I play with the sauce first by taking a modest taste on my fork, then twirling a bit of potato in it for that taste experience and finish with a crumb of bread before piercing the egg to begin the slow flow of the yolk giving the sauce its final caress. It’s moments like this that make you look over the table and quietly ask your dining partner, “How was it for you?”.
Those in the know in Seattle who crave authentic Italian-style cured meats know to head down to Pioneer Square to a tiny storefront where they can find the best cured meats in town made by Mario Batali’s father, Armandino.
I remember living in Singapore as a child and how distinct the culture there was, with influences from the British, Malaysians, ethnic Chinese and Indians. Even though English was the official language, people who lived there spoke many languages. And the ambience was so vibrant…along with the food. One of my favorite foods was Indian: Tandoori, samosas, curries. That memory of Singapore made me crave Indian food. So when it came time to figure out what I was going to make for dinner, samosas came to mind.
What would I prepare for my dad to eat if I could have that opportunity? I think he would love some Tex-Mex Cheese and Onion Enchiladas and a cold cerveza.
My father loved food as much as I do. He also loved music, fishing and his family. I asked my two older sisters, who enjoyed much more time with him than I, for their recollections. Marlene, my senior sis, the oldest since we’re all technically “seniors”, wrote: “The things I remember about the food he liked is that there was nothing he would not eat. Remember, this was the Depression era.”
Aunt Noi pulls out a bag and says she brought a snack for us. Next we notice her setting out several small covered bowls, a couple of spoons and a larger container of a stack a bright green leaves. She explains, as she’s opening the containers, that she’s brought a surprise that I’ve probably never had before. As I look over the contents of the bowls — crushed peanuts, dried shrimp, small lime pieces, garlic, chiles, toasted coconut, shallots and a thick sauce — I ask, “Is this Miang Kham?”
The next time you’ve got company or are craving something a little different for breakfast, try making an omelette with some chopped shallots and chives in the beaten egg, and stuff the omelette with gravlax, cream cheese and capers. Yummy! Omelettes are so versatile. I’ve stuffed them with tater tots and sausage; tomatoes, bell peppers, bacon and cheese; crab and cocktail sauce; roasted peppers and beans. Heck. Be brave. Dream it up and just stuff it in an omelette and try it out. You may be surprised where your imagination leads your tastebuds!
Gravlax hors d’oeuvres are easy to make as well as tasty. So take a walk on the wild side and make your own gravlax. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is. This post includes step-by-step instructions as well as photos.
Mussels are one of those seafood dishes that you have to be careful about when serving company. Many people object to their strong flavor and aroma. Charles and I love them, however, and we were once talking about our favorite ways to cook mussels when my mother, Pranee, told me about a dish she cooked at a now-defunct restaurant in Houston called Renu’s. It was simply mussles that had been steamed in water infused with lemongrass and it was served with a dipping sauce that Thais commonly use for seafood: a mixture of fish sauce, lime and chopped chilis.
Our first year was not only bumpy from flying by the seat of our pants, but we experienced some highs that were unexpected. In March, Saveur Magazine honored us by including The Taste of Oregon as one of the five best regional food blogs in their food blog contest. We’ve taken you almost everywhere we go in our enjoyment of living in Oregon: deep-sea salmon fishing, clamming, crabbing, and of course, wine tasting. Here’s to a wonderful first year.
If a kalua piggy went to Phuket for a vacation, I figure he’d end up soaked in coconut milk, curry, and then surrounded by chunks of onion and pineapple before being wrapped in banana leaves and taken for a walk over hot coals. Forget digging a hole in your back yard to do this. No need to ruin the landscape. I’ve figured out how to do this in a Weber kettle charcoal grill. The lawn and roses get to live another day! Serve with a Thai satay-style peanut sauce to top it off.
The idea of pairing bacon and fish had never occurred to me until Charles and I tasted the fillet mignon of ahi encrusted with bacon at Atlantic restaurant in Baltimore. The memory of that meal inspired me to create this dish using Oregon albacore tuna. I’ve always loved the taste of pomegranate so I’ve incorporated it into a red wine and balsamic reduction as a sauce that goes perfectly with the tuna and greens.
If I lived by a culinary clock, pea shoots would herald the arrival of spring and corn would signal that summer had finally come. We love corn on the cob but also in a Succotash, where the combination of corn with other vegetables can add flavor as well as variety. For an Asian twist, I add edamame (soybeans).
Peaches are among those juicy-sweet fruits that one eats hand to mouth with abandon, risking its abundant sweet nectar’s dribbling all over you and your clothing. It’s just you and the peach becoming one, oblivious to the rest of the world.
My mother knew how to stretch a penny and on many occasions canned salmon came to our family table in the form of salmon patties. That would be “sall-mon” in our home with a distinct and noticeable lean on the letter “l”.
This tasted nothing like the salmon I have come to love in the Pacific Northwest. My mother’s salmon patties were tasty enough with some mayonnaise, onions, spices and an egg to hold it all together but the taste difference between those patties and fresh, line-caught salmon is like night and day. WOW!
A few weeks ago, during a warm spell and a flash of inspiration, as well as a flashback to my childhood in Bangkok, I was inspired to make lemongrass soda. This weekend, with my 46th birthday party looming, I made some more of the lemongrass simple syrup to serve, but instead of just splashing it into soda over ice, I decided to shake things up a little and experiment with adding the lemongrass syrup to gin, shaking it in a cocktail shaker and serving it in a martini glass garnished with a kaffir lime leaf. YUMMY!
Why had I not thought of this before?
Nam prik pao, a thick sauce made of ground-up roasted chilis, soybean oil, palm sugar, fish sauce, ground-up dried shrimp and shallots, has one of those unmistakable flavors. Literally translated, the name means roasted chili water. It’s a sauce that I grew up loving — believe it or not — on toast. Mom’s version of chicken and cashew nuts uses this delicious sauce, giving this Chinese dish a uniquely Thai twist.
Austin, Texas is the self-proclaimed Migas Capital of the Southwest and is certainly deserving. I have warm memories of lingering over a brunch of migas and aguas frescas with many of my dear friends in Austin, and I depend on them to lead me to the best table there. Well, I’m not in Austin, so I’ll just crank up my Oregonian Tex-Mex mojo.
It doesn’t happen frequently, but every now and then I just can’t bear to eat another meal of chicken, beef, pork or seafood. On those occasions when Mom’s in charge of the meal and asks what we want for dinner, I’ll say Kang Chup Chay, or our family’s version of a hearty Asian-style vegetable stew.
Beaver brand, made by Oregon-based and family-owned Beaverton Foods, is the largest producer of non-refrigerated horseradish and specialty mustards in the U.S. The company also makes a wide variety of best-selling gourmet sauces, garlic, spices, and other unique specialty condiments packaged under these labels: Beaver, Inglehoffer, Napa Valley and Tulelake.
