“You never forget your first tofu scramble. I was in college, and it was my first meal at the student-run co-op where I would be eating for the year. It was steamy kale and mashed tofu dripping with Bragg's Liquid Aminos, served directly from the bathtub-size wok it was cooked in. It was soggy, salty, and vaguely nutritive.”

“Meatloaf has never quite risen above its name. It offers comfort and predictability, but rarely fireworks.”

“I have half a cutlery shop's worth of spoons in my pocket at all times designated for tasting.”

“I must admit - I don't really like peanut butter.”

“Veggie burgers, by nature, take more work than meat-based ones, but they should never feel (or taste) like a compromise.”

“While a lot of milk chocolate just so happens to be poor quality, milk chocolate itself is not the problem.”

“I use a cake tester to check the doneness of everything from fish to vegetables. The point on it is duller than a paring knife, so you get a much better feel for how finished something actually is. Oh yeah, and when it comes to cake, a toothpick is the move. The rougher surface is more likely to show you what the crumb inside looks like.”

“I don't order take-out sushi for the fish. Unless I'm spending a lot of money to eat at a phenomenal sushi restaurant, I eat it for the rice, which is perfectly seasoned with a mixture of salt, sugar, and rice vinegar.”

“Standalone bakeries that produce everything in-house are hard to find - let alone ones that produce results as consistently good as Almondine.”

“I'm not the kind of person who has tall stacks of beautiful ceramics in every corner of my cabinets.”

“I would always rather do something in moderation than simply swing from one extreme to another.”

“O-Med doesn't make vinegars that you would ever consider cleaning with. They're lush, like burying your nose in a platter of lavender and peaches, with the concentrated, fruity essence of a good glass of wine.”

“Growing up, my parents were health nuts who tried to deprive me of sugary and processed foods so that I would grow up with an appreciation for healthy, delicious homemade food.”

“When my grandmother passed away in 2014, she left behind some recipes, but nobody stepped forward to follow in her footsteps and become pop-up cookie factories whenever the need arose.”