I once knew a girl who wore three types of deodorant: stick, roll-on, and natural anti-perspirant crystal. I hope she doesn't read this. Why she did this has plagued me for over a decade. I doubt her body odor was so terrible that she really neede...
Read MoreClementine Meringue Cake
The Chinese palate is a particular thing. It likes slimy sea cucumbers and crunchy cartilage . It likes plums salted and fish candied. But for all its bravado, the Chinese palate dances around dessert. China is not known for its bread or pastry. F...
Read MoreI8NY on the Brooklyn Grange
Almost all the produce was harvested that afternoon on the farm, which happens to be the largest rooftop farm in the world. We ate on precarious stages. Laguardia-bound planes flew like kites overhead and CCR crooned from a thatch of kale. Last Su...
Read MoreBanana Lime Coco-Crostini
Sometimes you have to break the rules to stay within them. In a month, I'll be going to Bermuda and I've made a little vow myself to take it easy. It's not a diet, just a gentle pulling back. In New York, it's easy to fall into the habit of orderi...
Read MoreA Real Healthy Snack // Chick Chick Soy
I’m putting in my bid for “America’s Next Healthy Snack Food.” Here’s the pitch. Entire industries have popped up for “healthy” snack food. Existing snacks were “healthified” with smaller portions or ersatz fats -- ergo baked potato chips, pretzel...
Read MorePineapple Vinho Verde Sorbet with Prickly Pear
The prickly pear is a challenging, rather enigmatic fruit, more seed than flesh. Imagine a pomegranate with the membranes dissolved, or a grenade loaded with juicy pellets. Like papaya, it tastes great with a squeeze of lime to zip its flavors. It...
Read MoreRelaxed Hamptons Cioppino
You notice this picture has a special glow to it? Well I have that glow, too. I decided to give myself a little break while my agent is reviewing my latest revisions. I read more books, saw more friends. I went to a flash Alton Brown signing and g...
Read MoreInspiration: Acting {Audio Post}
Before I was a writer, I was a showman. In high school, I competed in a whole bunch of Forensics categories, but I excelled the most in Dramatic Interpretation, a category rife with the type of drama you can ramp up in less than 10 minutes: aborti...
Read MoreEggplant Mushroom Sushi-rrito
What is this thing? It's not sushi, though it's wrapped in seaweed. It's not a burrito, thought it encases a juicy filling of veggies and meatiness. And it's not a dolmade (wrapped grape leaves), though it has Mediterranean flavors. Whatever this ...
Read MoreStrawberry Lemon Thyme Sorbet with Balsamic Maceration
So I've just handed in the last revision of my novel, and I'm spent! Seven pages of notes, all internalized, analyzed, and folded gently into my 320-page manuscript. Now where is my drink? Writing a novel is very different than a blog. A novel is ...
Read MoreSkate with Tarragon Almond Oat Crust
In weight and mouthfeel, salmon is like steak. Cod is like chicken. And skate is like pulled pork -- juicy, stringy, and moist even if you don't know what you're doing. Of all the real-life edible sea monsters, skate is my favorite. It's hard to f...
Read MoreCinnamon Cereal Tea
You’ve heard of Momofuku’s cereal milk, Christina Tosi’s (brilliant) infusion of corn flakes, sugar and cream. Well this, dear friends, is cereal tea. Let us compare the two. Cereal milk tastes like the last dregs of your Lucky Charms. It is velou...
Read MoreBlueberry Lavender Pecan Granola
Julian and I come from different flower families. I grew up with jasmine, gardenia, plumeria, orchids, flowers that get sweeter and more lurid in the heat. Julian, on the other hand, comes from a flower family more "country inn" than "tropical hot...
Read MoreDessert Tasting Menu at Compose // On Storytelling
Summer, Woods, Kentucky, Chocolate Great food writing does not depend on the sophistication of your palate, or the restaurants on your “been there” list. Like all writing, it’s about mining the raw places. Where you're most vulnerable, impassioned...
Read MorePineapple Lemon Balm Sorbet with Pistachio Shortbread
Growing up, I thought lemon balm was really called Lemon Bomb. It overtook our vegetable beds and was more obnoxious weed than treasured herb. This sorbet makes an obnoxious herb into a well-mannered member of society. The pineapple works double d...
Read MoreBraised Rabbit with Mustard, Figs, Shallots & Toasted Quinoa
I wish rabbit could be my go-to protein, the way people have chicken breasts or pastrami or Slim Jims. But rabbit is rather hard to get at your neighborhood bodega. You might tell me that guinea pig is a close substitute to rabbit, but guinea pig ...
Read MoreTamari-Sesame Korean Yam Fries
I tend to have a contrarian streak. I cut my hair short in the winter, grow it long in the summer. I order fish at the steakhouse, and wear harem pants at the cocktail reception. So it is that during this painful heatwave, I'm in a weird vegetable...
Read MoreEddie Huang Dinner at LTO
Julian and I first met Eddie Huang at an Asian American Writers' Workshop reading, where he read alongside a NYTimes journalist, a spoken word poet, and a novelist. The chef stole the show. We later found out that Eddie is not only an inventive, c...
Read MoreKale & Carrot Salad with Parmesan Walnut Dressing
What would a rabbit like as his accompanying side dish? What can I fit into my work and social life? How can I use up this walnut oil? These are not rhetorical questions.On Friday, I’ll be making a Braised Rabbit with Whole Grain Mustard, Shallots...
Read MoreRaspberry Rose Sorbet with Litchi Yogurt Cream // A Cold Ispahan
Ice cream is typically not a place for subtlety. Cold dulls taste. That's why ice cream is perfect, and melted ice cream cloying. Ice creams are also seemingly designed for bold flavors -- chocolate chip cookie dough, butter pecan, rum raisin. Or ...
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