So the next week I brought home another head of cauliflower and got to work. With both Milk Street’s tahini-raosted cauliflower recipe and Fuchsia Dunlop’s recipe for the amazingly delicious “Xie Laoban’s Dan Dan Noodles” in front of me, I set about moving the flavors of the latter into the technique of the former.
Sweet Corn Pasta Sauce
It’s the end of summer, or so the autumn-lovers among us hope. Most days are still hot, but there are hints of fall: a brush of yellow in the trees, cooler mornings and evenings, the scent of roasting green chile in the air at the growers’ market. And, at the store, piles of ears of…
Spicy Penne with Broccoli and Garlic
I was in my hometown – Urbana, Illinois – talking to Inga, one of my oldest and dearest friends. We were discussing gardening and cooking, as we inevitably do, when she said something simple that brought me up short. Something like: “I grow a lot of broccoli, because we eat a lot of it, and…
Summer Salmon and Berry Salad with Cardamom-Honey-Lime Dressing
One of the most exciting cookbooks I’ve come across this year is Asha Gomez’s My Two Souths. Gomez spent her childhood in Kerala, at the southern tip of India. She learned to cook with her family there, and was often called upon to hand-grind spice mixes, reveling in the scents of classic South Indian spices like black…
Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Sesame-Lemon Dressing
On our way home from a Thanksgiving family reunion in Phoenix, Arne and I stopped in Flagstaff for lunch at a place called Pita Jungle. It’s an Arizona chain (with one location in California). It sounded like a pleasingly healthy, vegetable-focused option – just what we were in the mood for. As soon as we…
Smoked Trout and Strawberry Salad with Sweet Cream Dressing
The strawberries have been a surprise of the most delightful kind. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, I am a deeply lazy gardener. I never remember to water, so we set up an automatic system. I’m terrible about deadheading (as you can see in the photo below, with all that sprouted mustard in the top…
Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles)
As I have mentioned before, I absolutely love Korean food. It’s famous for its heat and funk, but it has a deliciously sweet and mild side too. No dish exemplifies this side better than Japchae, stir-fried glass noodles.
Homemade Moo Shu Pancakes
I don’t eat Moo Shu Pork – or vegetables, or chicken – very often anymore. Which is a shame, because Moo Shu is a tremendously fun thing to eat. We just so rarely eat out anymore at the kind of Chinese restaurant that serves it. (Chinese restaurants of any stripe are not the most common…
Easy Braised Greens with Creamy Polenta
There is nothing revolutionary about this dish. It’s just southern greens and pot likker served over cheese grits. I make it often, and have never shared it because it’s so simple. I’ve always figured if this is the kind of thing my readers want, there are a million recipes out there. The only thing is,…
Japanese Fried Rice Omelet (Omurice)
When I pulled out my copy of Lucky Peach’s 101 Asian Recipes the other night, I intended to make the Malaysian “Economy Noodles” as I said I would at the end of my cookbook review. However, I ran into a problem: My enormous tub of Asian noodles (I have a similar one of European-style pasta)…