Orrie’s Tasty Problem

Once again, a favorite source, the Nero Wolfe canon, yields a tantalizing food mention that not only stokes the reader’s appetite, but which burnishes also the author’s fine cooking credentials. Rex Stout was a serious gourmet and, so inspired, he often kept a well-appointed table close to his mysteries’ pulse. In Death of a Doxy,…

Sushi in Paradise

Naturally, many places with Pacific beaches take advantage of the abundant seafood and offer countless varieties of fresh fish.  How fresh?  Right off the boat in most cases, and  sometimes even raw.  From Japan’s sushi, to the ceviche enjoyed all along coastal Latin America to poke in Hawaii,  fish often is celebrated in its purest,…

Oh Ghee, You Betcha!

Wrong pronunciation of “ghee,” but a more proper intonation would ruin a not-so-clever attempt at a Minnesota accent, wouldn’t it?  Leaving aside the regrettable (and regretted) “humor,” ghee – clarified butter – is an indispensable part of the latest entry, Curry-Stand Chicken Tikka Masala.  After finding inspiration in the August/September 2018 AllRecipes magazine, an attempt…

Fine Detail

That’s where it matters, in the little things that combine to bring greatness.  None greater, and none littler, than the fine-grained Moroccan couscous that underlies today’s offering, Moroccan Lamb and Seven-Vegetable Couscous.  From this fluffy and buttery base rises an immensely satisfying stew spirited to culinary paradise by a whole Kasbah-worth of subtle, haunting, North…

Crossing Apple Country Now

Following the latest recipe found in Porterfield’s Dining by Rail, we’re aboard a restaurant car of the Northern Pacific line, just having passed through Wenatchee, Washington, which proclaims itself, “The Apple Capital of the World.”  Civic pride (boastfulness?) aside, people in these parts certainly know their apples, as demonstrates the sweet slice of golden flakiness…

From Scratch, All of It

Not only was today’s recipe assembled from original ingredients, but even the curry paste was concocted in the kitchen.  That freshness adds depth to the dish and gives Scallops with Thai Green Curry an especially expressive taste profile.  With fresh lemongrass, lime zest, chiles and ginger, among many, many other elements, the curry sauce has…

Near the Border

Here are a couple tickets for an overnight train trip, complete with sleeping compartment and dinner beforehand in the dining car, courtesy of James Porterfield’s Dining by Rail.  In this case, the meal includes two lines’ specialties, Roast Quebec Capon, as enjoyed for decades aboard the Canadian Pacific’s trains, accompanied by Savory Mushroom Dressing, a…

By a Nose

Aroma draws us to a dish, inviting anticipation of the delights just around the corner.  This is particularly true of today’s submission, Panang Beef Curry, as Cook’s Illustrated suggested the preparation in its 2017 collection of recipes. In common with many curries, Thai ones especially, coconut milk is not merely important, it’s central to the…

It Began Here

Gliding through the millennia, we find ancient Romans enjoying savillum, a dessert that’s wended its way to us as cheesecake.  No less a personage than Senator and historian Marcus Porcius Cato (better known as Cato the Elder) provided instructions, 160 BC, in his De Agri Cultura: Make a savillum thus: Mix 1/2 libra (*1) of…

Such Memories!

Summer of…whenever.  Family vacation to the beach includes a day spent a bit inland at Colonial Williamsburg.  A full afternoon beneath the broiler (aka, the southern Virginia sun) spurs the appetite something fierce.  Then, from a distance, an aroma.  Faint at first, but soon it surrounds and captivates.  The beautifully transcendent scent of a wood-fired…