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…

Dabbling in Stocks

Stocks are simple, really. Pick a good one and, if things work as they should, a modest investment up front will yield generous dividends for a long time. This applies to investments, and doubly so to soup stocks. This site doesn’t have much to say about financial planning, though, which leaves only one topic, a…

You’re Invited

There’s room in the car; we’ll stop by soon to collect you. The more, the merrier, right? Not that tonight isn’t going to be ecstatically fun already, what, with everybody being in such a good mood. Optimistic and happy to greet the new year. Perfect setting for a party, really. Plus, there’s sure to be…

How Novel

Books feed our hunger for intellectual sustenance, quite often with a savory flourish, but what of real, stomach-growling cravings?  They do, perhaps, when the book is James Patterson’s thriller about a cook on the lam, titled, unexpectedly, The Chef.   A friend read the tome, noticed a small collection of recipes in an appendix, and immediately…

Again with the Peaches?

Of course. It’s late summer, after all, and the stonefruit is gloriously in season. Time for the produce, which is fantastic most of the time, to attain perfection. Sweet and tangy, juicy and lush, peaches are precisely why we spend the rest of the year dreaming about August. This week, peaches make up a vibrant…

Strong Influence

Special occasions call for memorable meals, and for many North Americans, “Japanese” steakhouses such as Benihana or Shogun stir fond recollections.  These places value entertainment, and they feature flashy, wisecracking chefs preparing meals, teppanyaki-style, on an iron griddle immediately in front of guests.  The freshest ingredients served alongside puns (some cringe-worthy, some not), knife gymnastics…

There Once Was a Chef on Nantucket…

Who used oysters and clams by the bucket Until one day the market ran dry So the chef asked, “Why not give lobsters a try?” To those who think chowder means clams, I say…” The rest has been lost, but you might speculate. Point is, summer often includes a trip to the beach, and shore…

New Toy

On the doorstep is a box, shipped straight from Japan! Packed inside, carefully, is a donabe, a lidded clay cooking pot beloved all over the island nation for the full-flavored moistness it bestows. Lots of ideas for dishes to try, but most of them seem oriented to winter. You know, steaming pot and all. It’s…

Party Tonight in Quezon City

Must be quite the occasion, as today introduces not just one, but two types of lumpia,  a Filipino egg roll of sorts typically served at parties and at other celebrations.  There’s the classic pork, carrot and water chestnut variety, pictured above on the right, and a newer crab, pineapple and ginger version from Hawaii, which…