This is a dish I devised for a dinner special for this past Saturday night at the restaurant where I work as chef.

It is a fusion of Moroccan flavors and ingredients with the idea and style of a French Salade Nicoise, which is a composed salad of oil-packed tuna, boiled eggs, green beans, black olives and often, boiled potatoes, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and anchovies and arranged artfully over a bed of crisp greens.

My version is poached chicken, blanched green beans and artichoke hearts,  marinated in the dressing of preserved lemon, lemon juice, cumin, harissa, roasted red pepper, garlic, dill, cinnamon, and olive oil, and arranged over crisp greens with black olives, cherry tomatoes, cubed feta and toasted pine nuts. Extra dressing is served on the side in a cup, and the whole salad is garnished with little scallion brushes and tiny tomato lotus blossoms.

It turned out to be a very beautiful supper salad, perfect for those who are repenting for holiday indulgences of the gustatory kind. It is quite satisfying without being heavy or unhealthy, and I think that I will probably refine the dressing slightly and offer the dish again, particularly in the summer months.

Recipe, story of how this inspiration came to be, and porny photos here.

 Homemade New England Clam Chowdah




 

This week the family asked for something Southwestern for Sunday dinner.  I was flummoxed. I'm not a huge Southewestern/Tex-Mex chef (a pot of chipotle chili is the most I typically do), though I do like to eat it occasionally.  And so after much rumination, I came up with the following meal:

Roasted pepper, corn and chicken chowder
with
Monterey Jack cheese and sun-dried tomato quick bread

This year for Christmas I was delighted to receive a Le Cuistot Pasta Maker and Mincer from my step-mom. The only thing is that it didn't come with a recipe book of any sort. (Nor can I find a manufacturer website at all anywhere online.)  So I come to you guys for opinions, reviews, and recipes. Mostly recipes though, lol. A friend once did make me some homemade pasta from Jamie Oliver's cookbook (I think?), but I haven't talked to her lately, and I am not sure at all where the recipe came from.

Thanks a ton :)

Hello pornistas!

I have a question. I am having a small dinner party on Friday night. For dessert, I am thinking about making these Mexican chocolate souffles. I have never made souffles before, and it seems like a simple recipe, but I am wondering about a timing thing. I don't want to be off in the kitchen beating egg whites while my guests sit around. Could I prepare the souffles all the way up through baking them earlier in the day, store all the custard cups in the fridge and then pop them in the oven 25 minutes or so before we plan to eat dessert? Or will the extra time sitting screw up the souffle? Is there another way I could some steps in advance?

Thanks for the advice!

Real chocolate lovers never do mix, didn't you know that? They're not afraid of a little richness, either, and sometimes they even spice it up a little. At least I know I do, which is why today, while watching the crazy January weather from my kitchen window, I whipped up a piping pot of real Mexican hot chocolate.

first post ^_^

i made rose and vanilla spiral cookies today, thought i'd share some pics because they're pretty, een if they didn't taste as good as i hoped

hi guys.

i was wondering if you could tell me where to find cashew cheese and tempeh? i only have one other friend who enjoys vegan cuisine, and she is unreachable at the moment. i'm kind of new to vegan food. i mean, my favorite restaurant for the past four or five months IS vegan, but i've never actually considered making it myself until now. i live in LA, so if you also live here, please give me some stores i should check out.

thank you :)

sorry in advance if i've asked something that isn't allowed. you may delete if necessary.

I am currently working as a manager at Wendy's, so by the time that I get home from work, I either a) don't feel like cooking or b) it's too late to cook anyway... currently I've been doing the closing shifts, so I'm not getting home till 1, 2 in the morning, sometimes later.


But, recently I've been missing cooking, and been trying to get back into it. And luckily, today I had the day off- so I decided to try and tackle my boyfriend's dad's humbly called "World Famous Beef Stew."

( Bill's World Famous Beef Stew )