Topic Recipes
Sourdough is a Fickle Bitch, Part Deux
If you’ve got your starter ready, let’s make some bread. I ran across some measurements that work pretty good for me, I’m not sure where I found them so
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Sourdough is a Fickle Bitch, Part 1
To me, a kitchen is just a big chemistry set, a scattered mix of ingredients just waiting to become something unique and tasty.” Vaughn My friend, Vaughn Montgomery, is living
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Slow Food Sunday: Chinese Chicken Soup with Wontons and Greens
Sundays are slower. At least they should feel slower. Sundays were made for sleeping in, a leisurely breakfast with the paper, hanging out with those you love, and puttering around the
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Leftover Stir-Fry Pancake
What to do with leftover stir-fry? Here’s an easy, tasty solution, and (as if you needed an “and”), it only takes fifteen minutes. The problem with leftover stir-fried vegetables, especially greens, is
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Shanghai Noodles
Did you know it’s considered bad luck to cut noodles before serving them? Noodles are a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture, and serving your guests short noodles might
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Power Snacking: Yogurt, Strawberries, Chia Seeds and Essential Oils
My sisters and I are on a pretty interesting “natural beauty regime” these days. We are the driest girls you’ll ever meet (in both wit and complexion), so we’re
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Gold Medal Shrimp Fried Rice
In Gold Medal Fried Rice, egg yolks are stirred throughout the rice, coating each grain and giving it a golden hue. It’s an unusual method that creates a slightly richer
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Make and Freeze: Kung Pao Sauce
Spicy Kung Pao sauce at a moment’s notice? It seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? On busy days, if a sauce has more than five ingredients, I
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Kung Pao Chicken: This One Does it for Me.
I will go to the ends of the earth for a good Kung Pao. Most recipes I’ve tried have been fine, but they didn’t really flick my bic, you know? It
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Sichuan Sweet/Spicy Eggplant and Pea Pods
Thumbing through Martin Yan’s Culinary Journey Through China, I came across the Sichuan dish, Seafood Over Singing Rice. The sauce was exactly what I was in the mood for —
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Baked Kale Chips: Snacking, Purified.
Have you ever baked kale? I mean, baked it for a snack. To munch on by the bowlful while watching PBS’s Sherlock? Yeah, just like popcorn. It’s crazy good.
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Pickled Carrots with Orange and Fresh Ginger
The word “pickle” used to drum up some fairly specific, traditional notions: sweet, dill, chips or spears. Then, a few years back, some pretty wacky pickled things were cropping
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Breakfast Pizza: Egg, Spinach, Fontina and Sriracha
The Kid came up with this pizza. It’s a twist on his usual breakfast of eggs, spinach, cheese and Rooster Sauce. One day, he noticed a forlorn pizza crust
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Beef and Rice Noodles in Black Bean Sauce
What would happen if I ate stir-fried noodles every day, for the rest of my life? You know, besides having my girth match the unbridled love I feel for them. This
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Super Easy Stir-fried Greens
I’m always looking for new recipes for leafy green things. I can’t eat the same thing day after day, even if it is for the sake of my health.
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Something for Everyone Fried Rice
“Something for Everyone Fried Rice” literally means, everyone in the group gets to add something to the fried rice. Seriously, how cool is that? We decided to try it. The
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Troubleshooting: Fried Rice
Fried rice is a delicious, one-pot meal. It’s easy, fast, and budget-friendly, because you can pretty much use whatever is in the fridge. One of my sisters, who was
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Shanghai Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce and Mushrooms
When I’m jonesing for bok choy with oyster sauce, which happens all to often, I drive clear over to Old Bellevue to get my fix at Monsoon East. One day, I
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Pad Thai with Tofu: Very Easy, Highly Addictive
When my sister, Tiffany, requested our next girls cooking weekend be focused on stir-frying, I immediately grabbed a stack of cookbooks and started jotting down dishes we should learn.
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Roasted Artichoke and Sopressata Picante Pizza
I find the combination of artichokes, potatoes, olives and some form of spicy cured pork product completely irresistible. It’s that whole ”whole is greater than the sum of its parts” part.
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Stir-fried Chicken with Snow Peas and Hoisin Sauce
This is a great little stir-fry. It was probably the favorite of all three sisters from our Caution: Girls Wokking experiment. It’s so tasty, I’d be willing to bet Michele’s kids might
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Merv’s Asparagus Pizza w/Mt. Townsend Seastack and New Potatoes
Beautiful, simple, fresh — it’s what we love to eat in the spring. This pizza is the epitomy of local/seasonal eating — from the asparagus and new potatoes to the
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Link Lab Chorizo Pizza with Spanish Salsa
Link Lab Artisan Meats is a boutique butcher shop in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood that specializes in truly delightful artisan sausages. David Pearlstein (owner and Chief Meat Officer) is very particular about
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Sausage and Roasted Apple Pizza
It’s apple season here in Washington State! If you haven’t had apples on a pizza, you are in for a real treat. Simply toss apples slices with olive oil, salt and
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Lemon Drop
Lemon Drops are a bit like the chicken of the cocktail world — delicious, a real crowd pleaser, and so versatile, they go with almost anything. Lemon Drops are perfect
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Wild Mushroom Pizza with Roasted Fennel and Walnuts
Autumn is finally here, and the local markets are being taken over by wild mushrooms, game, root vegetables and nuts. Making a mushroom pizza with roasted fennel, toasted walnuts
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Champagne Cocktail
Autumn is a beautiful time for a Champagne Cocktail – dry Champagne, a splash of brandy, a sugar cube and a dash of bitters. The flavor is deliciously versatile, the bubbles make
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Clam Pizza with Smoked Tomato Sauce
This is one of my all-time favorite pizzas. It makes a gorgeous appetizer for an outdoor dinner party, both in flavor and presentation. Smoky tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella give
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Smoked Tomato Sauce
Have you smoked tomatoes yet? It’s really quite easy, and adds a little mystery to the usual tomato sauce. Smoked tomato sauce gives pizza a hint of that flavor
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Chanterelle Mushroom and Corn Pizza
Summer and autumn rain brings an abundance of chanterelle mushrooms — the forest floor is littered with them. It’s just another lovely thing about living in the Pacific Northwest.
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Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Pizza
Our local farmers grow some pretty amazing tomatoes. There’s nothing quite like a local, summer tomato — grown outside in the fresh air (not the hothouse), ripened on the vine, free
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Pesto
There’s nothing quite like pesto pounded by hand with a pestle. It fills the kitchen with the most delightful fragrance, gives your arms a nice workout, and is indescribably more tasty
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Alsatian Pizza: Bacon, Creme Fraiche, Gruyere & Arugula
The Lutèce Cookbook was my first French cookbook. I got it in ’89 or ’90 through one of those unbelievably lucky deals where you can have six cookbooks for only
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Cherry Teatini – A Sophisticated Mocktail
Wanting a nonalcoholic counterpart to Just for Mary, a bourbon-based cocktail, I referred to my Virgin-Manhattan-faux-bourbon experiment and added cherries. This cherry-laced mocktini uses both smoky Lapsang Souchong and decaf
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Just For Mary
Tony Abou-Ganim’s Just for Mary, is bourbon based with a hint of cherry brandy. This lovely cocktail will surely turn into a classic. Just for Mary makes 1 1-1/2 oz. bourbon 1 oz.
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Who Makes the Best Pizza? You do! Here’s A Video.
A little while ago, I decided it might be fun to sell my pizza crusts. They are made with only 5 ingredients (and I only use local flour), stretched
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Staple: Quick Caramelized Red Onions
I absolutely love caramelized onions — red, white, yellow, cippolini – all of them. Always a good thing to have hanging around your fridge, they can be thrown into almost
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Brazilian Coconut Shrimp Pizza
I’m infatuated with Brazilian cuisine. It’ll probably be my next food obsession. I’ve been tinkering around with it lately, mostly because of Mariane, our Brazilian temporary houseguest. She’s a little homesick
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Caipirinha
Caipirinha (kye-peeyr-EEN-yuh), is a refreshing Brazilian cocktail made with cachaca. If you can’t find cachaca, a really good, light rum makes a pretty good substitution. This cocktail is perfect with tropical,
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Mocktail: Pineapple Lime Spritzer
The refreshing combination of pineapple, lime and mint makes this tropical, nonalcoholic sparkler a great summer time drink. Instead of straining it into a chilled glass, it can be
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Mocktail: Juniper-Cranberry Fauxtini
I believe the creators of Dry Juniper Berry Soda were basically touting, “hey, here’s a nonalcoholic replacement for gin!” It’s genius. I added a little tart cranberry juice, lime juice
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Negroni
A Negroni and Italian meatballs are a match made in heaven. So of course, pair this classic cocktail up with similar nibbles like Italian sausage, roasted or fresh fennel, hearty
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Italian Sausage Pizza with Roasted Red Peppers, Olives & Rosemary
I wish I didn’t have such a penchant for pork products of all kinds. (Well, it’s a little stronger than a penchant, but probably less than an obsession.) Because when
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Cucumber-Lime Mocktini – a Delightful Mocktail
This mocktail is a crowd pleaser. I served it to my Mom and sisters at our girls cooking weekend with Gingered-Tuna Rice Paper Rolls. Simultaneously two of them said,
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Cucumber-Lime Martini
It’s worth any amount of trouble to get your hands on Thatcher’s organic liqueurs. The beauty is, they are filled with the most delightful, natural flavors; not syrupy. Plus,
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Hoisin Pork Belly Pizza with Pickled Cucumbers & Rooster Sauce
This recipe is a take off David Chang’s pork belly buns from Momofuku. It came about when we had leftover pork belly and pickled cucumbers, but ran out of
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Mocktail: Cranberry-Thyme Fizz
The muddled thyme in this mocktail adds a little complexity and an herbaceous note that makes it quite food-friendly. I also added cranberry juice — its slightly bitter note
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Limoncello Negroni
A touch of Limoncello makes this cocktail a little smoother than a Negroni. Aperol’s slightly bitter note is somewhat tamed if paired with dishes that have a slightly bitter
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Roasted Eggplant Pizza with Red Peppers & Mediterranean Olives
With the availability of some truly amazing olives, it’s easy to experiment — even small, local grocery stores across the nation now have olive bars. Try Thassos sun-dried Greek
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Golden Citrus Fizz — Nonalcoholic Sunshine
Here’s a juiced up mocktail that I think is festive for a brunch party. Maybe for New Year’s Day brunch, when guests might be looking for a nonalcoholic reprieve
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