Monthly Archives: June 2023

Exploring Southern Oregon: Alchemy Restaurant and The Winchester Inn

Posted on by Leave a comment
The "Chef's Alchemy'' farm-fresh dish at Alchemy in Ashland.
The “Chef’s Alchemy” farm-fresh dish at Alchemy in Ashland.

Ashland, OR. — Its moniker may be inspired by San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House because of its expansion in fits and starts over the years, but unlike its namesake the Winchester Inn is as far from kitschy and haphazard as it gets.

Instead, this stately Victorian inn boasts not only real history, but beautifully appointed rooms and suites, as well as a critically acclaimed restaurant on site, Alchemy, that has been honored with a Wine Spectator “Best of Award of Excellence.”

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited to stay and dine there as a guest of Travel Oregon.

The original owners were inspired to name the inn after San Jose's Winchester Mystery House.
The original owners were inspired to name the inn after San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House.

Comprised of a series of historic homes, the inn’s main house was actually the first hospital in Southern Oregon. Back then, it was located on Main Street. But in 1910, it was moved up the hill to its current S. Second Street location.

Read more

Salt and Pepper Tater Tots — A Guilty Pleasure If There Ever Was One

Posted on by 2 comments
Salt and pepper tater tots are sure to be your new guilty pleasure.
Salt and pepper tater tots are sure to be your new guilty pleasure.

If you had told me that one day I’d be stir-frying tater tots, I would have called you “crazy.”

But crazy can be mighty good.

And these sure are.

Put your disbelief aside, do yourself a favor, and make these “Salt and Pepper Tater Tots.”

If you’ve ever enjoyed the warm aromatics of Chinese salt and pepper shrimp or salt and pepper spare ribs, then you know the taste sensation you are in for.

This delightful recipe is from “Tenderheart” (Alfred A. Knopf), of which I received a review copy.

It’s the newest cookbook by Hetty Lui McKinnon, the gifted Chinese Australian cook and food writer who now lives in Brooklyn. She’s also the publisher of the multicultural food journal, Peddler, as well as host of its podcast, The House Specials.

Read more

Lollipops For Pops on Father’s Day

Posted on by 2 comments
Lollipops of a different sort for Father's Day.
Lollipops of a different sort for Father’s Day.

My dad was a sucker for See’s Candies of any kind or shape.

For Father’s Day, we’d often present him with a big See’s box, which he’d tear into eagerly — even way before dinner.

I have a hunch, though, that my dad would have also gone gangbusters over these lollipops of a different sort.

That’s because he also loved lamb. Most often, he’d turn cubes into stew with loads of carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes cut into large chunks to stretch out the meal for our family of five.

A lamb rib rack, with its higher price tag, wasn’t something he’d pick up at the store. But when I cooked up these “Vindaloo-Spiced Lamb Lollipops,” I couldn’t help picturing him smacking his lips over them.

Smoky from the grill, juicy and tender from a vibrant marinade, they’re redolent of cumin, one of the staple spices in the curry lamb stew he’d often make in winter.

This aromatic and complex tasting dish comes from the cookbook, “Chiles and Smoke” (Quartz Publishing Group/Harvard Common Press), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by pit master Brad Prose, founder of the recipe site Chiles and Smoke. As the name implies, the book is all about grilling recipes featuring an array of chiles. That doesn’t mean necessarily mean they will scorch your palate. The chiles are used judiciously. Plus, you can always decrease the amount used, if you like.

Read more

Three Foodie Reads For Summer

Posted on by Leave a comment

“Recipe for Disaster”

There are recipes in this book to be sure. But more than that, there are stories that will touch and stay with you long after you set its spine down.

“Recipe for Disaster” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy, is by Alison Riley. It is the first book by this Brooklyn-based writer and creative director, and founder of the paper and text studio, Set Editions.

It’s a unique collection of 40 essays and recipes highlighting how good food provides sustenance in so many ways through so many trying times. Riley has assembled an impressive roster of big-name contributors who share strikingly personal stories about how food has soothed and assuaged during some of the worst moments in life.

Comedian Sarah Silverman writes about how chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies known as pinwheels were the only thing that comforted her when she first experienced long-term depression at age 13. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse reveals how the throes of the pandemic made her appreciate all the more the beauty of a fresh salad made with the produce grown by her local farms.

Actor-comedian Bowen Yang admits that as a child he didn’t care for his mom’s cooking, but now appreciates it so much that her version of ma po tofu is the first thing he wants when he goes home to Colorado. And in one of the most stirring accounts, broadcast journalist Alex Wagner explains how her simple, hastily made canned-tuna sandwich that she toted to work would turn out to be the only thing to offer any sense of normalcy on Sept. 11, 2001.

“The Jewish Deli”

As if there was a need for more reasons to love a good Jewish deli, along comes “The Jewish Deli: An Illustrated Guide To The Chosen Food” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy.

Read more

Pantry Cooking Goes Gourmet With Porcini and Cream Sauce Pasta

Posted on by Leave a comment
A restaurant-worthy dish that takes only minutes to make.
A restaurant-worthy dish that takes only minutes to make.

Wild porcinis have a short season and a hefty price tag.

But dried ones keep for ages, and are much more affordable especially because their concentrated flavor makes a little go a long way.

That’s why I love this recipe for “Porcini and Cream Pasta Sauce.”

You just combine items in your pantry and fridge to create a thoroughly restaurant-worthy dish.

The recipe is from “The Italian Cooking Course: (Kyle Books, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi, wife-and-husband owners of two eponymous restaurants in England.

This hefty 512-page cookbook, geared toward both novice and more accomplished cooks, shows you how to make all manner of fresh pasta, even ones colored with cuttlefish ink, tomato paste or beets, as well as how to roll, cut, and form various shapes.

Read more
« Older Entries Recent Entries »