Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

South African Curried Lamb Skewers for Summertime Grilling

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Lamb cubes get marinated overnight, then threaded on skewers with onions and dried apricots.
Lamb cubes get marinated overnight, then threaded on skewers with onions and dried apricots.

Cooking over fire is as primal and universal as it gets.

That’s perfectly illustrated in the new cookbook, “Barbecue: Smoked & Grilled Recipes From Across the Globe” (Phaidon), of which I received a review copy.

This book is a veritable trip around the world through smoky, charred deliciousness.

The specialties of more than 80 countries are represented through more than 270 recipes.

This encyclopedic cookbook is by Hugh Mangum, a Los Angeles musician-turned-chef who was executive chef and pit master of smoking Lil’s in Pennsylvania, and co-founder of the Mighty Quinn’s BBQ chain nationwide. It was written with the assistance of Shana Liebman, a food and culture writer.

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Anytime Is Right For Chili Crisp Salmon Burger

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Would you believe this was made with tinned smoked salmon flavored with chili crisp?
Would you believe this was made with tinned smoked salmon flavored with chili crisp?

Tinned fish is having a moment. So much so, that some people are just over it.

Not me, though.

At any given moment, you’ll always find in my pantry tins of anchovies, sardines, trout, tuna, and salmon.

Especially Fishwife Tinned Seafood’s collab with my go-to chili crisp-maker, Fly by Jing, of which I recently received samples.

Fishwife was founded by Becca Millstein and Caroline Goldfarb in 2020 during the pandemic. Like so many of us, they were cooking more at home and unsatisfied with the quality of tinned seafood in the market. So, they set out to create their own, based on wild and farmed seafood that’s sustainable.

Today, Fishwife offers a range of products including salmon, mussels, trout, albacore tuna, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, and even California white sturgeon caviar.

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Tuck Into Gochujang Sesame Noodles with Broccolini

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The Korean staple fermented pepper paste really jazzes up these sesame noodles.
The Korean staple fermented pepper paste really jazzes up these sesame noodles.

If you go nutty for Asian sesame or peanut noodles, then this version will definitely have you hooked from the first bite.

That’s because “Gochujang Sesame Noodles with Broccolini” adds the Korean fermented pepper paste to the mix for big, brawny flavor that grabs your taste buds and doesn’t let go.

Easy enough to make on a weeknight, this recipe is from “You Got This!” (Simon Element), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Connecticut-based Diane Morrisey, a self-taught cook who’s a former caterer and executive at Whole Foods overseeing prepared foods.

She describes the collection of 100 recipes as being for “real people.” After all, as a wife and working mom of six kids, she knows all about how hard it can be to juggle multiple responsibilities while still trying to get food on the table every night.

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Summer’s Sweet Corn and Fresh Oregano Fritters

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Summer corn stars in these easy fritters.
Summer corn stars in these easy fritters.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Davis farmers market, one of the first certified farmers markets in California.

Against the burgeoning social activism of the 1960s and 1970s, the farmers market started in 1976 with only three farmers, growing steadily to what it is today — a year-round market with 100 vendors, most of whom are farmers who come from no more than an hour away. You’ll find everything from the freshest in-season fruit, just-picked veggies, artisan bread, local honey, farmstead cheeses, tacos made to order, gourmet sandwiches, and so much more.

Located in the city’s oldest park, Central Park, the year-round farmers market is the only one in the state that boasts its own covered pavilion, ATM machines, and even a permanent information booth.

“We call it the Taj Mahal of markets,” says Randii MacNear, its executive director.

California, which has 840 farmers markets, is the only state that has certified farmers markets, which means that farmers have to grow what they sell, she added.

The Saturday morning market is the main one that sports the largest selection of vendors. There’s also a smaller Wednesday evening one, if you want to pick up a few items after work.

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Squash Blossom and Maitake Rice Pilaf From A Michelin-Starred Chef

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Squash blossoms, maitakes, zucchini, and cotija cheese make this rice dish so flavorful and beautiful.
Squash blossoms, maitakes, zucchini, and cotija cheese make this rice dish so flavorful and beautiful.

Bay Area nominees at this year’s James Beard Awards for restaurants and chefs disappointingly came away empty-handed.

But one huge bright spot came at the foundation’s media awards, when Chef Rogelio Garcia of Michelin-starred Auro in Calistoga strode across the stage to accept a James Beard Award for his first cookbook, “Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California’s Wine Country” (Cameron Company, 2024).

Written with Andrea Lawson Gray, a San Francisco cookbook writer and food historian, this gorgeous, coffee table book, of which I received a review copy, is a collection of more than 150 recipes inspired by the Mexican diaspora that has shaped our foodways profoundly, especially in California.

The title references the Spanish word that means “to live together,” a sentiment with even greater weight and poignancy in these fraught times.

The book is a salute to the many Mexican Americans who have come to Wine Country to work the land, pick the grapes, and create the wines and foods that are appreciated the world over.

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