At Last, Competition

Until this weekend, Lamb Tagine filled the kitchen with the most magnificent aroma ever.  It was narcotic.  Suddenly, tough, a new contender appeared yesterday, meaning to take the title all for itself.  Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Coconut Soup) just might do it too, loaded with enough beautiful aromatics to rocket it to the top.…

Like Velvet

Naturally.  When pork stews for hours, as today’s attempt has, then is cooled and brought back to a simmer, how can it be anything other than fall-apart-tender?  Certainly, Silky Pork and Cumin Stew is a good title, and the description was tempting enough to make “the list” when Bon Appetit highlighted the recipe in its…

Innovation’s Reward

Today’s submission is tomato soup.  Big deal, right?  Perhaps this journal could come up with something a little more imaginative than what’s found by the hundreds of cans in any supermarket.  After all, tomato soup is about as basic as it gets. Maybe so, but here’s the interesting twist – these tomatoes are smoked, giving…

Various Limes

Indeed, today brings Chicken Posole, as well as the limes that make it so delectable a soup.  There’s the citrus, of course, which contributes a vibrant zing, a sweetly tangy melody that boosts the other flavors.  The fruit’s qualities are familiar and require little additional elaboration. However, another sort of lime is significant too.  It…

A Bit South of San Francisco

Late last year this journal brought us northern California’s signature seafood stew, and today we see how the southern hemisphere draws wonderfully from its own bounty.  Specifically, this entry brings moqueca, a creation perfected in northeast Brazil.  Cook’s Illustrated highlighted the recipe in its March/April 2018 issue, providing a splendid excuse to visit South American…

“…As Easy as 123…”

When the Jacksons recorded ABC, were they singing about Persian Apple Stew?  Probably.  After all, the stew’s ingredients list covers the ABCs (and then some) of flavorful elements…apples, beef, cardamom, dried apricots… They all come together to reward tasters with a medley of culinary experiences, some contrasting, all of them complimentary.  The savory broth is…

Ah, but What Leftovers!

Last week brought duck, though the entire bird wasn’t used to prepare the entry.  What to do with the remainders, then?  Not wishing to be wasteful, and being of a culinary bent, this journal’s future path was clear – make soup!  Specifically, Vietnamese duck soup, or pho, elevates the leftovers to stardom and beyond. Today’s…

Along Italy’s Pacific Coast

Wait, what?  There’s the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, but when did this whole Pacific thing happen?  About 150 years ago, actually, when Italian immigrants to the U.S. made their way westward and those of a more nautical disposition found work is San Francisco’s fishing industry.  While many in the Bay Area discovered wealth inland extracting…

What to Do with All that Turkey

Why, make soup, of course!  That is, admittedly, a fairly common answer around here, though the sheer variety of broths may leave you guessing at what’s next.  Refrigerators across the continent are filled with the remains of Thursday’s feast, and what better way to use some of that than to include it in a steaming…

Timing Has to Be Perfect

Otherwise, Tomato and Crab Soup wouldn’t deliver the garden’s glorious flavors with quite such style.  Certainly, the soup would be memorable any time of year, but in early August, when high summer vaults garden vegetables past each other in pursuing perfection, the results approach the divine.  Ambrosia. Soup now, though?  While the humidity gives vegetables…