So crisp, moist, and delicious, this shrimp burger is sure to become a new summer favorite.
Summer’s the time when folks like nothing better than firing up the backyard grill.
But there are some who lack grills — either because they have no suitable yard or balcony or they simply don’t like playing with fire like that.
“South Carolina Shrimp Burgers” are just the ticket for them — and really for anyone who loves a great burger of any sort.
Reminiscent of the popular ones enjoyed all over the coastal Carolinas, this moist-on-the-inside and crisp-on-the-outside shrimp burger is cooked on a skillet on the stovetop in no time flat.
It tastes of pure summer sunshine, long lazy days, and much like a New England lobster roll — except it’s easier and more economical.
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.
A rich cake fragrant with three vanilla beans and vanilla extract.
For the longest time, I have wondered what happened to the glorious Maui Gold pineapples that I used to snag so easily at Bay Area Costcos and local grocery stores.
A recent trip to Maui turned up an explanation for why they are MIA here — along with an unexpected gift of wonderfully aromatic Maui-grown vanilla beans.
It all started one morning just after I finished breakfast at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa. Guests like myself staying in the newly revamped Hokupa’a Tower rooms enjoy breakfast bites on the lanai included in their reservations. To make the lanai more festive, the resort often has featured performers, chef demos or other entertainment.
Maui-grown vanilla beans.
That morning, I spied Michael Schenk at a counter, cutting up samples of Maui Gold pineapples to give out to guests. Or rather, my nose first caught wind of the unmistakable sweet, tangy, tropical scent of the fruit and I followed it to its source.
The Swedish brand packages European-made wine in cans that are decorated by artists from around the world.
Djuce
Wine in cans is sure having a moment. And these from Djuce are as dramatic as they get.
Founded in Stockholm, Sweden, this sustainable-wine company just expanded into the United States in Los Angeles and San Diego, and soon to arrive in San Francisco. The cans are decorated with striking, contemporary artwork from artists around the world, and filled with wine from European producers.
Cans were chosen not only because they are lighter and easier to transport, but according to the company, also because they are 28 percent more efficient to recycle and their use cuts CO2 emissions by 79 percent compared to glass.
Currently, Djuce offers 11 wines from seven regions in Europe, all sustainably farmed, certified organic, vegan, and low in sulfites.
The 2021 Meinklang Kontext, a natural orange wine.
I had a chance to sample three of them. Each can is 250ml or roughly 1 cup, which makes for a generous portion for one person or a modest pour for two people to share.
