– Chef Michel Richard, Happy in the Kitchen
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Salt
Acid
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Crunch
A Telling Failure
I couldn’t agree more with Chef Richard. Properly crispy latkes, the well-browned cheese atop lasagna, a simple but crispy corn quesadilla, or good homemade breadcrumbs on a rich gratin are great favorites of mine.
And in contrast to those dry, shattering crunchy bits, there …
Tamales have got to be one of my favorite things to make and eat. Sure, they are a bit of a production. Traditionally, you would have a group of friends and family for a tamale party (tamalada), working together to make a happy assembly line (with plenty of cervezas). So far, I’ve mostly made them …
An instant-read thermometer might seem like one of those kitchen gadgets you don’t really need. Most of us cook by the seat of our pants anyhow, right? Maybe it seems a little too “cheffy?” But I think you’ll find that if you get one, even a basic $12 model like I have pictured above, you’ll …
Roasted cauliflower is a staple side-dish in my house. We all love that caramelized flavor. And because cauliflower keeps quite well in the refrigerator, it works well with our lifestyle. We don’t always know how many times in a given week we’re going to get to prepare a full meal.
Simply roasting the cauliflower with olive …
So I came home with some kumquats, and, in the mood to just play with a fun ingredient, set about creating an . I never meant it to be part of this series, but that’s how it worked out.
Read the Series
Salt
Acid
Fat
Crunch
A Telling Failure
If you aren’t familiar with them, an amuse is just what it sounds …
Stringozzi con funghi (pasta with mushrooms)
Living in Seattle, we get some of the best wild mushrooms in the country at our markets, often within hours of being foraged. The bounty of morels, chanterelles, porcini, maitake, and dozens of other varieties is astonishing. Sometimes I forget how delicious cultivated button mushrooms can be.
This bag of beautiful …
I’m not the first person to observe that Americans have a crazy, conflicted relationship to fat. We love it, and eat far more of it than probably just about any other country in the world. God knows we have the obesity epidemic to show for it. At the same time, we fear it mightily, speaking …
