A look at local food discoveries, whether it’s a particular dish or an ingredient, often with one or more recipes.
When it comes to pasta, I tend to like simple. It lets both the pasta and a couple of clear ingredients shine through. At the same time simple pastas are often the hardest to get right, because, as the adage often goes, any mistake is really obvious. If you’re making a complex sauce, like a… Read More Street Vendor’s Noodles
Last year, along with many other folk in the “foodie” world, I eagerly watched the first season of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. I enjoyed the scenery and the food, especially the food, and I liked that in each of the six episodes, at some point or another, he took the time to learn how to… Read More Tucci #4
A Kohlrabi, that’s what! A “German Turnip”, despite the fact that it’s neither German in origin, nor a turnip. It’s in the cabbage family, and it’s a fattened stalk of a plant that basically looks like, well, a big green turnip, and the name, I guess, is German, meaning “cabbage turnip”. Whatever! I put some… Read More You Put What in my Stew?
A nicely international dinner with folk from in and around Buenos Aires, São Paulo, and Seattle. Conversation bounced between Spanish and English, and, I’m reasonably certain that all had a good time. We’ve tentatively been asked by one of the locals to come out to their home in the province (about an hour away) and… Read More 2022 Menu #21
It was private party sort of week, including a lovely 60th birthday bash! Tiradito de Salmón Blanco – The salmón blanco, or white salmon, is not a salmon at all. We’ve been down this road. It’s the Brazilian Sand Perch. It doesn’t look like a salmon, it doesn’t taste like a salmon. I don’t know how… Read More 2022 Menu #19
A small group this time. We started at six confirmed, but two informed me near last minute that they needed a vegetarian menu. I don’t know what it is, but more and more, over the last few months, we have people who reserve, answering “No” to our question of “Any food allergies or dietary restrictions?”… Read More 2022 Menu #18
We’re back! The month-long break and travel through a portion of the U.S., and in particular a new portion of it for me (I added three states to my “been to” list) should help with a bit of mental recharging. We’ll have to see how much influence southern U.S. cuisine might have in the next… Read More 2022 Menu #17
Germany, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, the US, all represented at the table. Bluefish Causa – Classic causa base of mashed potato flavored with olive oil, lemon juice, yellow chili, and salt. Topped with a salad of finely diced bluefish sautéed with garlic and thyme, celery, red onion, piquillo pepper, black olive, anchovy, capers, tomato, and cucumber,… Read More 2022 Menu #16