Good balsamic vinegar – the real deal, made in only two places in Italy and aged for anywhere from 12 to over 25 years – is an investment. Someone recently gave me a bottle of balsamic vinegar – the $20, not the $275 version – and it’s been a joy to cook with it. This week on America’s Table both recipes feature balsamic vinegar, thusly named not because it has balsam in it, but because it is thought to have […]
I thought I knew about fish and chips – crisped on the outside, warm and flaky inside, thick chips littered with salt and a splash of vinegar – but this version is different and delightful. The recipe is from Nelly Salvacion, the best Asian chef I know, and it has a totally different set of flavors; the chickpea batter is tasty and light, and the mint, yogurt, cilantro, and lime dip gives it a completely different culinary context. She quick-fries […]
No matter how you spell it – crozetti, corzetti, curzetti – this northern Italian pasta is delightful. I was walking through Georgetown one day and saw that a new shop called Via Umbria had opened up. I thought it was an Italian kitchenware shop, but it turned out to be so much more. There was beautiful Italian food to eat there or take away, a wine room with a generous tasting going on, and lots of great Italian pastas – […]
I’m always on the hunt for a really great chicken-based burger – one that stands up to the weight and flavor of a cheeseburger – and this is it. The combination of bacon and ricotta in the burger is so good I don’t know why this hasn’t replaced McDonald’s Big Mac. It couldn’t be more simple: just mix up ground chicken, ricotta, and bits of crispy bacon, throw it on a hot grill, add your favorite condiments and a brioche […]
In my view, there aren’t many foods that can’t be improved upon by the addition of fresh ginger, and fried rice is no exception. The crisp, fresh ginger flavor is heightened by flash frying first, then setting it aside to add to the top of the fried rice just before serving. Fried rice can be heavy on the calories and carbs, but if you flip your proportions a bit – use more vegetables than rice – it makes a leaner, […]
