Ah, injera. Ethiopian food is unthinkable without injera, the flexible, sour teff-flour flatbread that doubles as both edible utensil and plate. (And, at the end of the meal, is the best part, soaked as it is with the juices of all the stews.) I remember the first time I saw injera, folded and tucked in…
On Vegetable Tacos, with recipe: Potato-Soyrizo Tacos with Lime Crema
It was Rick Bayless who turned me on to the idea of vegetable tacos. Not just vegetarian tacos with the meat replaced or removed – bean and cheese, or soy crumbles, or whatever – but tacos that truly celebrate vegetables. When I turn to the “Tacos, Enchiladas and Other Casual Fare” chapter of my battered…
Creamy Smoked Gouda and Ale Soup
Arne and I honeymooned at his parents’ rustic cabin in Woodland Park, up a mountain pass from Colorado Springs. At that time neither of us drank alcohol, so I’m not sure what led us, while we were exploring the Springs, to venture into Phantom Canyon Brewing Company. At any rate, in we did venture. We…
Korean Shiitake-Beef Lettuce Wraps
It’s NaBloPoMo on Unfussy Epicure! NaBloPoMo is National Blog Posting Month. Bloggers who choose to participate post to their blogs every day. As with NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month, where participants write a minimum number of words every day – it’s a little hard to pin down what month actually is the official month…
The Crispy Chicken Chronicles: Spicy Korean Fried Chicken Chunks
As I discussed in the first installment of The Crispy Chicken Chronicles, I have been craving all kinds of crispy, crunchy, spicy, sticky chicken lately. But the one preparation that I keep coming across, that haunts me, that I just cannot keep out of my mind – that is KFC. No, not that KFC – I…
The Crispy Chicken Chronicles: Double-Fried Chicken Wings
Lately, there has been a particular type of recipe that keeps catching my eye: Fried chicken. But not typical Church’s or KFC (unless, of course, by KFC you mean “Korean Fried Chicken”). I find myself daydreaming over pictures of crisp, Asian-inspired chicken, most often doused in bright, sticky, spicy sauce. Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, or…
Tangy Thai Salad with Canned Tuna? It’s Delicious!
I adore Pok Pok, the Thai street food restaurant in Portland that has now expanded to NYC. When I saw that its chef Andy Ricker was putting out a cookbook, I was excited, but cautious. I was concerned that it might be excessively “chefy” – that is, full of brilliant ideas, but terribly complicated…
Braised and Grilled Beef Short Ribs with Sticky, Spicy Beer BBQ Sauce
Last week, I was suddenly possessed by the need to make the Sticky, Spicy Beer BBQ Sauce I blogged about almost exactly one year ago. I grabbed a can of Santa Fe Brewing Company Imperial Java Stout (which we always have on hand because of its long standing as one of Arne’s very favorite beers) and…
Singapore Crab Cakes with Sweet and Tangy Red Chile Sauce
I am a sucker for the words “street food.” They call to mind the most exciting and delectable experiences: sizzling fish tacos handed down from the window of a brightly painted truck; smoky grilled meat sticky with spicy lemongrass-chile sauce; colorful drinks in plastic bags, skewered with straws for sipping; steaming bowls of soup slurped…
Pasta with Marcella Hazan’s Simple Tomato-Butter Sauce
This is not going to be my most original post, because it seems like every food blogger has, at some point, posted Marcella Hazan’s recipe for tomato-butter sauce. It’s not hard to see why, even before you taste it: It has three ingredients. You throw them in a pan and let them simmer. If it’s…