One day, wanting to make use of some tofu and scallions in the fridge, I came up with this very simple stir-fry. Having just spent several weeks cooking from Grace Young’s cookbook The Breath of a Wok, I felt emboldened to improvise with what I had on hand.

Once you do some wok time with the recipes in The Breath of a Wok you begin to get into a wok rhythm, and to gain a (more…)

If you’ve got some rice, some water, and a saucepan you can cook rice. There’s no need for measuring cups and no need to measure the rice or water. All you need is your index finger.

I learned this freewheeling finger-in-the-pot method from Grace Young’s cookbook The Breath of a Wok, the current DCCC pick. To be honest, I’d come across the method previously in other Asian cookbooks, but it’s only now, after building my kitchen skills to their current level (due in part to this cookbook club) and with Young’s well-written and assuring book at my side, that I felt confident enough to leave my measuring cups in the cupboard. Once I took the leap of faith and made my first pot of rice this way, I felt liberated.

Besides being freeing, the method is also (more…)

Today Chinese people all over the world are enjoying the Lantern Festival, which marks the last day of the Chinese New Year season. The traditional food for the festival is Yuanxiao dumplings, made with sticky rice flour.

Instead of dumplings, I made a rice noodle dish found in the cookbook The Breath of a Wok by Grace Young. In an email, Grace had suggested it to me as a very auspicious New Year’s recipe to try. “The noodles symbolize (more…)

I once dated a Palestinian man. He taught me how to make a proper plate of hummus, and he introduced me to za’atar, which turned into a life-long love affair.

Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend made with the herb za’atar, sumac, sesame seeds, and salt (and sometimes (more…)

Introducing Guest Blogger Bhakti Ziek

I’m very happy to be introducing Bhakti Ziek to you. If you read my previous posting about Jewish Corn Bread, her name will be familiar to you.

Bhakti has her own blog (click here to go to it) where she writes about textiles, life, food, and more. More importantly, to this blog anyway, Bhakti is a member of the Dowdy Corners Cookbook Club. To accompany the authentic sour rye breads she planned to make for the latest DCCC potluck (for Secrets of a Jewish Baker), she honed and re-honed a delicious recipe for chopped liver. I asked if she’d be willing to share the recipe with DCCC readers. She said yes, and here it is. Thank you Bhakti. HJ

A Recipe for Chopped Liver

By Bhakti Ziek

We all have foods that we detested as children and love as adults—avocados top the list for me. For many people, liver fits the bill, though (more…)

This posting includes clear instructions for roasting a fine turkey for your Thanksgiving table, courtesy of David Leite. What it’s really about, though, is the stuffing. Because that is what everyone really wants, isn’t it?

Now that I’ve lured you in with the word stuffing, a word that always elicits anticipation among my family members and is the side dish that, no matter how much extra is made, always, sadly, seems to be depleted first, I should say that, technically, what follows are recipes for dressings, in that the turkey isn’t stuffed with them.

From Leite’s cookbook The New Portuguese Table, I’ve learned that the only thing better than one dressing is (more…)

This cocktail packs a double dose of fortified wines: vermouth and port. The port, added at the last directly to the cocktail glass, descends in a gorgeous red cloud before settling in the bottom of the glass.

A rough draft of this drink has been kicking around in my little black book of (more…)

This is Nigel Slater’s redo of clafoutis, a French rustic dessert that is traditionally made with cherries. Slater’s version is a good showcase for the flavor and color of blueberries: the amount of sugar doesn’t overwhelm their tart aspect, and the pretty blue juices of the berries stain the batter as they burst. The sides and bottom of the pudding, or quasi-custard, as you and I are more likely to think of it, form a nice golden brown crust. The center remains delicate with a near flan consistency.

Blueberry batter pudding is served (more…)

Filled with seasonal, locally grown strawberries and rhubarb, this galette recipe could be in the newest DCCC pick, Ripe, a gorgeous book devoted to 23 fruits and nuts. But it is not. I haven’t quite left Fat yet, the last DCCC pick. (The club seems to be on a trend of sensual, single word titles.)

After following author Jennifer McLagan’s method for preparing suet for use in pastry, found in Fat, I used it to make a pie. I fell in love with the crispy, flaky texture of the dough, and found it (more…)

Pork Fatback

I like lard. It gives a silky, luxurious texture to foods. (See my story on Thai stir-fried pork.) It has good keeping qualities and is stable when heated, making it an excellent choice for frying. According to Jennifer McLagan, author of the DCCC pick Fat, foods fried in lard absorb less oil than when fried in oil, making them crisper and, I suppose as a result, healthier. Lard, particularly leaf lard, is also prized for making pastry because its crystalline structure is said to create a very flaky dough.

Pork fat, I learned from McLagan, is good for us. It is mostly (more…)