Produced for the LATimes/February 2008
Not so long ago I went to the best party in years: The guests brought wine or beer. The hosts provided the makings for Chinese dumplings. And everyone did the work assembling them. I walked into a kitchen full of mostly strangers and left having enjoyed a good conversation with nearly all of them.
Clearly, there are icebreakers, and then there are dumplings.
Los Angeles Times
A new oven is being billed as the greatest invention since the discovery of fire itself. This high-tech contraption, seemingly a cross between a furnace and a microwave, allegedly can roast a whole rack of lamb in 6 1/2 minutes flat. Which sounds impressive if all you want is chops on the table in less time than you would need to set it. (more…)
Los Angeles Times
If you happen to have just bought the best salad spinner on the planet, here’s some bad news: At the giant International Home & Housewares Show beginning Sunday in Chicago, OXO International is introducing one that is even better — and so gorgeous you could actually serve from it. (more…)
Los Angeles Times
Every few years a dish seems to come out of nowhere and spread like kudzu. (more…)
Los Angeles Times
Globalization is not always a bad thing. These days you can go off to an Argentina-born friend’s birthday party in Italy and come home with a California solution to one of the universal kitchen mysteries: how to cook fava beans without seven hours of prep work. (more…)
Los Angeles Times
Purists insist there’s only one way to cook ribs: Rub them with a salt-and-spice blend and let them smoke and smolder over live coals for a little less time than it takes to sit through “Gone With the Wind.”
Purists must have charcoal to burn. (more…)
Los Angeles Times
As someone who cooks by the calendar, I’ve always wondered why strawberries and corn on the cob are socially acceptable any time of year while duck is usually perceived as food for fall and winter. It’s a great ingredient naturally available in any month, and yet it’s trapped in a season-warp. (more…)