Classics, with a twist. This statement certainly turns heads. Either you embrace the idea of modifying a tried and true dish or you proclaim heresy and admonish those individuals that go tempering with tradition. I straddle both sides of the coin.
Cacio e pepe is one of Rome’s greatest pastas. Roman food is simplicity at its finest. Homemade fresh noodle pasta, olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper, and cheese. That is it. And that is all that is ever needed in this comforting yet transcendent pasta. The exotic tastiness from an abundance of freshly cracked black pepper, paired with salty yet tangy hard grated hard Italian cheeses, like Pecorino, is divine. So why go messing with perfection?
Well, because sometimes your taste buds go rouge. I love to gently saute and simmer fresh grape tomatoes with garlic over low heat, in olive oil, for 30 minutes. With this technique, the grape tomatoes gently break down, exude their juices and flavors, turn slightly sweet, and taste of pure radiance. Combining this profound, yet simple way to cook grape tomatoes and garlic, with cacio e pepe and butter creates a pasta plate worthy of dinner parties and family outings. The freshness of the grape tomatoes and the nuttiness from the butter transform the cacio e pepe, and makes it more spring-summer-like. Your family and friends will love you for serving them this elegant, yet easy to make, pasta classic with a twist.
[click to continue…]
Turn on an Alizee song, light up your fireplace, and grab your current favorite reading piece, because classical and comforting food is coming your way.
Braised dishes are grand and homey, perfect for an intimate dinner or group gathering. They are the Swiss Army knife of the culinary world. Just about anything – meat, fish, vegetable – cooked low and slow in a flavorful bath will be remarkable. This is all the more true when braising one of the most unctuous, royal, and yet misunderstood of ingredients – oxtails. Of course, they are one of my favorites.
Oxtails are the reason why French onion soups and rich demi-glazes exist. They are one of the tastiest parts of the cow and most importantly, so full of marrow and gelatinous fats/tendons that just naturally melt into any soup, stock, or braise when asked to. I have friends that turn up their nose when they hear “oxtails”, but I guarantee this recipe will turn heads and change oxtail affiliations at your next dinner party.
The red wine braise is a classic French style of cooking. The acid from the wine helps further tenderize the oxtail. And throughout the braising process, the oxtail flavors meld into the wine and other aromatics (such as tomato paste, garlic and thyme to name a few) to craft a delectable and deeply satisfying braising liquid, which doubles as our sauce. A simple couscous, polenta or rice underneath the oxtail help soap up all the euphoric marrow-laced and beefy fatty braising liquid. Your family and friends will think of you as a hero.
[click to continue…]
The face, that is what’s for dinner! Someone once told me that salmon are the pigs of the ocean – large, fatty, and succulent. And most importantly, there are significant taste differences from cut to cut. Nose to tail cooking, taking the culinary world by storm. For salmon, just like a pig, the most flavorful and satisfying cuts of meat are its cheeks, jaw, and collar. No question about it.
Now, I don’t live in a complete vacuum and appreciate that for many, fish heads are flat out disgusting. Ugly looking, smelly, ultra fishy, and unappetizing all-around, reserved only for Asians and their funky fish head soups! Well, that is not too far from the truth except for one grievous oversight – assuming that fish heads are unappetizing. Sure, eating the eye socket of a salmon head is not on everyone’s list of good eats, but eating the salmon’s cheek meat and collar/neck meat should be! It is, simply put, unctuously amazing and full of gelatinous umami.
This recipe is the perfect introduction to serving salmon heads to your uninitiated friends. It highlights the best of the salmon head by pairing it with a delicious Southeast Asian style curry. The curry not only flavors the salmon head, but vice versa. The essence of the salmon head helps create a curry that will rock your socks off. You will keep soaking your rice in this curry sauce even when the fish is all gone. And not to fail mentioning, the addition of using tamarind pulp (for its tantalizing sourness), Asian products (don’t use American style chili or curry powder, buy from an Asian market), and plenty of Taiwan basil (with its unique flavor profile, which is much different from the sweet Italian style basil) together all craft an unforgettable culinary adventure. Perfect to share with friends or selfishly devour in the confines of your home.
[click to continue…]
We already know that a sexy running egg is just about excellent on just about any savory dish. A silky and yokey egg adds lusciousness and richness to any dish. This is all the more true when the egg is over rice. Rice may be the ultimate vehicle for soaping up an egg’s gloriousness.
But what happens when you have an egg on top of an egg? It is ultra fertility in a plate. I love to top my fried or poached eggs with more eggs, particularly fish eggs. The salty, briny fish roe pair remarkably with velvety eggs. Salmon roe is currently my favorite fish egg to use. Salmon roe are large, beautiful orbs of fishy delight. The highlight is not just the strong oceanic taste, but its bursting texture. It is like pop rocks from the sea.
When salmon roe, a fried egg, and rice are paired in a bowl, it is a deeply satisfying and comforting meal. This is one of my favorite quick meals to whip up for myself when eating alone, which happens a little too frequently.
[click to continue…]
You need a game time hit? This recipe is your grand slam. It takes the best of three remarkable bar foods, and hurricanes them all together into one, unmatched flavor-bomb. Tangy and lip-smacking Buffalo Chicken meets creamy and decadent unbaked Mac and Cheese meets the crispy and salty Tater Tots. It will leave your party guests in stunned amazement.
This recipe does take time to prepare and cook, but ultimately also easy to make. I cheat and use frozen tater tots, which is totally acceptable. We also do not bake the mac and cheese. This not only saves on cooking time, but helps keep the mac and cheese all the more saucy and creamy smooth to ladle on the tater tots. This buffalo chicken mac and cheese on tater tots brings together an array of tastes and textures, and presents it in one smorgasbord of a game winning, Superbowl-worthy, party plate.
[click to continue…]
What happens when you mix together two comforting soups? Culinary galaxies collide and wormholes of flavors are carved across dimensions. In other words, it is out of this world delicious. And quite possibly, an ultimate defense against colds and illnesses.
Chicken soup is for the soul and always a cold day’s rescue. There is good reason why mothers urge their offspring to indulge in chicken soup when feeling sick, down, or out. After all, chicken soup does have anti-inflammatory properties. Kimchi jjigae is a hearty Korean stew, and it is also for the soul. Kimchi jjigae takes the best of kimchi, the remarkable celebrity of spicy fermented cabbage, and throws it into a blistering hot, tangy, and utterly satisfying and multi-layered tastes with tofu, pork, seafood, and more. Elements such as unique bacterias (from the kimchi fermentation), ginger, and garlic are all strong combatants against the evils of sickness.
This recipe takes the best of both worlds. Using left-over chicken stock (I always have some stored in my freezer), this hybrid chicken kimchi jjigae soup is an utlimate winter dish. Typically, the soup base of kimchi jjigae uses either simple water or an anchovy-based broth. Replacing the traditional with an unctuous and rich chicken soup transforms the kimchi jjigae into something even more special and heart-warming. And all of this can be achieved in 30 minutes or less.
[click to continue…]
Pate, the classical French spread of cold meat and offal. Its popularity has skyrocketed, as chefs use pate to measure themselves and prominently display their creativity. Move over chicken liver pate. Magical qualities of human ingenuity and unconscious satisfaction exude from the lowly, royal paste of ground meats. What I find so fascinating is that while pate can look and sound brutally unappetizing – honestly, it is pulverized and pureed meats and organs with alcohol and other flavorings – it is also utterly comforting and satisfies our innate carnivorous desires.
But what happens if you are a vegetarian? Or simply still have made the conversion to enjoying offal-filled pate?
So why not remove the meat? Crazy…but delicious. Mushroom pate has grown from a novel variation to a more common type of pate. While it does not carry the same unctuous characteristics of meaty pate, mushroom pate is remarkably loaded with umami and rich layers of forest flavors. This is particularly true when more exotic mushrooms are used, such as morels, shiitakes, chanterelles, and oyster. This mushroom pate is a great dish to serve in a party. Creamy, full of depth, and intoxicated with aromatics like white wine, herbs, and tangy goat cheese. This pate makes for a generous spread on bread and pita, but I like to have it on a toasted flatbread, like a mini-healthy pizza. Perfect for game day or any gathering for that matter. Pate in!
[click to continue…]
Time to run a trick play on your friends. Nachos is an ultimate party dish. This recipe calls an audible on the traditional nacho dish and re-imagines it with Korean flavors. The best of Korean BBQ is incorporated into these nachos and will be a guaranteed hit at your next football party or gathering. Much of this can be made in advance and then easily assembled right before serving. Going long for flavor.
The salty, sweet and onion taste of the bulgogi is a natural companion to tortilla chips and melted cheese. The complex flavors of the Korean BBQ are a welcome addition and leave friends guessing as to why this nacho is so delicious. But the Korean bulgogi is just one important element. A kimchi sour cream dressing is poured all over the nachos. This creamy mixture masks the strong kimchi flavors of fermented spiciness, ginger, and garlic to a level that is acceptable to all types of eaters, yet maintains the integrity of the kimchi taste. Sour cream and kimchi, what a great combination. The final kicker to this dish is the “salsa”. Diced scallions are mixed with a vinegary combination of pureed parsley, serrano chili, and sesame oil.
This is a touchdown plate, so make the call!
[click to continue…]
Impress your dinner guests at your next Mediterranean themed event by serving them bottarga. To those that know, it is both a delicacy and is renown as the poor man’s caviar. Bottarga is pressed dried eggs of either a tuna or grey mullet. The roe sack is removed from the fish, salted and sun-dried for a couple of days, pressed, hung, and dried. To the uninitiated, this may not sound all too appetizing. But I assure you, there is a reason this humble, born out of necessity ingredient is a common household ingredient among Italian fishermen yet can go for real dollars when you purchase at an high-end restaurant.
The bottarga flavor is an incredible combination of maritime treasures, salty fishiness, captivating umami, and creamy silkiness. Needless to say, it is one unique ingredient that tastes like none other. When paired intelligently with acid, butter, or olive oil, it can create a dish that will make you close your eyes and feel as if you’re next to the deep, gorgeous blue Mediterranean sea without a care in the world.
Typically, bottarga is served simply. One preparation is grated bottarga in a pasta with olive oil and garlic. Another is sliced bottarga on a crostini with butter. This recipe is one that is less traditional, but a compromise. This recipe highlights the flavors and textures of the bottarga as it melts into the tomato sauce, yet aspects of strong oceanic taste are dampened a tad. This makes the dish more accommodative to a larger audience. Luckily, this dish is easy to make and again, an ideal way to showcase your Mediterranean knowledge with a spaghetti packed with the unique, orange-colored bottarga, in a friendly manner.
[click to continue…]
Whenever I have friends over for dinner, a cheese plate of some variety has to be served. Typically, my adoration for fresh and raw ricotta cheese is on display. I am a ricotta cheese advocate.
Ultimately, ricotta cheese is crafted by the byproduct of the cheese-making process. It basically makes use of the left-over materials made from making other cheeses that would be discarded. Sounds unappetizing, but behold it is not. Mild, light, creamy, smooth and an amazing vessel to use with other flavors, ricotta cheese is a solid addition to any cheese plate – particularly when spread onto a rustic slice of bread and made into a crostini.
This recipe transforms the ricotta cheese into a cheese spread fit for any theme. The flavors of honey, fresh thyme, and orange zest are homey and comforting. The honey introduces natural sweetness while the thyme adds beautiful, herbaceous aromatics. But the orange zest, oh the orange zest. This is the ingredient that takes this ordinary spread and makes it something more. The orange zest livens up the cheese spread, and when combined with the honey and thyme, transfigures ricotta cheese into royalty.
[click to continue…]
Apples, pork, and turnips – a delicious wintery combination and classic plate to serve your friends on a cold evening. Braised pork belly is one of nature’s most comforting meat dishes. The succulence and decadency that only a pig can provide is further heightened when it is its belly and slowly cooked in an aromatic liquid. Fatty, tasty, and oh so captivating all at once.
This is one of my favorite braised pork belly recipes. For this recipe, I use Asian style turnips, such as daikon or the Korean longer version of daikon. They lend better to braises. The richness of the pork belly pairs generously with the fresh sweetness of apple cider and rustic aromatics of French clove, cinnamon, fennel seeds, ginger, nutmeg, and coriander. The natural sugars of the apple cider bring out the zestiness of the aromatics and crafts a flavorful Jacuzzi to braise the pork belly and turnips. As the pork belly cooks, low and slow, the unctuous pork fat renders and further flavors the braising liquid. In turn, the turnips are like sponges. The turnips soak in all the flavors of the braising liquid and by the cooking end, are transformed into loaded morsels of amazingness.
To further heighten this experience, I like to carmelize and char brown sugar over this entire dish right before serving by blasting it all in a hot oven. The almost burnt brown sugar brings an even further eliminate of unique sweetness to this dish, making it all the more satisfying. This dish is fairly straight-forward to prepare, and when made in advance, is an easy and fantastic main course to serve your friends and family.
[click to continue…]
Whenever duck is on the table, regardless of the occasion, the meal feels grand yet homey at the same time. The creature’s sovereign elegance is personified in mystical French dishes, such as pressed duck or any duck dish at La Tour d’Argent. Yet, this same supreme duck is found across countryside dinner tables with families that treasure the comfort and warmth only the fatty and succulent duck meat can provide.
So, nothing says a small dinner party quite like duck. Serving duck, either whole or de-boned, makes for a festive friend or family gathering. When a duck is served at a dinner party, it is special, rustic, and leaves guests spellbound. One of my favorite family meals, and to host within a small group of 4-6 people, is serving seared duck breasts and legs. The gamey and unctuous duck pairs perfectly with a sweet, sour and vinegary balsamic agrodolce. This simple Italian sauce packs a wallop, and brings the best out of the meaty duck with its gorgeous crispy duck skin. The dish is so profound that I do not include any other ingredients, such as garlic or herbs. The duck’s flavor and the counterbalancing agrodolce are powerful and tasty as they are.
[click to continue…]