Aloha! One should be forgiven for venturing into Tiki-tacky territory if one is, in fact, a real live Hawaiian-born native. Hence my unapologetic pride in sharing this recipe for Hawaiian Crème Brûlée, a Polynesian delight that need not wait for your next luau to prepare. Click here for the recipe for Hawaiian Crème Brûlée if you'd rather get right to it before my little … [Read more...]
BLOOD ORANGE CREPES SUZETTE
When all is said and done, we have that certain Cathy to thank for the enduring mystic of Blood Orange Crêpes Suzette. Sophisticated beyond her years, she embodied culture and refinement to a generation hooked on black and white after-school TV reruns. You remember Cathy, don't you? Of course I speak of the Cathy who adores a minuet, the Ballets Russes … [Read more...]
A DAZZLING MUSHROOM CENTERPIECE: THE GLORY OF FUNGI
The New Year's Eve party invite was billed as "A Finger Food Through Down." The crowd would be a collection of serious NYC foodies. Feeling confident I could hold my own in the culinary contributions department, I pondered a way to pull focus from the accomplished competitors. Eureka! Knowing there would be an abundance of … [Read more...]
HOME MADE CHICKEN AND SHITTAKE SAUSAGES: SISTERS ARE DOIN’ IT FOR THEMSELVES
The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking -- how can you not love the name of this blog? Written by Kate, a flashy cook, who sticks to things that are alarming as opposed to required (sound familiar?). She's author as well of this book with the same name. I've been following Kate and HGGH for a while and not just for the recipes -- stuff like a … [Read more...]
H.M.S. FANCIFUL FRENCH MACAROONS
There's a new power cookie in town. While it's yet to eclipse the cupcake's sovereignty as the sweet snack of choice for a nation obsessed, those in the know have long known that the ethereal pastel treats from Paris's Ladurée and other like-minded institutions are, well, just better. I speak, of course, of the French … [Read more...]
BLINI
Times being tough and all, it's good to know that Julia Child's blini recipe delivers a great return on investment. I made these for the Mildred Pierce Chicken Kiev Beragon post when I theorized that if Mildred had set her sights on this elegant upscale pancake, rather than her pedestrian specialty of waffles, she may have been able to insinuate … [Read more...]
LOTTE ROTIE EN PAELLA (ROASTED MONKFISH AND MUSSELS PAELLA)
Dazzled by the cover photograph on the ultra-elegant cookbook Poisson Coquillages et Crustacés -- a scallop on the half-shell with a perfectly formed scallop shell pastry top -- I snapped the book after a few seconds of flipping through the pages. So that's the source of this recipe, a French riff on classic paella. Every page of this book has … [Read more...]
SUSHI PARTY! AUTHENTIC HOME MADE SUSHI RECIPES FROM TOKYO’S PREMIER SUSHI SCHOOL
Steve and I had the good fortune to live in Tokyo for six months a few years back, where one of the many eye-opening experiences included an abbreviated sushi course at the prestigious professional Sushi Daigaku school. This introduction to the exactingly precise methods of preparing the perfect sushi rice, fish, and tradition-bound assembly … [Read more...]
10 RULES FOR SPECTACULAR PAELLA
Once you get the hang of paella, which won't take long if you heed these simple guidelines, you will be able to spread your wings and fly with any combination of tasty enhancements that strike your fancy. After years of academic study (reading tons of recipes) and hands-on trial and error (lots of trial, minimal error -- I said … [Read more...]
THE PERFECT HOT DOG RECIPE
Consider, if you will, the ingredients in my recipe for perfect hand-crafted hot dogs: fresh beef chuck, fresh pork, fresh garlic, kosher salt, paprika. Now, please take a moment to review the ingredients in Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, a New York favorite: beef [unspecified], water, salt, sorbitol, sodium lactate, "natural flavorings" [?], sodium … [Read more...]