dinner

Black Garlic Sauce with Spicy Beef and Tofu Stir-Fry

March 7, 2013
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Recently, I got my hands on some black garlic.  Isn’t it beautiful? I’d seen it listed in Asian recipes before, but never had the pleasure of meeting it face to…er…bulb.  When I first picked it up, I thought something was wrong.  Have you ever had garlic that’s gone bad, and it’s all soft and mushy?  […]

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iNG Restaurant: The Best F-iNG Meal of My Life

March 16, 2012

I’ve always managed to miss Chicago’s Restaurant Week. Somehow I’d never remember it until it was already occurring, and there’d be no reservations left at any of the places I wanted to go to.  I’d recover by making sure to get Chef Week reservations a few weeks later, but still felt I was missing out […]

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Balsamic Pork Chops with Cherry Sherry Sauce

January 31, 2012
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Some people get very excited about all things pork.  I’m not one of them.  Give me a juicy, tender pork chop, though, and I’m one happy girl! I love to marinate them in balsamic vinegar, as the sweet, rich flavor really enhances the meat, but sometimes I like the up the decadence factor another notch.  […]

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The Great Thanksgiving 2011 Recap!

November 26, 2011
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Turkey Day has come and gone, but before we move on to the next holiday, how ’bout a recap? Some of you might remember last year, when I cooked nothing for my family’s Thanksgiving feast. I was rather saddened by this, since, you know, I’m rather fond of cooking. When I’d asked my mom what […]

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Broiled Mussels with Chive Foam

August 1, 2011
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Here’s one of the recipes from my opera-themed cocktail party for my sister.  As I mentioned in that post, I recently got a molecular gastronomy kit.  That’s right… I’ve found the grown-up, edible version of the chemistry kit I so loved as a child.  For this recipe, I made a foam.  Flavored foams, or air as they’re […]

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Japanese Beer-Braised Beef Short Ribs with Mizuna Chips

March 12, 2011

When I’m craving warm, satisfying comfort food, “slowly braised short ribs” is like the dirtiest of dirty talk.  I want it, and I want it now. Spring may be around the bend, but I certainly wouldn’t say it’s “sprung.”  So until that happens, I’m still in need for some tender, falling-off-the-bone beefy goodness.  Aw man, […]

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Wine-Braised Baby Octopus with Saffron Polenta Cakes

December 10, 2010
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      Sometimes recipes start in the simplest of places.  In this case, it was a craving for polenta. Then, as many people do, I transformed that craving into a brainstorming session, thinking of something I could make with what I had on hand. From there the story gets weirder, yet more indicative of […]

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Jerk Chicken Pot Pie - Comfort Food with a Kick!

November 15, 2010

DISCLAIMER: I don’t like chicken pot pie.  Or, to rephrase, I’d never had one that I liked.  I find them bland, “blah”, a heavy goop in a dry, flavorless crust.  Every time I mention this though, someone chimes in, “Well, I like chicken pot pie a lot.”  Since I’m always up for a challenge, I […]

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Tamarind Prawns with Crispy Shallots and Garlic

June 23, 2010
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Tamarind is one of those things that always caught my eye at the market but never made it into my cooking. A few months ago I bought a package of frozen tamarind pulp, knowing that if it was taking up space in my not-so-spacious freezer, I’d have to use it eventually. Well, that day finally […]

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