From the holidays to summer parties, potlucks are a common practice to easing the burden of hosting large groups of people. Given that so many people are either incompetent cooks, thoughtless jerks or just plain lazy, often potlucks end up with too many chips, dessert and cheap beer and not enough genuinely delicious food. Be…
Category: Recipes
Everything You Need to Know About Garlic
Long ago, my mom used to tell me that you could make just about anything taste good with enough garlic. As with many things, my mother was exactly right. Today, when my friends come to me for cooking advice, I often tell them not to cook with garlic entirely. After all, you can’t really be…
10 Things To Improve Your Roasted Turkey
I don’t do lists. They go against everything I believe about reading and writing. But in this case, I want to be helpful and cognizant of the schedule of my readers during this very busy week (and holiday season). So here we are and without further ado. Don’t make a turkey.They’re the least delicious and…
On Miso, Briefly
Everyone is talking about miso these days—the Japanese salty fermented paste usually made from soybeans. Although the purported health benefits alone are headline grabbing on a weekly basis, I don’t wish to discuss or debate that here. At best, it appears medical science has a lot more to study before we can be certain of…
Galician-Style Grilled Octopus (With Easy and Vegetarian Preparation Options)!
The first time I had this Galician-style dish was many years ago in Sevilla. There, it was served with boiled potatoes and braised octopus. Although delicious, it was a bit too traditional. One problem that traditional cuisines often face is that they’re too rooted in tradition. That is to say, they could use some modern cooking techniques, informed by our contemporary understanding of food science. I’ve done that here.
Spaghetti alla marinara con gamberetti e cozze
No one really knows where marinara comes from, but according to folk histories, the wives of sailors would prepare marinara for their husbands returning from the sea. As a result, it seems fitting that I include some delicious seafood in this recipe, keeping with tradition. Have a question? Ask me anything! Ingredients – Serves Four…
A Taste of Zen: Unpenjiru
My experience with the cuisine of Buddhist monks started on a week-long mediation retreat many years ago in the country side of Central Massachusetts. To say the least, the food was not the main draw. Luckily, I didn’t let that discourage me from future indulgence. Years later, while on a stressful, month-long trip through Southern…
Trial, Error, Music and Cooking
Music is an endless fount of metaphor and inspiration across all areas of life. As philosopher Dan Dennett once observed, “Music is unique to our species, but found in every human culture.” There are few things more natural to us and few things that I’m personally more passionate about than music (perhaps food can be…
A Quick Guide to Dashi
Dashijiru, or “dashi” for short, is the all-purpose Japanese soup stock and is among the pillars of Japanese cuisine. The reason for this is that it’s a veritable (and relatively neutral tasting) umami bomb, which can turn up the volume of flavors on just about any dish (not just Japanese ones) in the right proportions (more…
Marinara: The Recipe
A thorough, step-by-step guide to making incredible marinara.
Sanjay Keswani 