WE BOUGHT CUCUMBERS RECENTLY FOR ANOTHER PURPOSE and that had me thinking about this exquisite chilled bisque. It is cool and fresh and surprisingly luxurious—for that, credit goes to cream, egg yolks and lots of butter. The soup was created at a storied St. Louis restaurant, Balaban. You’ll find the recipe for this wonderful summer-perfect soup—and the delicious, improbable back story for the restaurant—right here. And you’ll find me at the grocery store. I’ve gone to get cucumbers.
A curry sauce made of onions, garlic, ginger, mango and coconut milk is the base for the delicious Burmese chicken dish. Recipe below.
BURMESE RESTAURANTS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN in the United States. So when boredom-inspired antiquing sent us out to the western suburbs last weekend, we knew we would be visiting Pa Lian. Continue reading “Exploring an underknown cuisine: Burmese Mango Chicken”
An innovative chef in Wisconsin and a new Netflix documentary series highlight how Blacks have shaped—and continue to shape—American food.
WE ATE A LOT OF GOOD FOOD on our visit to Appleton, Wisconsin, last weekend, but nothing surpassed our dinner at Wilder’s Cutting Edge Bistro. Co-owner and executive chef Terrance Wilder is known for his innovative cooking. When he opened his own place, he created a menu that honors his family’s Mississippi roots with inventive, contemporary takes on their recipes. Continue reading “A taste of Black food’s role in defining American food”
Based on two words from a restaurant menu and Mexican street food, Beet Elote Salad replaces corn with diced beets. Recipe below.
THE OTHER NIGHT I WAS POKING AROUND ON VARIOUS DETROIT WEBSITES and I thought to check out the website of Selden Standard. Several years ago, when we were spending most of our time in Detroit, Selden Standard became a place where I would go when I had a free evening and an appetite for a well-made, kind of rustic, kind of wonderful Midwestern-American dinner. Continue reading “Inspirations from Detroit and Mexico: Beet Elote Salad”
As popular as pizza in Japan, karaage is an ideal appetizer—chunks of chicken thigh marinated in soy sauce, sake, mirin and aromatics, then dipped in potato starch and quickly fried. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]hen we are in Detroit, which is every few weeks these days, we almost always find some reason/excuse to have dinner at Johnny Noodle King. This small, busy, fast-moving joint is always bustling and always full of all sorts of people who happily line up for a bowl of ramen, a nice drink and some terrific Japanese-inspired snacks. Continue reading “Karaage: Chinese-style Japanese fried chicken”
Reducing red wine adds depth to these duck legs oven-braised with shallots, carrots, parsnip, garlic and thyme. Recipe below.
I ATE A LOT OF DUCK IN OMAHA. When we told friends about our plans to spend several days in Nebraska on our recent road trip, everyone told us to be prepared to eat a lot of beef. Nobody mentioned duck. The first night, I ate a duck leg in red wine that inspired this week’s recipe. Continue reading “French cuisine, by way of Nebraska: Red Wine-braised Duck Legs”
This six-ingredient egg drop soup is as impressively restaurant-authentic as it is quick and easy to make. Recipe below.
THE LINE BETWEEN HOME COOKING AND RESTAURANT COOKING can get blurry at times. There’s a whole subset of restaurants that tries to serve—or at least convince us they’re serving—homestyle cooking. And in kitchens around the world, home cooks obsess over recreating chef-driven restaurant meals. But there’s another style of restaurant cooking that’s often overlooked at home, not complex or seasonal or locally sourced. Just humble fare, but soul-satisfyingly comforting. This is one of those recipes. Continue reading “All the comforts of restaurant: Egg Drop Soup”
For the second time in as many weeks, we did a weekend road trip to upstate New York. About 1,500 miles in three days, part two of the daughter move. And while it was tiring—besides the driving, there was the loading and unloading of boxes and bags, a bookcase, a bike and countless things not starting with B—just looking at the photo above has me ready to get in the car again. Continue reading “Road trips and dining at the bar”
These days, I skip breakfast. This is shocking to my sister, who says, “How can you do that? It’s one of the three most important meals!” But I just, oh, I just can’t.
As it happened, the other day, we had to drive up to the North Shore to take care of some errands and see some folks. So by the time we got to the Old Orchard mall, it was late morning and I was good and hungry. Continue reading “The spread of the new: when big restaurant chains get it right, everyone wins”
Scallops with Smoky Chipotle Butter, Tomato Salad and Cornbread is actually three separate recipes. All are good on their own, but together they’re a restaurant-inspired, restaurant-worthy meal. Recipes below.
A few weeks back, I had to go to New York City on business. It was two days of intense meetings that actually turned out to be productive and valuable. At the end of the first day, we all went to dinner together. Someone in the New York office chose the venue, in part because it was near the office: Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain. I thought great, another giant midtown eating hall. But you know? It was terrific. Everything was delicious. Everything was interesting. The room was handsome, and the waitstaff was knowledgeable and invested. I had a ball. It was a delightful evening with great colleagues, really a treat.
What did I have? Skate with smoked chile butter, served with a small tomato salad heaped on a circle of crispy hominy. Continue reading “Delicious trio: Scallops with Smoky Chipotle Butter, Tomato Salad and Cornbread”