Travel Episode 4: All About Saffron (Recipe: Chard Stems with Saffron and Cream)

This week I do a little brain dump about saffron, a treasured ingredient that feels fitting for spring. How to buy, what to cook with it, and so on. Plus an easy saffron recipe. Ambient noise of the week: subway. (Sorry.)

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Travel Episode 3: Quick Koosa Mahshi (Syrian Stuffed Squash…That’s Not Stuffed)

Your host is a little spaced out this week, but luckily it’s a quick and easy meal, learned from a Syrian doctor and single mom: a fast way to get all the satisfying flavor of much more labor-intensive stuffed squash. Pair it with rice and yogurt for an easy lunch or dinner.

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Travel Episode 2: Turkish Eggplant and Green Peppers, plus Yogurt-Cucumber Salad

A short episode, for a very simple but surprisingly satisfying vegetable dish, optionally made heartier with lentils. From the Aegean coast of Turkey — but, honestly, from the Turkish Airlines inflight magazine! Eat as a side dish, or as a full meal with rice and a little yogurt-cucumber salad.

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Travel Episode 1: Egyptian Koshari

Cooking for virtual travel, starting with a little trip to Egypt through koshari, a combo of rice, lentils and pasta, topped with a tangy tomato sauce and crispy fried onions. It’s hearty and nourishing, with garlicky zing. No sides this time, just pickled peppers and fresh cucumbers.

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Quarantine Episode 8: Pie Crust and Quiche

A bit of a hybrid episode, focusing mostly on how to make a pie crust, plus a little about quiche. There’s a lot of misinformation in pie crust tips and recipes — this episode covers all I’ve learned in three decades.

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Quarantine Episode 7: Moroccan-Style Lentils and Raw Beet Salad

Lentils with Moroccan spices are incredibly good and simple, and they stand up to a lot of substitutions. Alongside, a raw beet salad makes a sweet, crunchy counterpoint. Sound quality on this is pretty rough — our kitchen has been inhabited by a mysterious hum!

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Quarantine Episode 6: Pork Schnitzel with German Cucumber Salad and Some Potatoes

Schnitzel, cutlets, tonkatsu, milanesa: thin, breaded pan-fried cuts of meat are fun to make. Serve with a sweet-creamy cucumber salad and buttery potatoes (TBH, a little bit of an afterthought!). Yes, this episode is a sonic nightmare, and we’re slipping behind schedule, but oh well, aren’t we all?

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