Around 2:00, the day starts to creep up on me. The morning coffee is gone, the AC is working hard, and that is usually when I make a doppio with a long strip of lemon peel and try to get my hands around the rest of the day.
All posts by Chef Alexis Hernandez
What I Stop Doing When Summer Starts
Summer does not arrive in my kitchen on a specific date. It creeps in with thicker air, Florida fruit, and the moment I realize dinner has to make sense for the room I am standing in.
What Can I Bring, and Other Dangerous Questions
“What can I bring?” sounds generous until the wrong answer shows up at your door. A chef’s take on dinner party gifts, tone, and thoughtful hosting.
Sugar Isn’t Just Sweet
A chef’s take on what sugar does in baking, why reducing it can change everything, and the chocolate chip cookie that made the lesson clear.
Why I Still Put Black Pepper on Strawberries
A Chef’s essay about black pepper on strawberries, sweet heat, and why contrast makes fruit taste more like itself.
The Dinner Questions I Can’t Escape
A hosting essay about the questions guests ask at dinner, what they really mean, and what cooks wish people would ask instead.
