Enter the Dragon

No, wait…that’s the Bruce Lee movie. OK, how about “Chasing the Dragon?” Huh-uh. That won’t do either, as the phrase turns out to be old-style slang for smoking opium: In fact, the author’s mother bought the book when she left for college, in the hopes it would inspire her and her roommates to be innovative…

Shimmer

That’s what sunlight does, it dances across the water, bejeweling its progress. It captivates the eye and soon enough the imagination, but don’t the other senses deserve a thrill too? Fortunately, pineapple does just that, advancing daylight’s vibrant taste and scent. Imagine what the golden fruit would do for a soup already teeming with flavorful…

Cover Stories

Classic. After all, who’s going to suspect a lowly food blogger of being a top Field Op? If the cover story’s any good, and this one most definitely is, a promotion to Station Chief won’t be far behind. Really, it’s just a matter of… Wait, not that particular cover story? Yikes… Then forget you read…

Dreaming in Color

Just look at these colors! Vibrant, sparkling exuberance. Haven’t seen much of them lately, deeply burrowed as we are in this season of browns and grays. Still, the yearning’s enough to put one in mind of spring, promised for next month, though currently remote and distant amidst the cold. That imagination, though, it does stir……

Happy as Clams

Why wouldn’t they be? The bivalves finish up in a buttery sauce imparted with their flavorful essence, bringing to mind more than just a hint of the sea. There’s that, and there’s also the cup of sake (or maybe, instead, white wine) that keeps things warm and humming. Really, is there any more exquisite a…

Smoke Signals

What does the message say? Depends on the smoke. If it enhances paprika, it speaks of a richness and depth of flavor the flame’s intensity imparts only after it smolders. When the heat is gone, more subtle and mysterious tastes emerge and accent the pepper’s own easy, fleeting, and never quite tasted, fire. It’s this…

Runneth Over

Nearly bursting with goodness, these lettuce cups are. A satiny summer salad featuring shrimp, avocados and lobster – yes, lobster! – fills each leaf with a light yet succulent meal. Perfect punctuation for a cooling breeze breaking up the swelter, either a comma or an exclamation point. Fine Cooking dreamt of such refreshment when it…

Cooler with More Coats

Yep, even in June. If you want the juiciest Chinese barbecue pork (char siu) with the most intensely flavorful glaze, be sure to dose it repeatedly with vibrant crimson lacquer. Both during cooking, and after. If so, prepare for delight: Today’s preparation is from the RecipeTin Eats website, and as scrumptious as char siu is,…

Will It All Fit?

Maybe not. So much jostles in this week’s soup, it’s unlikely one stockpot will hold everything. What…in one bowl? Come on, you’ve got to be joking. Yet somehow, Tom Kha manages it. Here’s a Thai prawn and scallop soup which contains not only the titular seafood – two kinds at that – but power hitters…

Concentrate

All right, here’s a challenge.  How do you take a pot of shrimp and pasta, perfectly prepared to delight you and dinner guests, then pour in five cups of stock, and avert disaster?  Not just that, but bring it instead to triumph, much better than what originally was intended?  Quite a baffler.  Is there a solution?  There…