Like other legendary odd couples—Harold & Maude, Oscar & Felix—sweet and salty rub up against each other and achieve a sort of sublime friction. Not exactly opposites, they speak the same language but with very different accents. It's now well-known that the trifecta of sweet-salty-fatty proves virtually irresistible to the human palate, making things like Doritos and kettle corn the equivalent of edible crack. A decidedly much more highbrow—and indeed healthier—precursor that plays with that same equation is the delectable scourtin. A close cousin of shortbread, these crisp, buttery biscuits studded with briny black olives were originally made at Les Vieux Moulins in Nyons, France, an ancient Provençal olive mill. The owner, Jean-Pierre Autrand, shared his family's recipe with Susan Herrmann Loomis, an ex-pat expert on French cuisine. And I'm sharing it with you. For very little effort, you get a truly great cookie whose pitch-perfect sweet-salty flavor goes just as well with a dry martini or a glass of prosecco as it does with a cup of chamomile tea. (Much like these inspired cookies.) Make a batch immediately.
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Due to my previously mentioned upbringing (college professors for parents, etc), I'm kind of a prig when it comes to language. Some might even say I am less than rational when it comes to being exceedingly irritated by changes to the lexicon, especially when they involve loose grammar. Which is not to say I don't embrace slang. And occasionally a newly coined term or phrase will capture my fancy. When I first heard the expression "to marinate on something," I was instantly won over. Mostly because I knew exactly what it meant. Sometimes you just need to soak up new information, letting facts and emotions seep in through your pores. You emerge steeped in whatever it was you had to mull over, newly flavored. And of course culinary metaphors are always big with me.In the kitchen, marinating is part of your arsenal. It can take the place of cooking, as with ceviche, or just be the first step in infusing flavor into your food. Although acidic or enzymatic ingredients are commonly used to tenderize proteins, marinades can also be like a kind of dressing that slowly penetrates vegetables and fruits, without going all the way to becoming pickles.

One of my favorite quick and easy dinners is to quickly sear a couple of confit duck legs (my nephew Chase used to call it "comfy duck") and plop them on top of a nice mound of sauerkraut with a few juniper berries and let the whole thing roast for a bit. Toss a salad and you're done. So I was a little thrown off my game when G unpacked a couple of fresh duck legs the other day. What the hell am I going to do with all that fat? was my first thought. But then I laid hands on Alice Waters' incredible The Art of Simple Food and there was the perfect recipe for Braised Duck Legs with Leeks and Green Olives (two other ingredients I just smugly happened to have on hand, along with the required stock, wine, carrot and bay leaf; some day I will do a post on Essential Things to Stock in Your Fridge and Pantry). I got things started, and then G stepped in and brought it on home, stirring up some delicious polenta to go with the duck. It turned out crispy and lush, not fatty at all, and the vegetables caramelized into a delicious sauce.
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