My swami loves pancakes. But finding the cloud-like hot cakes that he remembers from his childhood has been a bit of an obsession for this gentle man who holds a master’s degree in Asian medicine. He isn’t a swami, per se. I call him that with respect and affection. He’s a board-certified acupuncturist, a fellow that seems to have found…
Recipes
Cook soup for a dog? Why not! Twelve years ago, our then 14-year-old terrier Blossom posed for this shot. Close to the end of her life she developed a deep cough. The kind of cough that could peel wallpaper off the wall. So I made chicken soup for her on a regular basis (and wrote a story about it for…
I CUT DAYS OF WORK off the prep. My version takes lots of shortcuts. The traditional approach takes three days, so I devised a way to wiggle out of most of the work. And, trust me, it’s delicious. Leave it to the French to elevate a simple bean casserole into a gastronomic masterpiece replete with goose, pork and lamb. No…
Justin Miller, executive chef at Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa, creates beautiful, market-inspired dishes that showcase his produce purchases. Most Wednesdays, he drives to Chino Farms in Rancho Santa Fe to buy seasonal fruit and vegetables for the restaurant’s menu. Chino Farms’ focus is on flavor, harvesting fruits and vegetables each day at the peak of ripeness. One of my…
Recently I ran a riff about Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramels in my e-newsletter. I cautioned that they are too good. A buttery soft crew made irresistible with fancy French sea salt. Theirs are so delectable, I stopped making them. A couple of readers wrote to complain. Trader Joe’s in their neighborhoods had run out. The supply? Kaput. They…
Candy Cane Cake takes 5 minutes to prepare. And of course, it’s a lotta fun to break up the candy with a hammer and throw the broken bits on a whip-cream frosted cake. You might want to give your guests a glass o’ wine and ask them to help. The recipe is in “The Sunset Cookbook” (edited by Margo True,…
Even the most scurrilous Scrooge on my gift-giving list seems to appreciate the appeal of cookbook gifts. “BAKE! Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking” by Nick Malgieri (Kyle Books, $29.95), 224 pages “This book is meant to have enough easy, straightforward baking recipes that people who haven’t baked before can use successfully,” says author Nick Malgieri, who heads up the baking…
Chef Ming Tsai’s latest book is filled with quick and easy weeknight dishes that can be prepared in one pan. Most recipes are short enough to fit on one page and use relatively inexpensive ingredients. They produce delectable concoctions, often showcasing classic Asian fare tweaked with subtle trademark twists. He says that he sometimes “francophiles” a dish, using a smattering…