Jan 27
Last night’s French dinner left us with a variety of leftovers. So what to do? Make a casserole from the odds and ends. This is what we call a gemisch. I got out the leftover brown rice, chicken thighs, cooked leeks, and chicken broth out of the refrigerator. I also got a partial bottle of …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/01/27/the-joy-of-gemisch/
Sep 18
Like most kids, I abhorred beets. Occasionally my school would serve “Harvard beets” as a side dish with lunch. I resolved that if Harvard served those beets, I’d never attend it. (Never mind that Harvard’s undergraduate program was all-male at the time.) As years have passed, I’ve developed a more positive attitude toward beets, but …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/09/18/basic-beet-salad/
Jan 13
But you can’t take the lab out of the scientist. Although I haven’t worked in a lab for over 15 years, I still use my scientific chops in the kitchen when I cook or bake. Do the background research. Back in the day, I’d pull research articles and evaluate the methods and results. Now I …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/01/13/you-can-take-the-scientist-out-of-the-lab/
Nov 05
I’m not much for baking cookies. If I do bake cookies, it’s brownies or some other bars. I don’t remember the last time I made drop or shaped cookies – until today. I found a recipe for double ginger crackles in my file from Fine Cooking magazine and decided it was time to bake some …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/11/05/cookies/
Oct 28
Although paella is a party recipe at heart, we have made it for just the two of us. Sometimes it’s just chicken and sausage, other times it’s seafood. Today we were on our usual caffeine run downtown when the question of dinner came up, as it always does. Julian suggested paella, so I did a …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/10/28/paella-para-dos/
Aug 09
Cucumber salads are a regular feature at dinner here. I often make one to balance a heavier main dish. They require no heat, so you can make them when the temperature’s well over 90°. They can also help keep you hydrated on hot days, since cucumbers are mostly water. Cucumber salads are ubiquitous among cuisines, …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/08/09/the-multipurpose-cucumber-salad/
Mar 05
When we order Chinese food, we almost always get hot and sour soup as a starter. It provides a good preview of the restaurant’s quality. A good hot and sour soup will have the tang of vinegar with heat from white or black pepper (not chiles). Unfortunately, many restaurants make the soup hours ahead and …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/03/05/hot-and-sour-soup-worth-slurping/
Dec 22
I’d thawed some boneless pork loin chops for dinner earlier in the week. We also had leftover sauerkraut and fresh cabbage. These ingredients whispered in my ear: Eastern Europe. Off I went to the cookbooks. I found a recipe for pork chops with mustard and cornichon pan sauce from Pierre Franey’s More 60-Minute Gourmet. I …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/12/22/one-hit-one-miss/
Nov 30
Along with cranberry orange relish and two loaves of bread, I made applesauce on Thanksgiving. It did not go to our friends’ house. A day or so later Julian asked, “What did you do to this batch of applesauce?” Usually when he asks a question like that about one of my creations, it’s because he …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/11/30/the-apogee-of-applesauce/
Oct 14
We’re in the midst of what could be a serious rain/windstorm for the next few days, the remnants of a typhoon. I got some hamburgers out of the freezer for dinner last night. The last thing I wanted to do was to stand on the upper deck in the rain and grill them. So I …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/10/14/picadillo/
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