Carol and I recently took a food tour of Reykjavik. This was the dish that our guide was most enthusiastic about. It is classic Icelandic comfort food and he thought his grandmother made the best of all possible versions. Cod and potatoes are two staples of the Icelandic diet, so there would frequently be some Read More …
Twice-cooked pork was my introduction to Sichuan cuisine in the late 1970s. I spent a summer working in Washington, DC for a federal government agency and the office was near Washington’s small Chinatown. I ate twice-cooked pork for the first time in one of those restaurants and it was great. The normal way to do Read More …
A fresh cheese with a similar texture to goat cheese can be made from whole-fat cultured buttermilk. This is very non-technical, with the separation of curds and whey accomplished through heat. Here is how I made a batch out of 2 quarts of buttermilk, using Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making as a guide. Allow the Read More …
This is an adaptation of a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine which had a good way of cooking shrimp for a cold salad or cocktail. Shrimp needs to be cooked just enough (not overcooked!) and this method works very well to avoid overcooking. This made a very nice dinner for 2 persons with a piece Read More …
(I used oil-packed tuna, but the original recipe calls for water-packed tuna) In 1986, Carol gave me Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain by Penelope Casas for Christmas, and we have been cooking out of it ever since. Most recently we made a tuna ball tapas for Carol’s sister and her pescaterian husband and they Read More …
The pork tenderloin was brined before grilling, which helped keep it moist and flavorful. It was then accompanied by a peppercorn gravy, which I think should have been thicker. (Something to work on next time.) This is adapted from Pure Pork Awesomeness by Kevin Gillespie. ¼ cup packed brown sugar ¼ cup kosher salt 4 Read More …
Otis P. Boyd was a prominent black barbeque man in Kansas City. This mixture can be used formed into patties as a breakfast sausage or formed into links and smoked. Note that it does not contain any curing salt. I made a small batch based on 1 lb. of 73% lean ground beef and 1 Read More …
Boerewors (Farmer’s Sausage in Afrikaans) is the South African equivalent of bratwurst in Wisconsin, a ubiquitous comfort food usually barbequed. Like bratwurst, it is a fresh sausage, in this case flavored with vinegar and coriander. This recipe is for the relish to accompany the grilled boerewors and is adapted from Braai: The South African Barbecue Read More …
Peri Peri sauce is a hot sauce from Mozambique which is popular in South Africa and Portugal, and has been introduced to the world by the Nando’s restaurant chain. It can be made in varying degrees of hotness depending on how many chilies are added. In this case, I made two versions, each of which Read More …
I recently bought several pounds of pork bangers from www.southafricanfoodshop.com and decided to use some of them in the English classic comfort food, bangers and mash(ed potatoes) with onion gravy. Since pan-frying sausages and making mashed potatoes are quite standard, in this recipe I will focus on the onion gravy. This version is adapted from Read More …