It’s the middle of March and it’s snowing for the fifth time this month. The piles of snow will linger long after spring starts a few days from now. As I watched the white flurries outside the window this morning, I recalled that Scandinavians go to great lengths to keep spirits up in the waning …
Cornish Hens Tabaka are a traditional dish indigenous to the Republic of Georgia, a country of nine million inhabitants in the Caucasus Mountains. Its Georgian name originates from “tapha,” the cast iron pan with a weighted, screw-tightened lid used to prepare this succulent dish. It is sometimes also called Tabaka, Tapaka, Chicken Tabaka, Chicken Tabak, …
Food binds geographically and linguistically diverse Morocco together. Moroccan cooking reflects the influence of indigenous peoples, traders, invaders, immigrants and colonizers, each of whom, over centuries, played a role in the development of local culture and dietary habits with new ingredients and cooking techniques that remain influential today. Today’s Moroccan cuisine is a blend of Berber, …
I returned from a recent family trip to Morocco, flooded with images and emotions, inundated with facts. Finally, I understood why generations of artists, writers, filmmakers and cooks were inspired by Morocco. It took me several months to process what I saw, review photographs, collect my thoughts and decide that Morocco deserves two posts: this …
The old proverb that one man’s trash is another’s treasure applies to kitchen tools and holiday cookies, too. Several years ago, on one of my occasional wanderings through a Kyiv flea market, I spotted an unusual artifact amid a jumble of old kitchen utensils spread out on a blanket on the ground. What attracted my …
This Turkey, Ham & Pork Sausage Pie is another solution for holiday leftovers. At our house, even a small turkey or ham often produces too much delicious meat which, while enjoyed the first time served, is hard to serve for more than one additional meal. Turkey and ham sandwiches, assorted creamy casseroles and soups are …
This German Apple Cake – Gedeckter Apfelkuchen was on my to-bake list for years from the time I was a law student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I did not cook or bake much while studying. With 700 pages of weekly reading of treatises and case law, there was little time for culinary endeavors …
This dish of Rice Noodle Soup with Salmon, Snow peas and Shiitake Mushrooms is my nontraditional adaptation of phở cá, a fish phở I enjoyed in Vietnam, a splendid comforting lunch or light dinner for the first chilly, rainy days of autumn. Phở, the national dish of Vietnam, is the street food of ordinary people, …
Rice Noodle Soup with Salmon, Snow peas and Shiitake Mushrooms – A Relative Phở Read More »
This Peach Blueberry Almond Crust Galette is a seasonal treat, a perfect summer dessert. As I walked through the farmer’s market this week amid stalls piled high with fruits, vegetables and flowers, the ripe, blushing rosy peaches and blue-as-midnight blueberries spoke to me. I scrutinized the offerings of rival fruit vendors several times assessing what …
Hot weather and cold food is a winning combination. A cooling and zesty Aquachile Verde (literally “green chile water”) with shrimp or scallops or both is a perfect antidote and a stimulating starter to make when seafood is plentiful and fresh; an excellent opening to a grilled dinner. Aquachile is a spicy, tart Mexican cousin …