Gailan with Oyster Sauce

Cookbook Club – All Under Heaven; Land of Fish and Rice For January’s Cookbook Club, we celebrated Chinese New Year with two cookbooks – All Under Heaven by Carolyn Phillips and Land of Fish and Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop. I chose the Gailan with Oyster Sauce. Go to my Cookbook Club site to see the…

Spicy Peanut Noodles

This was my aunt’s go-to dish for parties. I think it’s an Americanized version of a peanut noodle dish that probably originally called for egg noodles. But she always used spaghetti, which is so convenient because I always keep a package of dry spaghetti around. It’s a simple, make-ahead dish that people will rave about….

Korean Slaw

Korean slaw has all of the crunchy freshness of coleslaw, but with the spicy kick of kimchi (without having to wait for days of fermentation). It’s also great for using up bits and bobs of fresh veggies. I threw in some carrots and green beans because I happened to have some that needed using up,…

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Whenever I go out for Vietnamese food, I like to start my meal with Vietnamese Spring Rolls. They are fresh and crunchy, and a great vehicle for yummy dipping sauce. I learned from a Vietnamese friend that they’re actually pretty straightforward to make. The hardest part is getting the hang of working with the moistened…

Pickled Beet Stems

I hate wasting food. So when I roasted beets, I was happy to discover that I could use the beet greens to make pesto (find my Guessipe here). But it just uses the leaves, and even the idea of throwing out the beet stems bummed me out. Problem solved – pickled beet stems! Beet stems…

Turkey, Mashed Cauliflower, Gravy, Butterscotch Pudding

Cookbook Club – Thanksgiving For November’s Cookbook Club, we decided to do a Friendsgiving celebration. Instead of specifying a cookbook, we left it open to give everyone a chance to test run the recipes they planned to make for Thanksgiving. I had planned to make mashed cauliflower and gravy, but ended up also making turkey,…

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….

Deviled Eggs

My uncle makes these deviled eggs with bacon and cheddar cheese. They are fantastic. I’ve added a bit of Sriracha, which gives them an extra little kick. The deviled eggs are a hit at parties. People are always asking what’s in them. So here it is. Guessipe 12 eggs, boiled and peeled 1/2 cup mayonnaise…

Brains and Spiders (Cauliflower Olive Gratin)

Cookbook Club – Halloween For October’s Cookbook Club, we wanted to have a Halloween party, so instead of choosing a cookbook we just asked everyone to make something spooky-looking, creepy to eat, or otherwise Halloween themed. I made Brains and Spiders! AKA cauliflower and olive gratin. Go to my Cookbook Club site to see all…

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…

Miso-Glazed Eggplant

Cookbook Club – Lucky Peach Bonus Recipe The thing that I really liked about the Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes cookbook was that the recipes were so simple (see all the dishes from the Lucky Peach Cookbook Club event on my Cookbook Club site). The Miso-Glazed Eggplant sounded great, and epitomized simplicity. For…

Roasted Squash with Red Glaze

Cookbook Club – Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes For September’s Cookbook Club, we used Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes by Peter Meehan and the editors of Lucky Peach. I chose the Roasted Squash with Red Glaze. Go to my Cookbook Club site to see all the recipes we got to try…