Following the theme in my previous post of the chicken and the egg together in a pot, here’s a similar savory, warm, and beguiling herald to Spring. Called avgolemeno, meaning literally egg and lemon, it’s a classic of Greek cooking that can be either a sauce or a soup. I first came across avgolemeno in … Continue reading Avgolemeno Sauce
Asian peanut chili sauce is a marvel of global cookery: two New World staples, peanuts and chilies, combined with lime juice and ancient nam pla (fish sauce) in an energetic sauce for dipping or dressing. Peanuts, the main ingredient, are a New World ground nut that wended its way from South America to Africa to Asia and across the … Continue reading Peanuts and Chiles in an Asian Sauce
In the long and varied history of preserving, the sweet/tart/spicy delectation of the American groaning board called bread and butter pickles is an inspired offering. It probably derives from the British tradition of tea sandwiches, an ever-popular version being slices of cucumber between slices of buttered bread, maybe with a sprig of watercress. It is … Continue reading Bread and Butter Pickles
The capsicums are a large family of vegetables that includes bell peppers and their chile pepper cousins of many sizes, flavors, and colors. At the turn of the season from summer to fall, mirroring the change in foliage elsewhere in the landscape, they transmogrify to vivid hues from yellow/oranges to bright reds. Mild bells and spicy … Continue reading Red Capsicum Marmalade
Asian vendors displaying fresh ginger root in my farmers’ market these days led me to remember ginger growing in our Hawaiian garden when I was an adolescent. In tropical climes, it’s a becoming landscape plant, and I was fascinated both by its beautiful flowers and its potential inside for the kitchen and medicine cabinet. (Ginger … Continue reading Ginger: Savory and Sweet
Casting about for a way to glamorize a turkey preparation, my gaze fell upon a bunch of plump, seeded purple grapes I had purchased at the farmers’ market. I like the seeded varieties for their winy flavor and crunchy seeds, and I thought of the Italian delicacy mostarda, a specialty condiment of Northern Italy. It … Continue reading Grape Mostarda
I love cabbage in all ways, from kim chee’d to slawed to concannon-ed to butter-braised. Sauerkraut is one of the finest incarnations. I learned how to make it from my New Mexico born-and-raised mother, who learned it from a German friend when she and my father were living in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Mom, an intrepid traveler … Continue reading Homemade Sauerkraut
Barbecue chicken is an American classic of summertime cooking. Sauce variations abound, of course. In my latest favorite rendition of a previous and abiding favorite, an adaptation of the American classic based on Heinz tomato ketchup and Wesson oil, vegetable oil is swapped for extra virgin olive oil, ballpark mustard is replaced with Dijon, molasses … Continue reading Romancing Summer: All-American Homemade BBQ Sauce for Chicken, etc.
In 1838, a vinegar-based condiment sauce tempered with molasses, soy sauce, and an eccentric amalgam of other global flavors appeared on the market: Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. The blend was inspired by a customer recently returned from India who requested the Lea and Perrins pharmacy in his native Worcester in Britain to duplicate the … Continue reading Worcestershire Sauce Visited
Today’s post has a Catalan theme because my son, Jenan Wise, has taken up residence in Barcelona, Spain, to use it as a launch pad for traveling around and seeing the world from the European perspective while he continues to work with his startup company via the internet. He is a computer scientist with a … Continue reading Thinking on Catalonia, Exploring Barcelona, and a Recipe for Zarzuela
The Wise Kitchen 