There are nights when I get home from a 12-hour shift and I'm as grubby as a toddler eating a grape popsicle while playing in a sandbox. Scrubs askew, messy bun no longer cute and now just looking like a rat's nest, my face permanently set into an irritated/exhausted wrinkly frown, with the whiff of a C-Diff patient room still lingering in my nostrils. The only cure is a scalding shower, wine and a dozen crab rangoons from Oriental Delight along with the usual order. No way in hellszebub am I ... continue reading...
Harissa Glazed Salmon with Jeweled Couscous
Berbere Spice Mix
We're calling it right now - 2018 is gonna be the year of Berbere. Last year it was Tograshi, the year before Sumac. The year before that I don't know, no one remembers anything from 2015 -- it was just too long ago and I didn't have Instagram back then. Berbere is this magical spice -- originally from Ethiopia, popularized by Marcus Samulesson, and beloved by all who have tasted it's seductive heat. There is SO. MUCH. FLAVOR. The slow burn from chiles, the bite of pepper and ... continue reading...
Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower Tacos
It's only recently that I’ve started to really appreciate cauliflower for the awesome bit of veg that it is. For the longest time I found it boring, pedestrian, and totally underwhelming. I sniffed at it and thought, “this is for vegetarians.” One day I bought it on a whim ‘cause I thought maybe I’d pickle it and see what happens. I didn’t pickle it. It lay forgotten in the crisper where it eventually got those brown age spots and the leaves got slimy and I hung my head ... continue reading...
Smoked Gouda Pimento Cheese
If I wrote a love song, it would probably be a ballad about Pimento Cheese. Remember that dee-lightful pub cheese that came in the fancy little glass jars? Your mom would buy it special and you'd smear it on triscuits with a very high cheese to cracker ratio? You'd have to cradle it gently so it wouldn't splat as it went from plate to mouth because it was extremely top-heavy and unstructurely sound. If it did manage to wobble away from your greasy little paws you would immediately drop ... continue reading...