Changhai’s Shrimp Soup
This simple but flavorful Chinese soup cooks up in a flash. Aromatic sesame oil and spicy Vietnamese sauce Sriracha are added at the end for maximum impact. Changhai’s Shrimp Soup Ingredients: Serves 4 1/4 pound shrimp, peeled and cooked 2 1/2 cups chicken stock* 2 slices ginger, smashed 2 scallions, smashed 3 tablespoons tomato paste …
Read moreSweet and Sour Onions
These little onions make a wonderful condiment with roasted meat dishes, as part of an antipasto platter or served on their own as an appetizer served with drinks. Sweet and Sour Onions Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds cipolline, Italian baby onions or yellow pearl onions 4 1/4 cups water 1 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup white wine …
Read morePressed Salmon Sushi
These sushi pieces are served on a platter sprinkled with scallions, with soy sauce. To dip the pieces, turn them salmon side down; if you dip the rice end first, the pieces fall apart. Ingredients: Rice (about 30 bite-size pieces) 2 1/2 cups short-grain white rice 2 3/4 cups water 5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar …
Read moreMary Lindeblad’s Dutch Babies
Somewhere between a popover and a muffin, these puffs rise like magic in the oven. The airy texture and sweet taste make them a perfect breakfast treat. Mary Lindeblad’s Dutch Babies Ingredients: 4 teaspoons butter 4 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt non-stick oil spray Directions: 1. Set oven to 475 …
Read moreGrilled Pizza
Making your own pizza dough is not the fuss you may think. In Italy pizza is served in individual size portions and fills an 8-inch plate. The crust is crispy and the toppings are exactly what you want! Don’t be afraid of the yeast. Kids will love watching the dough rise and punching it down. …
Read moreEriko’s Simmered Eggplant
This is a classic Japanese home style preparation for eggplant. The dish is served hot or cold. The eggplants are first scored and then soaked in water to remove some of the natural bitterness and then patted dry. They are then sautéed in oil and a bit of sugar to form a sweet crust. Eriko’s …
Read moreOkonomiyaki- Japanese savory pancake
Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake filled with shredded cabbage, bits of briny seafood, slivers of meat and pickled red ginger (beni shoga). After cooking it is shellacked with a tangy glaze made of Worcestershire-like sauce with a dusting of dried seaweed flakes (aonori) and a flourish of shaved bonito flakes (katsuo) that seem to dance, …
Read moreGiovanna’s Candied Orange Peels
I was offered these homemade candied orange rinds that Giovanna Catinella, brought as a gift for the hostess at a dinner party in Palermo, Italy. The slender matchsticks of bitter orange with their crunchy sugar coating, were passed around with the digestive Amaro, a dark, spicy, bitter liqueur. Ingredients: about 100 strips 5 large thick-skinned …
Read moreAquacotta – “Cooked Water”
Somewhere between a soup and a savory bread pudding lies aquacotta “cooked water”- a traditional peasant dish from Tuscany that uses stale bread, tomatoes, onions and whatever vegetables are available. Its name reflects its origins– lean times for farmers. When things were better, perhaps each member of the family would add an egg atop the …
Read moreWhat’s a Sox game without dried squid and beer?
TOKYO – Peanuts! Popcorn! Squid jerky, anyone? The Boston Red Sox play their season opener nine days from now at the Tokyo Dome, once home field to their relief pitcher Hideki Okajima, a former member of the Yomiuri Giants. And instead of those sausage and onion subs on Yawkey Way, fans will be munching dried …
Read moreBento:Build a Better Lunch
Debra Samuels, bestselling author, food writer and cooking instructor, wants to give the American lunchbox a makeover. In the chapter on “bento,” the traditional Japanese lunch box, in her upcoming book, My Japanese Table, Debra encourages the use of color, texture and taste to create healthier and more visually appealing meals.
read more »
