How To Toast Pumpkin Seeds

August 23, 2011

One of my favorite techniques to come out of this week’s Root Source on pumpkin is an easy two-step method for toasting pumpkin (or any other winter squash) seeds. Toasted pumpkin seeds make a crispy, flavorful addition to soups, stews, salads or sautés — or a great cocktail-hour snack.

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Grilling the Argentine Way

August 20, 2011

Reading Francis Mallmann’s  book Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way (written with Peter Kaminsky), I’m reminded that for all the things that cooking is about, at heart it’s about fire — cooking’s “mother tongue” as Mallmann calls it. This beautifully written cookbook and fire-guide shows Mallmann and Kaminsky’s fluency in that language.
In the beginning of [...]

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Chile-Braised Pork Nachos With Cilantro And Lime

August 17, 2011

Over the weekend I picked up a few things from my favorite international food market — cubed pork shoulder, corn and flour tortillas, dried and fresh chiles, onions, garlic — not exactly sure what I’d do with them.
When I got home, after going through a few cookbooks, I decided to braise the pork in a [...]

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The Beauty Of Raw Vegetable Salads

August 15, 2011

Raw vegetable salads lend simplicity, convenience, elegance and a good dose of vegetables to a meal all at the same time. The basic formula is easy: choose three or four different vegetables you’d eat raw (corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, fennel, carrots, radishes, cabbage, radicchio, endive, sweet or green onions), add in some cheese (feta, mozzarella, Swiss, [...]

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Tequila-Lime Ice Cream

August 8, 2011

Tangy and creamy, with a sharp finish from the tequila, this lime-flavored ice cream is an adult treat. Since the alcohol is not heated in this recipe, it’s worth using an aged tequila, which elevates the ice cream’s delicate flavor to the ethereal.
Recipe: Tequila-Lime Ice Cream (Cookthink)
Reference: How to choose tequila (Cookthink)

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Lentil Soup With Chorizo and Potatoes

August 1, 2011

When you’re in the mood for a hearty, warming and healthy one-pot dish, this stew-like soup hits the spot. The combination of beans or legumes, pork and a starch is classic. A bright splash of lemon juice at the end of cooking adds a tart acidity to the dish — a great tip for just [...]

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How To Cure Salmon Into Gravlax

July 29, 2011

Scandinavian-style cured salmon, or gravlax, is easy to prepare at home in a day. The basic formula for gravlax looks something like this:
gravlax = raw salmon filet + sugar (white, light brown) + salt (sea, kosher) + fresh chopped herbs (dill, parsley) + ground spices (coriander, white pepper) + citrus zest (lemon, lime.

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Pan Bagnat

July 25, 2011

In my ongoing quest to create more ambitious sandwiches to take to the office, I decided to revisit the Pan Bagnat, a delicious and satisfying Niçoise invention. The best part? Unlike some sandwiches, which get soggy by the time you unwrap them, this one gets better with age.

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How To Make A Pan Bagnat

July 20, 2011

Yesterday, with the July weather here more like the South of France (hot but cool in the shade, breezy and dry) than Charleston (steamy), I was craving something Niçoise for lunch.
When that craving came to mind, I remembered an older episode of Good Eats, when Alton Brown made his version of a sandwich commonly found [...]

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What’s a spice paste good for?

July 16, 2011

You want to add some flavor to a cut of meat. Why use a spice paste over a marinade?
First of all, you need time to marinate, time you may not have unless you’ve planned things in advance. Because a spice paste clings to the meat and forms a crust when you cook it, you don’t [...]

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