Mar 23
We ventured out for groceries mid-day today and stocked up on staples. This was several hours before Washington’s Governor put the state on stay at home orders. Julian put a rack of ribs into the cart and decided to smoke them for dinner tonight. He used the tried and true recipe with a homemade western …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/03/23/tonights-festive-repast/
Mar 22
Washington is in near lockdown, as are many other states, due to Covid-19. Restaurants and bars are closed except for takeout. (“Hey, bartender, I need a Malayan Fog Cutter to go.”) Schools, community centers, and gyms are closed. Events are canceled. Hospitals and nursing homes are limiting or prohibiting visitors. Elective surgeries are canceled to …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/03/22/the-new-abnormal/
Mar 08
We live less than three miles from the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Washington. Responses of locals range from que sera, sera to full-tilt freakout. I’m trying to hew to a middle path. My primary concession to the outbreak is to drive to work rather than take the bus on days when I don’t …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/03/08/life-and-food-in-the-time-of-covid-19/
Mar 07
When one has nearly 600 cookbooks, you can go for a while without cracking the spine of a few. Others are used regularly. Then there are the ones that I refer to by the author’s first name. Some of them depend on the context. Here are a few cookbooks to which I refer that way: …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/03/07/first-name-basis/
Feb 23
Las Vegas has a variety of Italian restaurants on the Strip, mostly of the yupscale, celebrity chef genre where a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs will set you back at least $50. (Friends, real Italian meatballs are NOT made from ground Wagyu beef.) One of my classmates who spends winters outside the city organized a …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/02/23/feeding-the-red-sauce-need-in-vegas/
Jan 16
Most kugels will stick to your ribs and thighs in perpetuity. The noodles or potatoes are bound together with mass quantities of cheese and eggs, then baked. There may be some raisins or other fruit in the recipe, but the net effect is high fat with a little starch thrown in. When faced with what …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/01/16/a-lighter-kugel/
Jan 05
I never had a slow cooker. So getting a sous vide took some getting used to. Julian found a recipe on the Chef Steps website for braised short ribs that required 24 hours of cooking. Because zipper freezer bags aren’t made for high heat, I double-bagged the ingredients. I had to cover the pot with …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/01/05/serious-slow-cooking/
Jan 04
For a change, we hosted the New Year’s Eve celebration. It was low-key and broke up well before midnight. (Blame my farm girl genes and my 5:30 am swim for that.) The menu was paella with chicken and Spanish chorizo, sous vide parsnips, salad, crusty bread, and chocolate cake. As an appetizer, I made bacon …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/01/04/new-year-new-gemisches/
Jan 02
Julian got me a sous vide stick and cookbook for Christmas. This particular device is made by Chef Steps, a Seattle-based company that was recently acquired by Breville. The principle of sous vide is to cook food at a lower temperature for a longer period of time in a water bath. The temperature is high …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/01/02/sous-vide-on-the-sammamish/
Dec 22
The big buzz in the apple world these days is the Cosmic Crisp, a variety developed by Washington State University. This is its debut season in grocery stores. It’s a daughter to the ubiquitous Honeycrisp variety. We were shopping yesterday when we saw a display of Cosmic Crisps. Julian said, “Why don’t you try one and …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/12/22/cosmic-crisp-critique/
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