I became very picky about risotto after cooking it day after day at Mary Elaine’s (R.I.P.) at The Phoenician. Freshly made, well-executed risotto should be pourable, not sticky or firm, and it should also be eaten immediately. There’s no way around the watchful hour...

This past weekend marks the first one since May that I was able to sleep two nights in a row in my marvelous bed. The best part about it was that we did almost nothing – swam in the pool, worked out, napped 3...