Fish is good for you! It’s loaded with omega-3′s! It’s a lean source of protein! Eat a serving at least once a week! Do it…NOW! Every now and then I wonder whether I’m eating enough vegetables, too much ice cream, etc. But for some reason I always feel such tremendous guilt when I walk by [...]
Simple Things
While it’s easy to have a feeling of triumph after slaving over the stove for a complicated or involved dish, sometimes it’s the simplest meal that can bring the greatest satisfaction. It doesn’t have to be novel or fancy, but just plain good. It could be a perfectly cooked piece of fish, a burger grilled to [...]
How to Make a Creamy Pasta Sauce Without Using Cream
Ah, heavy cream. It’s thick, delicious, and makes my arteries clog just a little every time I read the nutrition label. For a while, I was just making carbonara whenever I wanted a vaguely creamy pasta sauce. Eventually, though, I decided that not having a decent cream sauce in my repertoire just would not do [...]
Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa
I was out of town last week and happily had many delicious restaurant meals. The downside, though, was that by the end of the week I was feeling a tad gross from all of the rich food. While I did try to exhibit some restraint when ordering, it was really difficult to say no to [...]
Fried Rice
Rourke was out of town for a few days, so I was on my own for dinner. Left to my own devices, I generally do one of two things: Experiment. Sometimes this has led to tasty things, and sometimes this has led to awful things that immediately needed to be thrown out. Scavenge. It is [...]
Rigatoni with Pork Ragu
Hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day! Whenever I think of Valentine’s Day and food, I inevitably think of ragu. The thought process goes something like this (bear with me, here): Valentine’s Day -> a day when I’m pampered -> Rourke cooks for me -> Rourke likes pasta -> the first pasta dish Rourke ever [...]
Vegetable Dumplings
I have quasi-fond memories of making dumplings. Fond in that it was quality time spent with my mom and I loved having a freezer full of dumplings for the coming weeks. Quasi in that it was basically child labor. My tired little fingers folding dumplings for hours on end, with only meager sips of tea [...]
Week of Dim Sum and Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is February 14 this year. The same as Valentine’s Day. How doubly auspicious! As a kid, Chinese New Year held a special place in my heart because my parents let me stay home from school. It was my first foray into playing hookey (is it hookey if your parents consent?) and I [...]
Review: Vosges Aztec Elixir Couture Cocoa
Valentine’s Day is less than two weeks away. Do you know what you’re getting for your honey? I hate to be a stereotype, but I do like my chocolate. And if your honey does, too, drinking chocolate might be something worth considering. It’s not that expensive — typically less than $20 for 8 oz., which [...]
Braised Oxtail with Egg Noodles
I had been eyeing an oxtail recipe in Judy Rodgers’ The Zuni Cafe Cookbook for a while now, so when Prather Ranch was having a sale on oxtail the other week I gleefully bought a 3 lb. bag. Yes, gleefully. Oxtail might be my favorite cut for braising. With far more gelatin than, say, short ribs [...]