Cooking at Home
When summer comes around, it is good to have a few grilled vegetable side dishes in your repertoire that are easy to make and really deliver on flavor. This is one of those dishes. If you have never had grilled romaine lettuce, you should give …
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 …
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 an impressive side dish that is easy to throw together and very customizable. Fresh squid is marinated in olive oil, garlic, and chili flake and then “grilled” in a very hot pan. The calamari is then tossed with beans, olive oil, lemon, parsley, …
If you have ever attempted making potato french fries at home, you probably know how difficult it can be to achieve a super crispy fry with a soft, fluffy center. I know many chefs who have spent countless hours going through multiple steps of soaking, …
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 …
Stir-fried pea leaves with garlic is one of those dishes that I will almost always order from a Chinese restaurant menu. The dish is about as simple as it gets and needs very little explanation. Tender pea leaves are stir-fried over high heat with sliced …
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 …
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 …
I can not overstate the importance of a properly cooked pot of steamed jasmine rice. Whether you are eating it plain (as part of a larger meal) or using it in dishes like fried rice or pad kaprao, properly or improperly cooked jasmine rice can …
Stir-fried romaine lettuce? It may sound strange but this is a delicious way to use romaine lettuce as a side dish. The romaine is quickly stir-fried over very high heat with garlic, chili and a touch of Sichuan peppercorn. The resulting lettuce is smoky, garlicky, …
This recipe was taught to me by my dad and I continue to make it the same way to this day. This method for cooking rice is actually quite typical in Peru and accompanies a number of Peruvian dishes. It is almost always seen with …
A lot of people I know have trouble cooking sticky rice at home. Can I use any type of rice? How do I cook it? Do I need special equipment? These are all great questions. Here is my method, which is simple and yields solid …