Julian says he fell in love with me because of my writing. He many have stayed because of the food. Here's the meal I made for him on this birthday (big Eddie Huang LTO birthday on Thursday). It's a simple dish of uber-minimal technique and little...
Read MoreCauliflower "Rice" & Beans
I just got back from my 5-year college reunion, and I’m thinking my body needs some R&R. I don’t think I ate too poorly. There was that midnight thin-crust pizza, many many handfuls of grapes, lots of Yale “specialties” like tofu saag, watery chan...
Read MoreCold Carbonated Coffee
I am a human. I need coffee. I also need to not drink hot beverages on 90 degree days. Dilemma. Of course, you could drink iced coffee, but our ice machine isn't working...and it's either too concentrated or too diluted... or, hell... it's just to...
Read MoreKumquat, Quinoa & Nutmeg Cereal
Britney Spears reportedly demands Captain Crunch and Pop Tarts in her green room. Madonna needs Kabbalah water. And Christina Aguilera cannot perform without a jar of Flinstones Vitamins. If I were a pop star, I might request this Kumquat, Quinoa ...
Read MoreCurry Corn & Okra Succotash
It's Memorial Day weekend, but who says you need to make strictly American food? Like my kimchili, I came up with this recipe with a little bit of a culinary Venn diagramming. Delicious Indian curries often feature okra. Okra is often featured in ...
Read MoreNutmeat Napa Sandwich at Bonobo's
It's easy to miss Bonobo's Vegetarian, what with the perpetual scaffolding masking it, and the hot and carnal temptations of Eataly and Shake Shack across the street. But this raw restaurant is perfect after a workout... or after an overindulgent ...
Read MoreBlistered Brussels Sprouts & Fava Beans
Let us not forget the time when brussels sprouts were reviled. Before they were on every menu in the country, they were synonymous with chopped liver and dry white toast -- food pariahs. Now, of course, everyone loves them, especially larded with ...
Read MoreSeared Lotus over Broccoli Veloute
You've seen this scene before. In a French restaurant, perhaps sea bass over celery root veloute. In a Caribbean restaurant, pork over plantain. In an Italian restaurant, lamb shank over polenta. Et cetera. Well, those are boring and I hate spendi...
Read MorePan-fried Parsnip Petals & Asparagus Coins
Parsnips don't have the high-beam brightness of carrots, or even the easy blandness of potatoes. Asparagus causes that funny reaction that lettuce would never dare. I think it's fair to say Snow White would eat sunny vegetables, like tomatoes and ...
Read MoreFig & Port Black Bean Ice Cream
This ice cream won't make you lose your head, but you might come away dizzy. The trick is to mix this just enough, but not too much. Just enough for the black beans to release their heft, for the bananas to lend their velour, for the figs to pop ....
Read MorePlum-Buttered Almond Cherry Granola
Cherries and almonds share a chemical romance. Cherry seeds taste like almonds and -- whether you've realized it or not -- almonds taste like cherries. The bitter-almond compound, benzaldehyde, is an essential ingredient in artificial cherry flavo...
Read MoreA Rapturous, Southern-Inflected End
There are a lot of things I'd want for my last meal. Off the top of my head: prawn crackers, candied nuts, kettle corn, seaweed salad, braised rabbit, my Dad's pulled pork, eggplant and "ketchup shrimp", dim sum, bouillabaise, steamed artichokes, ...
Read MoreKiwi Cashew Breakfast Chaat
My friend Andrea first introduced me to chaat seven or so years ago, the night after the Harvard-Yale game. The day was exhausting from traveling, drinking, socializing and general shlepping. The chaat was a genie of a dish and gave me everything ...
Read MoreRosemary, Pear & Orange Blossom Sorbet
Somewhere in the ether, someone came up with the combination of pear and rosemary. Let us investigate. Pear = granulated, sweet, buttery. Rosemary = piney, eucalyptusy, savory. I can't quite put my finger on why these two flavors go together so we...
Read MoreRed Currant Buckwheat Crunch Bars
You know buckwheat in other preparations: cooked like rice in kasha varnishkes, milled into flour for soba, stuffed into pillows at MUJI. It wasn't until I was feeling peckish at Brooklyn Kitchen that I even thought to eat toasted buckwheat (I bro...
Read MoreManresa at James Beard LTD
Last night, I experienced Manresa on the penultimate night of the James Beard Foundation pop-up. I've been following Manresa for awhile, first through Pim's blog, then her tweets, then Manresa, David Kinch and John Paul Carmona separately. And now...
Read MoreRed Delicious & Peanut Butter Ice Cream // Kindergarten Throwback
So my Grandma gave me a couple mangoes, some chicken, and a Red Delicious apple. The mangoes and chicken were long gone, and we were left with this apple. But we also had Jonagolds, Winesaps, Mutsus...who wants to eat a Red Delicious? Even when I'...
Read MoreSzechuan Kirby Pickles // Forms of Hotness
Consider feelings of "hot." There's black pepper, which hits you in your sneeze spot in the roof of your nasal cavity. Red pepper flakes make you reach for water, milk, bread...anything to quench that feeling of "red-hot" (and it is definitely "re...
Read MoreKimchili (read that again)
I made my first batch of kimchili because I thought someone else made it first and I got jealous. Then I realized it just said "kimchi," so I went in for the kill! This pickled stew is a basso extension of kimchi's nose-prickling flavors. First I ...
Read MoreGreen Tea Madeleine // Moody Mother Beginnings
You know how sourdough bread gets its complexity from a "mother starter"? This is the mother the madeleine never knew it had. This winsome cake/cookie is adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Earl Grey Madeleine recipe in BAKING: From my Home to Yours. T...
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