Cooking at Home
This mushroom tart recipe is great for entertaining guests. It can be served warm or at room temperature, and it can easily be reheated in the oven. The great thing about this recipe is that it uses store-bought puff pastry. Sure, you could try to …
If you have never tasted grilled beef heart, chances are you may be a bit apprehensive at first. Most organ meat typically has a flavor and texture that is quite different from typical beef muscle (steak). Some organs such as the liver may have a …
Here is my take on a Mexican shrimp tostada. Chilled shrimp, avocado, tomato, and cucumber are dressed with a bright, cilantro-y dressing. The shrimp “salad” is then placed on a crispy tortilla and drizzled with a smoky chipotle mayonnaise. The result is a bright, spicy, …
In the heat of summer, few things are as delicious as an ice-cold, super-fresh ceviche. While I love traditional Peruvian ceviche, sometimes it’s nice to riff on the classics. As I am a huge fan of Thai flavors, I came up with this ceviche which …
When I was working at Gramercy Tavern, we would always have some version of roasted oysters on the menu. The exact preparation would change seasonally but the idea was always the same… super fresh oysters topped with a flavorful compound butter, roasted in our wood-fired …
Sai Ua, AKA northern Thai sausage, is a type of fresh sausage that is commonly found throughout the northern region of Thailand. It is made with pork and a large quantity of fresh aromatics such as lemongrass, galangal, garlic, and makrut lime leaf. The sausage …
This is my version of Hoi Tod – หอยทอด – AKA Thai crispy oyster pancake. If you are unfamiliar with this dish, think of it as somewhere between a savory pancake and an omelet. It is not unlike a Korean seafood pancake with the addition of …
This simple chilled soup is a great addition to any summertime meal. The gazpacho itself only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and the only cooking required is toasting a few almonds in the oven. Make sure to serve the gazpacho very cold and with …
Romano beans are long, flat beans that kind of look like flattened string beans. While you can cook them briefly so that they retain their natural crunch, I really like when they are cooked a bit longer…until they are soft and sweet. In this recipe …
This English pea crostini is a great appetizer to serve when the weather starts getting warm in the spring and summer. It is also great for entertaining because almost everything can be made ahead of time (including the crispy bread) and assembled easily when guests …
Green papaya salad is a dish that originates in Laos and is an important dish in Thai cuisine. It is closely associated with the cooking of northeastern (Isan) Thailand but can be found all over the country. You can eat papaya salad at fancy restaurants, …
For a few weeks in early spring, ramps pop up in many parts of eastern North America. Ramps are a type of wild onion with a pungent, garlicky flavor. The leaves and bulbs are both edible and can be used in a number of different …
This is one of my go-to recipes whenever I have some really fresh fish on hand and don’t want to over-complicate things. It takes very little time to throw together and is super refreshing and delicious. The great thing about this recipe is how flexible …
Soft roasted peppers, sweet confit garlic, creamy burrata, and lightly charred bread. This is a flavor combination that just works. It isn’t avant-garde, it isn’t pretentious, it’s just delicious. I like to make these crostini as an appetizer or a snack to start a dinner …
Steamed Clams There are few things more delicious on a cold day than a pot of freshly steamed clams served with warm, crusty bread. As a matter of fact, steamed clams are great regardless of the weather. In the summer, I love eating them outside …
This classic french dish is one of my favorites to prepare at home. Leeks are poached until meltingly tender, garnished with hard-boiled eggs, and then marinated in a mustardy, bright vinaigrette. This dish works very well as an appetizer or side dish and I love …
If you are like me and you love fried calamari, you will also love this dish. Think of it as the meatier, more substantial version of fried calamari. If you are not familiar with cuttlefish, it is in the same class as squid and octopus. …
Brandade de morue is one of my favorite things to eat with grilled bread. There are many variations of this dish but at its core, it is a spread made from salt cod, olive oil, and potato. The version that I like to make also …
When most Americans talk about egg salad, they are usually referring to that classic mixture of chopped hard-boiled eggs and mayonnaise that is often smeared between two slices of untoasted white bread. This is NOT that. In this egg salad, a couple of super-crispy fried …
Anyone who grew up near the Chesapeake bay knows how important blue crabs are to the culinary heritage of the region. There are countless ways of preparing them, but the Baltimore-style (or Maryland-style) crab cake is one of the most delicious preparations. While they can …
Making fried sweet plantains, AKA “maduros”, is so easy that it feels strange to even write a recipe. As long as you have very ripe plantains, this dish can be put together in under 10 minutes. Here I serve them with a little bit of …
Fried green plantains, also known as Tostones or Patacones, are common all throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. They are easy to make and make a really satisfying snack or side dish. Unripe plantains are cut into chunks, fried until soft, flattened with the back …
Making ceviche at home can be very intimidating to a lot of people. Luckily, if you follow a few basic guidelines, the process is quite simple and can yield very impressive results. This version is made with Ají Amarillo, which lends the ceviche it’s incredible …
This spicy “salad” of thinly sliced beef and beef tendon is a great addition to a larger family-style meal. If you like cold spicy Sichuan dishes like husband and wife beef and pork belly in garlic sauce, you will definitely enjoy this dish. The overall …
Lobster can often feel like a luxury that is too difficult or expensive to cook at home. While definitely not dirt-cheap, you might be surpised by how inexpensive lobster can be when it is prepared at home. A standard 1.25# lobster can often be purchased …
This is a very simple recipe for chicken liver mousse that tastes just as good as the stuff you get at fancy restaurants. The ingredient list is short and the hands-on cooking time is no more than 15 to 20 minutes. If you are entertaining …
Let me preface this by saying that I am by no means an expert on this dish, I just love eating Dan Dan noodles and this recipe is about as close as I can get to what I consider “ideal”. I have eaten countless bowls …
I love cold soups in the warmer months. This is a really simple chilled tomato soup that I often make in the summer when tomatoes are at their best. It takes very little effort to put together and tastes way better than you might expect …
I have enjoyed chilled oysters about a million different ways. I’ve had them plain, with a little citrus, and with a multitude of different cocktail sauces, hot sauces and mignonettes. All of these preparations can be amazing but my favorite way to eat oysters, hands …