Traditional American Thanksgiving is an interesting meal for vegetarians. On the one hand, obviously pride of place on most families' tables is given to a big roasted turkey. On the other hand, just about everything else (mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams, green beans, cranberry sauce, etc.) is typically vegetarian. So personally, when I'm having Thanksgiving at …
I love tamales.
I love that they are a project, not something you simply throw together for a weeknight dinner. A project best done with friends and family, beating the masa and making fillings and sauces and forming the tamales together, before sitting down to a celebratory meal.
I love the aromatic cornhusk- or banana leaf- infused …
Fresh porcini are one of nature's great treats. They are rather expensive unless you know how to forage for them, which I swear I'm going to learn someday … maybe from Langdon.
In the meantime, when I get my hands on a few porcini I like to feature them prominently in a dish. It seems a …
Homemade minestrone has got to be one of the best rainy day foods in the world. Living in Seattle we've got ample opportunity to test that theory. It is certainly miles beyond the canned version. Add a glass of wine and a couple of big garlicky croutons to soak up the broth, maybe a salad, …
Braising is something of a lost art, which is a shame because it isn’t at all difficult to do. Learn a couple of basic moves and you’ll be rewarded with a succulent, richly flavored, rustic dish that will have you and your guests mopping up every last bit of sauce.
A proper braise is composed of …
Strata: a baked egg dish filled with cubes of bread and whatever awesomeness you can muster. I.e. it has all of the appeal of a quiche, but without the slight hassle of pie crust. Also, the starch from the bread tends to stabilize the custard, so you have a somewhat wider safety margin between unset …
Everyone has an opinion about chocolate chip cookies. I like mine cakey and tender, but browned enough to develop some flavor. I'm not a fan of cookies that spread out and get crispy all the way through, and I don't particularly like walnuts in them. I want tasty dark chocolate, and a perceptible level of …
