Category Archives: Cool Cooking Techniques

Baked Peppers With An Unexpected Ingredient

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Not the usual cheese, rice or ground beef, but tofu gets stuffed into these peppers.
Not the usual cheese, rice or ground beef, but tofu gets stuffed into these peppers.

As my husband readied the grill for Italian sausages the other night, he looked at me dumbfounded as I pulled out a box of tofu from the fridge.

Yes, silken tofu is the surprising ingredient in these otherwise Mediterranean-influenced stuffed peppers.

Leave it to the one and only Nigel Slater to come up with this simple and inspired riff on a classic, replacing the usual rice, ground meat or cheese in stuffed peppers with custardy-soft tofu instead.

“Baked Peppers with Tofu and Olives” is from the noted British food writer’s newest cookbook, “A Cook’s Book” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

The 500-page book is a collection of 150 recipes along with evocative stories from this home cook’s home cook. These are unfussy recipes, many with 10 or fewer ingredients, full of an appealing carefree spirit.

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Cook’s Ilustrated’s Easier, Faster Version of Stanley Tucci’s Spaghetti with Zucchini (Plus Winner of the Food Gal Giveaway)

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So thankful to come across an easier yet equally delicious version of this Stanley Tucci favorite.
So thankful to come across an easier yet equally delicious version of this Stanley Tucci favorite.

You may not remember that last year I made Stanley Tucci’s famed “Spaghetti Con Zucchine Alla Nerano,” the captivating dish spotlighted on his CNN show, “Searching for Italy,” and in his memoir, “Taste: My Life Through Food.”

But I sure do. How could I forget every minute of carefully frying batch after batch of zucchini slices in a big pot of oil over a hot stove in summer for what seemed an interminable hour?

Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely adored the resulting pasta dish. But I haven’t made it since, even though, I’ve longed for its taste again. Heck, can you blame me?

That’s why I’m so happy to have discovered Cook’s Illustrated’s version that I could have hugged and never let go of its 2022 July/August issue that it published in.

In this rendition, there no deep-frying involved. Let me repeat that: No. Deep. Frying.

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Exploring Southern Oregon: Fine-Dining at Mas

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Poached otoro or medium fatty tuna belly and foie gras blanketed by slices of raw porcini at Mas.
Poached otoro or medium fatty tuna belly and foie gras blanketed by slices of raw porcini at Mas.

Ashland, OR. — Tucked away in a secluded alley off the main downtown drag, Mas is not a place that one just happens to stumble upon.

But seek it out, you definitely should.

Named one of the New York Times’ “favorite 50 restaurants” in 2022 and a semi-finalist for “Best Chef Northwest and Pacific” in 2023, this $195 per person, tasting menu-only restaurant is all of 16 seats.

The best seats, of course, are at the chef’s counter, where I dined earlier this month as a guest of Travel Oregon. It’s where you can watch Chef Josh Dorcak and his small staff prepare each course with precision.

Chef Josh Dorcak putting the finishing touches on dishes at the chef's counter.
Chef Josh Dorcak putting the finishing touches on dishes at the chef’s counter.

It’s rather astonishing to realize that the galley kitchen behind the counter, about the size of one in a modest home, is all they use, too. There’s all of one or two induction burners, a combi oven that can cook with steam or hot air, and a fish aging refrigerator off to the side. That’s pretty much it.

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A Panna Cotta For Adults Only

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If you love a Negroni, you'll be smitten by this Negroni panna cotta.
If you love a Negroni, you’ll be smitten by this Negroni panna cotta.

Have you ever wanted to drink your cocktail — and eat it, too?

You most certainly can with this playful “Negroni Panna Cotta.”

Made with gin, Campari, and vermouth just like the classic Italian cocktail, this is one panna cotta you’ll want to reserve only for grown-ups.

The recipe is from “Bar Menu” (Running Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by Andre Darlington, a food and beverage writer based in Philadelphia and North Carolina.

While a few specialty cocktail recipes are included, this is really a collection of recipes for food that pairs with various mixed drinks — from light bites to more substantial noshes to even desserts.

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French Macarons From A Kit? Ooh, La La!

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Ta-da -- the finished macarons I made with the Food La La kit.
Ta-da — the finished macarons I made with the Food La La kit.

Imagine learning to bake fanciful French macarons in the comfort of your own kitchen with guidance from an expert who happens to bear more than a passing resemblance to none other than Anna Kendrick.

You can — with the French Macaron Kit by Food La La. The San Francisco culinary business was founded by Lindsay Kinder, whose disarming charm, self-deprecation, and pony-tailed, petite presence will indeed remind you of that Hollywood star.

After toiling for five years in a corporate job selling insurance, she chucked it all to go live in France. There, she spent months studying cooking and baking, and of course, eating a lot of macarons.

It inspired her to launch her first product, the macaron kit. At $97, it’s as festive as a party in a box, with shiny black and rose-gold colored bags that hold nearly everything you need to make about two dozen macarons. You just have to add your own butter, eggs and splash of milk or cream.

The kit comes in great packaging.
The kit comes in great packaging.

The kit is complete with pre-measured dry mixes to make the macaron and buttercream filling, along with piping bags, gel food coloring, dazzling sprinkles, edible metallic paint plus a paint brush, a handy macaron template to guide your piping onto the baking sheet, and even a couple of snazzy gift boxes if you can part with your macarons after you’ve decorated them.

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