My mom taught me this awesome trick to make broccoli a gorgeous color and great crunchy texture. You basically throw it into boiling water, then immediately pull it out and run it under cold water. Then you can quickly stir-fry it over high heat to infuse whatever flavors you’d like – I like these spicy…
Tag: Olive Oil
Greek Salad
I like a Greek Salad because it’s got great crunch and body, but also feels hearty, probably because of the feta. It’s easy to throw together, and keeps well as it’s another one of those salads with no lettuce to get soggy in the dressing. You can use whatever kinds of cucumbers and tomatoes you…
Avocado Pasta
Did you know that Compton used to be a giant avocado grove? I didn’t. My friend lives there, and she has one of the remaining avocado trees. It is the most epic avocado tree I have ever seen. Huge, with giant incredibly delicious avocados to match. Every year around avocado season, I try to make…
Chili Garlic Snap Peas
I always loved it when my mom made snap peas, because the snap peas are barely touched by heat so they stay nice and crunchy. I think lots of people grow up hating veggies because they are frequently over-cooked and under-seasoned. Chinese veggie dishes tend to be only slightly cooked so they maintain their flavor…
Coffee Braised Pork
When you slow-cook pork in a delicious braising liquid, two awesome things happen – the pork becomes so tender it literally falls apart, and the meat absorbs all the juiciness and flavor of the liquid. When that liquid is coffee… it’s magical. If you dry rub pork with coffee grounds then braise it, you’re basically…
Lettuce-less Salad
Sometimes salad kinda bums me out, because even a big bowl of it seems like it’s mostly air. Plus it doesn’t keep well as leftovers once you’ve put the dressing on – nobody likes soggy, wilting lettuce leaves. So this lettuce-less salad is awesome, because it’s a hearty salad you can really dig into. I…
Sesame Snow Pea Salad
Often snow peas come pre-packaged in a one-pound bag, so when I buy them to use in my Creamy Pea Salad (go here for the Guessipe), I end up with quite a lot leftover. I was looking for something other than stir-fry to do with them, and came up with a sesame salad that makes…
Pesto
Pesto is ideal for a Guessipe, because it’s pretty flexible. While pesto is traditionally made with basil, you can substitute with parsley, cilantro, carrot greens, radish greens, beet greens, and probably others! You can also use walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, or pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts. In this Guessipe I used walnuts and…
Brussels Sprouts Salad
Brussels sprouts have become so trendy that it seems like every restaurant has them on the menu, usually roasted and often with some sort of sweet glaze like balsamic or maple. But I never saw them raw, and began to wonder if you could serve them that way. They do after all resemble tiny cabbages….
Breakfast Toasts
I am torn about the fact that “Toasts” have become a thing in LA restaurants. On the one hand, I quite enjoy them. On the other hand, I think it’s absurd to pay $12-$15 for what really amounts to a dressed-up bit of something on a slice of bread, especially when that something is often…
Roasted Radishes
Awhile ago, I had a roasted vegetable board at one of the many LA restaurants that serve locally sourced, seasonal produce. Most of the veggies were pretty standard for roasting – bell peppers, squash, broccolini. But there was one thing on the board that it took me a minute to figure out. Turns out it…
Chimichurri
One of the things I like best about eating at Argentinean restaurants has always been the chimichurri. Instead of butter or olive oil, chimichurri is usually served with the bread as you wait for your meal to arrive. And once the grilled meats appear (which is usually what you’d be eating at an Argentinean place),…