My Goodness! No Guinness!
March 17, 2008
A Stew and an Oath
March 12, 2008
We had a cold snap in New York a few weeks ago — you know, the kind where it feels like the wind is demanding satisfaction from you. What made it worse, though, was the teasing intimation of spring that came right before it, a few days of sunny, cloudless skies and light-jacket weather.
I felt had, personally. Especially on the first day of the snap, when I underdressed pretty woefully for the weather. I hunched and shivered all day, downing mugfuls of tea at work and depressively thinking back to winter. That night, a quintet of us had plans to cook at R’s again. I was tasked with finding something that pleased everyone, which I decided meant that I’d find something that pleased me and then coax the rest of them into agreeing.
Vaguely Lebanese Couscous-Stuffed Peppers
March 11, 2008
I have something to confess. For someone who co-authors a blog about eating well and cooking creatively with limited funds, I am terrible at limiting my grocery budget. I do not cook based on what I have and need to use up - but instead tend to prepare whatever strikes my fancy, purchasing whatever ingredients are necessary along the way. Now, this doesn’t include sushi, pheasant or sirloin steaks. … but I do try to purchase organic meat and dairy whenever possible, and unless times are really tight, it’s one aspect of my spending that tends to be relatively unbridled.
What isn’t there to love about quinoa? I certainly can’t think of anything. It cooks up fine in a rice cooker, absorbs sauces and dressings without getting soggy and packs a surfeit of complete protein for those nights when meat seems too costly or unhealthy.
I make something with quinoa in it at least once a week. Its versatility makes it great for breakfasts (cook it in hot milk like oatmeal), lunches (dried fruit, nuts, a vegetable or two and a dressing) and, of course, dinners. Plus, eating it makes me feel virtuous. And surely a virtuous, healthy eater like me will always be able to find a seat on the subway, or win a medium-size lottery.
But there are times when I want something wicked to temper that piety.
The Taco Always Rings Twice: Baja Fish
March 6, 2008
It’s difficult to imbue fried foods — even the best ones — with freshness and snap, to shear away that natural feeling of overindulgence that goes hand-in-hand with eating them.
Except, I’d argue, in the case of fish tacos.
There are also dishes that wring richly intricate tastes from a few ingredients: Shirred eggs and preserved lemons come to mind, although there are many in the worldwide running — and again, I’d say fish tacos are definitely among the pack.
Great Moments in Eating History: Little India in Singapore, August 2006
February 25, 2008
You’ve heard it before, I’m sure: Someone begins a travelogue entry by stating that “stepping off the plane was like stepping into a sauna… I felt I was swimming through the air, not breathing it.” It’s delicious, of course, that first sensory experience in a tropical country, and I enjoyed it again when I flew from cold, rainy Beijing into muggy, humid and wonderfully sweltering Singapore in August 2006.
Poblano Tacos
February 17, 2008
If I’m ever caught slacking at work, it’ll be because I wasn’t vigilant enough to cover my tracks as I scrolled through my favorite food websites.
I’m most likely to get pinched while reading the Dinner Tonight posts on Serious Eats. I tend to fixate on what I’m making for dinner in direct proportion to how hectic work’s gotten that day, and why I like DT so much is that it helps clear my head and focus on what really matters—you know, the evening meal. (I ascribe this to the fact that the featured recipes are always precise, contextual and simple to execute.)
So this past Monday, J and I made this DT recipe for poblano tacos. Missing the char of summer barbecues, I’d zeroed in on the description of the roasted poblanos as being “chocolatey” in flavor; a minute later I was clandestinely on the phone with J, who gets off work much earlier than me, dictating a grocery list to him in sotto voce. Read the rest of this entry »
Torquing Two Reliable Standbys
February 12, 2008
What you see above, a smackdown of inspirations drawn from chicken-and-rice soup and tom yum goong (but with some distinct departures from either), has reintroduced me to the easy pleasures of poached chicken. What alchemy could be simpler? In this case, it’s bringing galangal, lime zest and a seeded, sliced habanero to a boil in a few cups of water, lowering it to a bare simmer, slipping in a cut of uncooked chicken and covering it all. When the pot’s uncovered after a few minutes have passed, it reveals a lovely, fragrant broth and chicken that’s evenly flavored and juicy, even if you use historically dry boneless, skinless breast meat.
Don’t Look the Dead Fish in the Eyes
February 11, 2008
We all have our culinary fears – areas of cuisine we tend to avoid. Perhaps it’s because we’ve had spectacular failures trying our hands at them, or were never introduced to the proper methods, or – in this case – because the mere idea scares the living daylights out of you.
I know N shares this particular fear: that of preparing and eating whole fish. I’ve heard her stories of bulging fish eyes covered with napkins at expensive restaurants. In my case, it’s been unplesantly close encounters with fins, skin and bones that put me off the delicious adjacent flesh in a pretty disappointing way.
Sumac
February 7, 2008
Sumac, that “tart, ubiquitous spice of the Middle East,” has become my newest kitchen plaything. I’ve sprinkled it on fresh pita bread and wee falafels, mixed it with yogurt and fenugreek for a muddily delicious marinade, used it in onion-pickling brine and vinaigrettes—basically, I’ve done everything but spackle a layer of the darkly rosy stuff over ice cream.
For those uninitiated, sumac (the spice) is the powder that results from grinding the dried berries of the sumac plant, which is native to the Meditarranean and Near East. When fresh, the berries have raspberry-like drupelets, but are sourer than any framboise by miles. Dried sumac is used as a primary souring agent in many Middle Eastern culinary practices, and I can see why it’s prized: Unlike other tart flavorings, such as lemon juice and vinegar, sumac doesn’t curdle delicate, dairy-based sauces, and it lends cooked dishes a distantly fruitlike aroma that’s quite pleasant.
And, of course, there’s that gorgeous color, a glowing vermilion hue to wire home about. A shake of it into some braising liquid turns wan grocery store carrots into doppelgängers of Kyoto Reds. Can you imagine what it could do when paired with beets?
