Author: Carafoli

Whenever I visit Mexico, I find the food and culture the most fascinating, exciting, and unique part of the experience. Once a year, I leave winter and work-related business behind and lay in the warm sun and go for long swims in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. There’s a strip of beach along […]

Steamy and Easy The once plentiful American lobster is now a delicacy that plays a starring role in this easy, one-pot clambake. I like to celebrate the Fourth of July with a clambake on my deck or back yard. If it is a beautiful day, I transport it to the beach. Here is my one-pot […]

Solitary dining Meals so special you’ll be glad they’re yours alone By JOHN F. CARAFOLI CONTRIBUTING WRITER This is a time of uncertainty and unrest for all of us. It makes me think of my career as a food stylist and how frivolous it seems given what is happening in the world today. How important […]

Many years ago, I was living in Chicago, immersed in a demanding, high-pressure job, and needed to get away to somewhere quiet and peaceful to replenish my mind, body and soul. A friend mentioned Rio Caliente, a spa in Mexico, describing it as a tranquil, special place. Plates of Huervos Rancheros for breakfast (John F. […]

When I was 7 years old, my first job was picking wild blueberries in mid-August. I would sell them to the owners (two sisters) of By Way Lunch, the local luncheonette. It was a real challenge for me at that young age because they would buy as many as I could pick. They used the […]

No one looks forward to surgery. As a healthy, active person I have always dreaded it, particularly the thought of being incapacitated for any length of time. For years I had pain and some limited function in my left knee, but through yoga, swimming, acupuncture and a few unconventional methods I was able to stabilize […]

Picture-perfect Make your holiday parties and treats sparkle, using the finishing touches the professionals do In addition to writing my monthly column, “Cooking with Carafoli,” and developing recipes for a wide range of clients, I also work as a food stylist. Many people ask me what this means. It’s an exciting and creative (but also […]

It was one of those blustery wintry days on Cape Cod. The weather was nasty, and I felt like having a substantial, stick-to-your-ribs dinner, which to me means comfort food. I walked into the kitchen and spotted a box of cornmeal. Then I looked into the refrigerator and saw that I had a variety of […]

Pasta permutations You can make dozens of noodle dishes with a few basic recipes and lots of variations Most Americans view pasta as being fattening. This is because Americans overfeed themselves and guests, serving large portions, pulling away from the table stuffed and uncomfortable. The secret of serving pasta dishes, as I learned from my […]

For six months, I had been staring at a paella pan hanging alongside the cast-iron pans I wrote about in my last article. I acquired this unique pan on a long-ago photo shoot involving a recipe for paella, but had never used it since. Now was the time, I decided, to either do something with […]