Summertime and the livin’ ain’t easy. Though it’s been a mild one thus far, the heat will come, that’s guaranteed (global warming deniers aside). Thus we think of salads for summer. And, for some time now, pasta salads have come to the fore.… Read more...
Middle Eastern cuisine utilizes such savories mint as mint and rose water in their cooking. I always found this fascinating. Here in the west, the only time we use mint in with the Eater lamb, if that. And forget about the rose water.… Read more...
There are those occasions where you have to do with what’s in the fridge. So it happened that I had some leftover sour cream, and needed to utilize it before the thing expired. Same for some fish fillets that we had purchased.… Read more...
We recently purchased some pork patties from the the LeBlank Family farm in Vermont. What made these patties interesting is that they are flavored with maple. So we thought, um, great, pork patties. Now, patties are the easiest thing to cook.… Read more...
Back in Spanish Harlem, during our lean times, eggplant was one of the things we most enjoyed. It was cheap (still is, and highly versatile). I was amazed when I discovered from my Italian friends that you could incorporate in such things as eggplant parmigiana.… Read more...
Achiote is one of the most popular condiments in Puerto Rican Cuisine. It is simply annatto seeds cooked in olive oil. It’s most common use used is as a coloring, particularly in rice, where the achiote gives the grains that bright orange color so definitive to us rice lovers.… Read more...
We’re all familiar with peppercorns. Just check your pepper shaker next to the salt on the table. That’s just crushed black peppercorns. In Puerto Rican cuisine we use whole peppercorns that are crushed in a mortar and pestle. It gives a dish that extra zing.… Read more...
I am a fan of Indian cuisine, especially for its vegetarian content. One of my favorite recipes is Kashmir Spinach with Paneer. Kashmir is in northwestern India and spinach, or palak as it is called in Hindi, is very popular in the region.… Read more...
How about eating like a czar tonight? Literally eating like a czar. That’s where Potatoes Romanoff comes in. Think of a dish that’s sinfully delicious; a side offering that will eclipse everything else. Forget about mashed potatoes or potato salad. This is the epitome of it all.… Read more...
For a pasta freak like myself, this is one of the easiest (and moist economical) dishes to prepare. And it’s quick and delicious. Think of the nerdy Sheldon on the comedy series The Big Bang, where he always rhapsodizes about his mom’s real “Eyetalian” spaghetti and franks dinner.… Read more...
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