Caramel is magic. Caramelization (and its close cousin, the Maillard reaction; colloquially we use the term “caramelization’ for both) takes bland foods and makes them incredibly complex and delicious. It’s responsible for so much of the deliciousness of cooked foods. And you can just unwrap all that and pop it in your mouth. Recently, caramel…
Archives for 2014
Easy Braised Sweet-and-Sour Red Cabbage
I’d never eaten braised red cabbage until three nights ago – and I’ve already made it twice. On a whim, I had bought a pretty little head of red cabbage, and I needed a side dish to go with a beef Stroganoff I was making. It seemed to me that the astringency of a sweet-and-sour…
Eating ABQ: Humble Coffee
I’ve been hearing a little buzz lately about Humble Coffee, and passed it a couple times as I cruised down Lomas on various shopping expeditions. But when my friend Christina, responding to my quest for Albuquerque’s best lattes and mochas, recommended Humble Coffee, I took notice. It was a priority this weekend to make a…
Eating PDX: Holdfast Dining, Part 2
foie gras, turnip, persimmon Last week I told you about the first half of our amazing experience at fine-dining pop-up Holdfast Dining in Portland, OR. (Read Part 1 here.) I ended that post with the first of three courses of duck. The second course of duck was listed on the menu as “foie gras, turnip,…
Joe Froggers – the chewiest, spiciest, best molasses cookies
I love molasses spice cookies. Almost any molasses spice cookies, from simple gingersnaps to those packaged Archway cookies to the triple-ginger cookies at Flying Star. (Those really are awesome.) But none come close to this oddly named cookie I found in the pages of the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. So dark brown they’re almost…
The stove died. Finally!
This is my old, sad, battle-scarred, uncleanable stove. It came with the house when we bought it, almost 15 years ago now. Who knows how old it was then? It was in much better shape, though, because the guy who owned the house before us gave no sign of ever having cooked anything. There wasn’t…
Eating ABQ: Lunch at Street Food Market
It was a gorgeous day today in Albuquerque, one of those perfect blue-sky-and-sunshine fall days where you just have to get outside. It was so warm that no jacket was necessary, especially if you strolled with a warm cup of coffee in hand. (I chose a Mike’s Mocha from Michael Thomas Coffee.) After we wandered…
Eating ABQ: Albuquerque’s Best Lattes
Zendo’s Zia Latte I was a latecomer to coffee. Throughout college and grad school, I didn’t drink it at all. But I kept taking sips of Arne’s, and eventually decided those mochas were pretty darn good. (This keep-trying-it method has not reaped similar dividends with beer.) Arne started making me cafe au lait and lattes…
Eating PDX: Blue Star Donuts
Voodoo Doughnut, it seems, is over. I can’t remember where I read that, but it certainly came up a couple of times as I was studying the best and hottest places to eat in Portland. Voodoo Doughnut, apparently, is for tourists. (Fine, hipsters, but I challenge you to argue with a Maple-Bacon doughnut. But I…
Eating PDX: Holdfast Dining, Part 1
scallop, cauliflower, caper, grape Every once in a while, life gifts us with an experience that is purely wonderful from beginning to end. This one started as I was researching places to eat on our trip to Portland: I found an article from The Oregonian naming the 2014 Restaurant of the Year. Such a thing…