Kitchen Epiphanies

KITCHEN epiphanies

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Revitalizing Ukrainian Cooking with Masterchef Evgeniy Klopotenko

Leave a Comment / Chicken, Desserts, Fruit Desserts, Jams, Jellies & Preserves, Meats, Pork, Soups, Tarts and Pies, Ukraine / By

The most interesting experiences often arise from serendipity.  I recently shared a kitchen and an evening of Ukrainian cooking with 31-year-old Evgeniy (Zhenia) Klopotenko, winner of the 2015 Ukraine’s Masterchef contest, a graduate of Paris’s Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, a Ukrainian TV personality and producer of jams and marmalades. Young Zhenia is a trained …

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Peruvian Causa – Colorful and spicy mashed potato starters with chicken or shrimp

Leave a Comment / Chicken, Dining & Travel, Peru, Salads, Savory Dishes, Seafood, Starter / By

l never thought of eating cold mashed potatoes flavored with various citrus juices and hot peppers as a salad or appetizer until I discovered la causa rellena (literally translated as “the stuffed cause”) in Cusco, Peru’s imperial city high in the Andes Mountains. Until I traveled in Peru, I was dismissive of leftover mashed potatoes.  I …

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Spicy Rice Cakes with Pork and Vegetables

Leave a Comment / Korea, Meats, Pork, Savory Dishes, Vegetables / By

This Spicy Rice Cakes with Pork and Vegetables stir fry resulted from an exploratory shopping trip. I love experimenting with new ingredients, especially from different ethnic cuisines.  I refuse to get into a food rut, recycling the same menus repeatedly and I am fortunate that Weldon enjoys trying out new tastes. To get new meal …

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Cornish Hens Tabaka – a Classic Georgian treat

Leave a Comment / Chicken, Republic of Georgia, Savory Dishes / By

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, …

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Morocco – A Travelers’ Sampler II — Food

Leave a Comment / Breads, Desserts, Dining & Travel, Morocco, Salads, Savory Dishes, Seafood, Soups, Vegetables / By

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, …

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Morocco – A Travelers’ Sampler I — Sights

Leave a Comment / Morocco / By

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 …

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