Menu Twenty-One

All cooks have their culinary eccentricities. It’s said that the French painter Toulouse-Lautrec always carried a nutmeg grater in his pocket—you never know. My version of culinary insurance, for perking up the bland, is to always travel with a handful of fresh chiles in my pocket. I developed a craving for cooking with chiles while living in New Mexico; ever since, I carry them with me, to be sure.