And I don’t mean eat lots of dark and leafy greens, although they can be delicious, and hearty. I mean, why don’t you make a bit of tomatillo salsa to have in the fridge? My condiment of choice this week has been this salsa, to have on top of just about anything.
Sure, we all know the typical chips and salsa pairing, and it’s great– a standard. But as an accoutrement to chicken cutlets, pounded, aggression-releasing, with a kitchen mallet, then dredged and fried in crisp cornmeal, what could be better? Or what about baked, as the liquid to savory Mexican-style rice, sound good? I haven’t thought of a way to incorporate the salsa into a dessert, but give me a bit of time.
Tomatillos, the star of this condiment, are like tomatoes, in that they are members of the nightshade family; but that is where the [...]

Well, Jack Frost was not really nipping at my nose this holiday season. It’s been surprisingly warm here in New York, but I still felt the need to get into the holiday spirit. What better way to get into that spirit than with fresh, straight-from-the-oven, roasted chestnuts? And they really couldn’t be any easier to make.
I had eaten chestnuts, fresh from the shell once before as a child. I had taken winter holiday with my family in England. We were out for an evening stroll at a holiday fair, the air was bitter cold, my nose was turning rosy from the temperature, and my hands were jammed into my dad’s pockets. (His hands were always warm, no matter the temperature outside.) My dad stopped to buy a little glassine bag of chestnuts, that truly were roasting over an open fire. Quickly [...]

Vintage Cheddar and Red Onion Chutney.Oven Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme.Peking Duck and Hoisin Sauce.Thai Sweet Chili.Smoky Bacon.No, these are not elements that made up an outrageous and unique Thanksgiving dinner served at my house. They are flavors of crisps, or chips, as they are more commonly known as in the United States.
My brother-in-law is English, so whenever he and my sister travel to the U.K. to visit family, I always have a few requests to be filled. Marks and Spencer underwear, because they make VPL moot; British milk chocolate, so smooth and creamy; and of course, crunchy crisps, so delightfully bizarre. And this year they delivered.
Compared to the Brits, our Classic, BBQ, Sour Cream and Onion, and if you get really racy, Ranch Style, seem so tame. Now that is not to say that roast chicken flavor chips, chock full of preservatives, brimming with salt [...]

Perhaps some of you may have noticed that my postings have been less frequent as of late. Well, I haven’t found a new love, nor have I had a baby, nor have I won the lottery. The big news is that as of August 1st, I will no longer be a resident of the balmy Bay Area. My husband and I will be moving to New York City.
Anyone who has made the cross-country move knows what I mean when I say, “It’s a giant pain in the ass!” With packing up belongings, finding a place to live, waiting for the said belongings to reach NYC, etc., it’s going to be a little difficult to get around to cooking, and to blogging. As I pack away my pots and pans, I think about favorite dishes that have been made with them. Having been born and raised in the Bay Area with [...]