I have a resolution of sorts. We have all of these cookbooks around the house. Cookbooks on grilling and baking. Italian, Greek, and French cookbooks. New Orleans and Sante Fe cookbooks. And nearly every cookbook written by Ina Garten. And yet, more often than not, when I look for a recipe, my first instinct is to look online.
My resolution is to break that habit, even if ever so slightly. It seems only logical. Recipes online are often unreliable and hard to reproduce. Even my own recipes …
It’s funny. Some of the easiest things to make can sometimes be the hardest. Case in point: rice. People have been cooking rice for thousands of years. It is a staple crop and a foundation for meals for hundreds of millions of people around the world. And damned if I can only make it well once out of every two tries.
I mean, I could always get a rice cooker, that could gauge the temperature and weight of the rice, and take all the chance out of my hands. But I already have so many kitchen appliances. And I only make rice so often.
Instead, I just stick to my saucepan…
Until recently, I had never heard of Soba noodles. Not once. When I first heard them mentioned, I ran into the grocery store and emerged with some form of lo mein noodles. The second time, replete with the knowledge that they were closer to whole wheat spaghetti, than chinese noodles, I came back with, well, whole wheat spaghetti, unable to locate the soba noodles.
Finally, I decided to no longer leave it up to chance. I walked into the grocery store – our neighborhood Schnucks no less — and asked whether they carried Soba noodles. Within a few seconds, a store employee had brought me exactly what I wanted – a clear package with Japanese characters adorning the label. This was it. I had found the elusive noodle.
In this case, Schnucks carried these Yamaimo Soba Noodles in their Asian aisle. I had never seen …
I enjoy cooking. I don’t find it to be either a chore or an obligation. And because I enjoy cooking, cookbooks and kitchen tools make successful gifts and presents. I’ve gotten carving knives, gourmet olive oils and vinegars, and blog- and New Orleans- themed cookbooks from friends and family. On my 30th birthday, Caitlin made me a doughnut cake, with the additional gift of the doughnut cake pans that helped to bake that cake.
More recently, I received a tagine, …
The Best Cookbook Ever, as the name implies, is a damn good cookbook. I first checked the book out from the library about three months ago. Five or six “mind-blowing” and “deliciously awesome” recipes later, the book has become a kitchen fixture and a faithful auto-renewal. Its recipes may not really make you “cry as you cook from it [and] change your life forever” but it may just leave you constantly cooing over your culinary creations.
From their Soba Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms to Rigatoni Paprikash, each recipe has proved easy to make and delicious. Weekday meals have lost their repetitive dull. The Sussman brothers – living proof that the Hipster movement is alive and well – are also vegetarian friendly, with many of their entrées meat free. Tongue-in-cheek, many recipes suggest possible “Meatifications” for those who may be going “on a meat-eating walkabout” to discovery why they are, after all, vegetarian.
Speaking of meatification, this recipe began meatified. It was my adaptation – the result of finding …