This quick side dish is adapted from Damn Good Chinese Food. The quantities below make 2 servings and preparation is about 15 minutes. The original used “mushroom water” from soaking dried mushrooms. I have used mushroom powder from Trader Joe’s ½ tsp. mushroom powder ¼ cup Shoaxing wine (Chinese cooking wine) 1 Tbs. soy sauce Read More …
This is how Carol made Hasselback potatoes for Alyssa’s birthday, based on a recipe in epicurious.com. It was very popular. These quantities will serve 4-6 people, and it will take about 1-1/2 hours. Potatoes 2-1/2 lbs. medium sized Yukon Gold or similar potatoes 1/3 cup plus 3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, divided 2-1/4 tsp. Read More …
Carol made this salad from the NYTimes for a Christmas party, where it was well received. It could be a main course with the addition of some shrimp or chicken. This version makes 8 servings and takes about an hour. Carol thought the original (documented here) needed more vinegar and possibly less oil. 1.5 cups Read More …
Carol made this vegetarian quiche for our nephew Kevin at our family Christmas dinner yesterday. It is based on the recipe in Julia Child’s classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and it makes a 10-inch quiche. For the pastry 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ tsp. salt Large pinch of sugar 8 Tbs. (1 stick) Read More …
There are several dips in Israel based on eggplants which have been charred on a grill. One popular dip has the eggplant dressed with mayonnaise and lemon juice. Since I did not have any lemons and we are trying to eat down our pantry prior to leaving on a trip, I decided to improvise with Read More …
Flatbreads made from chickpea flour are popular in several countries in Europe and South America. I once bought a case of packets for the Genoese version, farinata. They are popular in Argentina and Uruguay as faina. In Provence, they are known as Socca. Carol asked me to make one of these flatbreads, and I looked Read More …
The Russian Tea Room is an iconic restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Carol and I have eaten there at least once during one of the times I was working in Manhattan in the 1970s and 1980s. It published a cookbook in 1981 and at some point in the early 1980s I copied Read More …
I have eaten a few times at Stella’s, a very popular Greek restaurant in Richmond. A dish I particularly liked was their Mushroom Saganaki. I looked around the internet for a Mushroom Saganaki recipe and didn’t really find anything. Then I spotted José Andrés’ cookbook Zaytinya and it had one. This is how I made Read More …
This Greek-style tomato sauce is spiced with cinnamon, bay leaf, and oregano, and is adapted from Zaytina by José André, and is used in many dishes at his restaurant. (I have used it in Mushroom Saganaki .) ¾ cup olive oil, divided ½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 cinnamon stick Read More …
The last dinner I prepared while visiting Nick’s family was a very traditional one of roast pork, smashed potatoes, gravy, and salad. I largely winged everything, but it was all turned out well, and was popular, even with the little girls, who can be picky eaters. The photo shows the 2 smashed potatoes left out Read More …