There’s something magical about the way a well placed splash of acidity can brighten up a whole dish. And these pickled banana peppers are a great vehicle for taking so many meals from fine to OMG so good! Banana peppers get their name from their resemblance to bananas. They’re long and yellow and sometimes curve …
Appetizers and snacks
These days, I’m all for simple when it comes to cooking. But I still like food with big flavors, that doesn’t feel like it all came out of a boxed mix. And it’s tough to beat these ramen eggs (ajitsuke tamago) for matching their ease with their great flavor. They’re just boiled eggs that get …
Hummus is such a simple mix of ingredients. When stripped down to the essentials, it’s really just chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. The word “hummus” means “chickpeas” in Arabic. And people have been swiping bread through similar versions of this mixture for centuries. Because when it works, it works. But homemade hummus can be …
It’s not hard to make a good latke. I mean, they’re fried crispy potato cakes–what’s not to like? But these curried sweet potato latkes are so good. Especially if you, like me, have a soft spot for Indian flavors. And while latkes are classic for Hanukkah, they certainly don’t need to be limited to that …
These cranberry lapsang poached apples taste like the essence of fall. They are at once familiar and surprising, a sweet apple with no cinnamon to be found. And yet there are still warming, fragrant spices in the form of allspice and fresh ginger. Lapsang souchong tea infuses the apples with a subtle smokiness, like a whiff …
I have a funny relationship with popcorn. I can go for long stretches without making it, during which time I almost forget about it completely. And then all of a sudden I have a craving for it, pull the container of forgotten kernels from the back of the kitchen cabinet, pop a batch on the …