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…
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…
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…
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…
Salted Honey and Olive Oil Granola
I’ve been refining my granola technique for several years now, starting with the revelation that was my first taste of Alta Lodge Granola, which I posted about four years ago. That granola is still incredible, better than (dare I say it?) any other artisan or packaged granola I’ve tasted (though Udi’s will do in a pinch)….
Breakfast Burrito at Annapurna Chai House
When my friend suggested we meet at the Annapurna near UNM at 8 a.m., I was surprised. I didn’t even know the place was open before lunch. Turns out it opens at 7:00 for desperate early-morning chai fixes. Our menu choices were very limited – apparently more options come online at 9:00 – but included…
Luxurious Four-Ingredient Browned Cauliflower Soup
I am inordinately proud of this soup. It is perfect Unfussy Epicure fare – extremely simple to make and stunningly delicious. It’s just a variation on roasted cauliflower soup, a cold-weather staple that I’ve made with curry, with potatoes, with garlic. But this variation is so easy, so elegant, and makes such an incredible difference…
Slow-Braised Green Beans with Tomato
We’ve been done a disservice by the cult of al dente vegetables. While there’s no doubt that many vegetables are at their best very lightly cooked – all types of peas spring to mind – the idea that every veggie is at its best steamed for 30 seconds is as misguided as the thought that…
Grill-Roasted Summer Tomato Soup
Things continue to go really well in my garden, at least as far as tomatoes go. (Squash is a different matter – my plants were ravaged by squash bugs and had to be torn out.) This is the first year I’ve had enough tomatoes to share with my neighbors. And enough to try recipes that…
Sweet-Hot Black Pepper Tofu
Back around Christmas I fell in love with the cookbook Plenty at my favorite local beautiful-things store, Hey Jhonny. (Yes, it’s meant to be spelled that way.) I was desperate to own the beautiful, pillowy-covered, extravagantly photographed object. But I didn’t know if it was a good cookbook, and besides, I was supposed to be shopping…