A few weeks ago Shef and I embarked on our summer holiday which consisted of a road trip to the Southwest (view photos here) bookended by two weekends in LA. The first weekend we went to my college friend Ben’s wedding (congrats again to Ben and Maria on a beautiful wedding and amazing food – mmmm hand made tortillas!). The second weekend in LA was for the expressed purpose of attending our friends Jacob and Sari’s eighth annual Brazilian churrasco. Again, Almir Santre brought his expertise and culinary talents to bare and served up delicious grilled meats of all varieties to a lovely and appreciative group of Sari and Jacob’s family and friends (in whose number we thank our lucky stars to be included). For those long time you-food readers (probably numbering in the single digits – sad but true) you might remember the description and back story of Jacob and Sari’s BBQ as written about in Food Weekend in LA. With the exception that everyone has gotten two years older, not much has changed except that the video you see below you is now in HD which means the juiciness of the meat comes through a little bit clearer. Sorry, no smellovision or tastovision… yet.
Alright, as promised, here’s the post about what we did after we watched the pig breakdown at Kokkari. Though this post is a week later than the previous one, in reality the events about which you will soon read and see an amazing video occurred a few days after our tutorial when the lesson and the excitement was still fresh. You see, we got our very own little pig to play with! And by “play with” I mean, butcher and cook delicious pig dishes out of. Hmm, that sounds a little messed up doesn’t it? Well anyway, it was fun and judging by the grunts and the way our friends’ eyes rolled back in ecstasy as they feasted on the meal we prepared, it was indeed delicious. Click on the photo below for the full story.
About a week and a half ago, Shef and I had the good fortune to escape the NYC winter and found ourselves applying the SPF in the Dominican Republic. It was an odd time to be there, coming as it was on the heels of the big earthquake in neighboring Haiti, but at least we could tell ourselves we weren’t staying in some big ass all inclusive resort. It was a short trip of five days so we didn’t have a chance to really explore the island but what we saw of it left us wanting to go back. It’s a beautiful country with complex and interesting history and we met some really friendly and engaging people. And thankfully as befits an island country with a rich tradition of cultural invasions, the food was good, homey and delicious. Click on the photo for the full story.
We didn't get to eat these but they sure looked fresh and delicious.
Two blog posts in one day. Wow. Don’t worry I won’t make a habit of it. I just wanted to get this done so I could move on to 2010 posts (coming soon in 2011). I really wanted to include some family meals as part of Memorable Meals, 2009 and fortunately we squeezed in some quality time with the fam this past Christmas so I got some extremely notable meals in just under the wire. And sure enough, as is normal with my family there was much cooking, eating and discussing the finer points of food, politics and culture. I won’t bore you with the culture and politics stuff (I have to admit, we spent a little too much time talking about Tiger Woods). I’ll just bore you with the food stuff. Click on the photo below for the full story (of what’s going on in that picture.)
Yes, yet another long lag since my last post. But fear not. Though I’ve neglected this blog, I haven’t neglected dear food or my enjoyment of it. Please enjoy this first installment in a three part (because really, aren’t the best stories told in trilogies?) account of a few of the more notable meals and food inspired gatherings of the latter part of 2009. Click on the snouts below for the full story of a delicious weekend in Pennsylvania.
And I’m back. It’s been a long but eventful 3 months but I’ve returned and am writing my first post as a married man. I feel different. Or it could be that I don’t have to suck in my gut anymore. Now that I’m hitched I can totally let myself go! Awesome. Something else that’s awesome: Turkey – the country. Shef and I were fortunate enough to spend our honeymoon there and fortunately for you, I’ve decided to write about it. So without further ado, I present to you…
Turkey, a country where Europe becomes Asia and East meets West is simply put – and I can say this having spent three whole weeks there on a honeymoon – a beautiful and captivating country, rich with culture and history… and kebabs, lots of kebabs.
Once again, I must ask forgiveness for the long lag. I am unexplectedly (over) employed so I haven’t had much time to devote to the ol’ blog. But more on this job later when I figure out how to merge the experience of working on this medical show to food – hmm, we are what we eat?
Anyway three weeks ago, I found myself jobless and in Hong Kong. It happened like this: My parents and my sister and her family had long been planning on going to HK to visit my grandmother. I’d just been back in October so I should spend the time “looking” for work. However in a quick conversation with my mom, she told me they were planning on getting a formal family portrait while in Hong Kong and maybe I should just check for cheap tickets. So, being the impulse buyer that I am I ended up getting a rather cheap ticket and convinced Shef to cancel her winter trip to Cali and come join the fam in HK. So there you have it. While it was a short trip, it was a sweet trip. In fact, it was pretty succulent and delicious. Check out the full story/ photo essay.
Alright you all. This post is decidedly anti “zone diet“. Don’t get me wrong, I adore protein and delicious meat, but this post and page is all about the carbs. Last month, I went back to the Bay for the holidays and came back to NYC bearing a very special gift. The gift of sourdough starter bequeathed to me so generously from Matt aka Dumpling King (though now I would also dub him The Earl of Sourdough). And since then, it’s fair to say I’ve been a little bit obsessed – obsessed with maintaining and tending the starter and baking the perfect sourdough loaf. I’m happy to say the maintenance of the starter is going pretty well, because I’m a nurturing kind of guy. The bread? Well I’m still working on that. Click on the image below for the full story behind the starter and my obsession with sourdough.
So first there was ‘shabu shabu’ and now there is ‘tum tum cheng’. Don’t you just love onomatopoeia!! Tum Tum Cheng relates to the sound of the drums and cymbals Lao monks use during worship. It is also the name of the restaurant and cooking school in beautiful Luang Prabrang where I spent one summer day learning the art of Lao cooking!
Alright you all. You’re in for a treat. My friends Simon and Jen recently went to Italy where they soaked in the old world culture and charm and basically engorged themselves with some of the most delicious food known to man and woman. But don’t take my word for it. Take theirs. Follow their gastronomic chronicles on their excellent travel blog. For a taste of what I’m talking about, click on this charming photo of Simon and Jen living la dolce vita for a riveting account of Simon’s interactions with some top grade Italian meat.
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