top chef; When her husband decided to perfect his culinary skills-artichoke ragout, cardoon fritters-Elizabeth Weil discovered that marriage to an uberchef is not all it's cooked up to be.

Byline: Elizabeth Weil

I knew things were escalating when, a few months ago, after setting a bowl of homemade turnip-greens soup with fresh croutons on my desk for lunch, Dan said, "Honey, I have to tell you something" in that way that usually implies a new undiscussed sports-car purchase or an affair. "I bought a whole lamb today. It's a really good lamb, grass-fed, organic. And I promise I won't tyrannize you with it. I just got a great price on it, and it's the same kind of lamb they serve at Chez Panisse. . . ._" And then he sat there staring at me. We already had 35 pounds of cow and fourteen pounds of deer in our basement freezer. We also had a heritage ...