Last Chance Foods

Matt Lee and Ted Lee exhibit a Southern politeness that speaks to their background growing up in genteel Charleston, South Carolina. Ask the brothers about instant grits, though, and they pull no punches. The pair once described the supermarket variety as “cream-wheat bland, a cultural embarrassment” and recently declared that the white stuff is better suited for spackling walls than for consumption. 

Making cheese at home may seem like an endeavor for hardcore homesteaders, but chef Peter Berley said that making ricotta is simple. It only takes a few basic ingredients and fairly little time.

As a snowstorm comes barreling down on the Northeast, many New Yorkers will be spending some quality time indoors this weekend. For those with a can or bag of chickpeas languishing in the pantry, here’s a good task to while away some time: Peel those chickpeas and make hummus.

It’s now, around January and February, that daikon radishes begin to really sell, said Tamarack Hollow Farm’s farmer Amanda Andrews. She drives down from Burlington, Vermont, every week to sell produce at the Union Square Farmers Market on Wednesdays, and says that only diehard daikon fans really buy them when they’re first harvested in September. At that point in the year, the long, white radishes are often overshadowed by spotlight-stealing fall produce like tomatoes, squash and berries.

Making horseradish runs in Carolyn Sherman’s family. Her father, Lawrence, started tinkering with the recipe more than three decades ago.

Granola is an “invalid food” that is “thoroughly cooked and partially digested,” according to a 1893 ad for the trademarked product. That ad language may not hold up well as the slogans of today, but the winter-storage friendly ingredients of rolled oats, nuts and dried fruit still packs a hefty dose of what the 19th century ad labeled as “nutriment.”

The first time farmers Jeff Bialas and Adina Bialas tried salsify, it was wrapped in prosciutto, dipped in sesame seeds, and deep fried. Adina explained that they could still taste the “earthy but mild” flavor of the root vegetable, and the two became such immediate fans of salsify that they decided then and there to try and grow it.

For most of the year, the rooftop at the restaurant Palo Santo in Park Slope, Brooklyn, is green with thriving plants and vegetables. During the winter, though, there’s still activity, but of a different sort. Palo Santo chef and owner Jacques Gautier decided to raise rabbits to make the rooftop garden productive year-round. He also raises them as a way to better understand and value the meat he uses.

New Year’s Eve generally means ringing in the new year with champagne toasts. More than a glass or two of bubbly usually has me grasping blearily for the aspirin bottle the next day, though. For those looking to entertain at home, there are plenty of seasonal cocktail options that can serve as an alternative to champagne. Four area bartenders shared their recipes for festive cocktails that are easy to reproduce with a few basic ingredients.

Hanukkah celebrations wrap up this Sunday, which means that there’s still time this weekend to celebrate the Festival of Lights with fried food. Einat Admony, the chef of Balaboosta and Taïm, says now is not the time to quibble over the healthiness of fried food.