Here you’ll find my interviews with cookbook authors, chefs, food lovers and producers. Tell me what you think of what they (and I) have to say! And feel free to send your suggestions as to what you’d like to hear about next.
Thanks to everyone who came out to see my tea tasting with WNED PBS. Such a delight to work with Don Boswell. He’ll be missed when he retires! Thanks to Sloane Fine Tea Merchants for being the best part of this event.
Here is our chat:
Portuguese Cornbread
What good are mussels without bread to sop up the broth? This was easy and delicious.
Clams in Coriander & White Wine
Here Carla shows me the basics of cooking clams. Next, I’ll post her original recipe for Clams in Cataplana with Pork, White Wine, and Coriander. We didn’t have a cataplana, but a wok with a tight fitting lid did the trick just fine.
♦♦♦♦♦♦
Lentil Date Soup
Linda Woolven surprised me with the combination of flavours. I love lentils and dates, but had never thought of them together. Obviously, I need to do what Linda’s done and travel the world a bit more, because this is not an unusual pairing in the Middle East.
The great thing about this soup is it will continue to warm us during this extended cold spell, but not be too heavy. Lentils keep it hearty but healthy. She masters a perfect balance between her focus on well-being and her love of really good food.
I’m tempted to try this with some salty feta crumbled on top and fresh minced cilantro, if only because I would add those two things to absolutely everything if I could.
♦♦♦♦♦
Moroccan Black Bean Casserole
In this video, Linda shows me just how easy this casserole is to make. She also shares her great store of knowledge about nutrition and the health benefits of vegetarian cooking, including a thing or two about olive oil that I didn’t know.
♦♦♦♦♦
Porter Gingerbread
Sick of winter yet? Don’t fight it. Just give in. Let’s bake something cozy and nice.
I love gingerbread, but I tend to think of it as a Christmassy thing, or perhaps something you eat in the fall with your pumpkin spice latte. For those of you who are sick to death of the myriad ways in which pumpkin spice/chai latte/apple pie spice mixes have permeated all winter baking, here comes some simple relief.
The ginger in this gingerbread cake is the only spice you’ll find in the recipe – well, there’s a little hint of cinnamon, but it’s very much a subtle background taste. The porter beer has all the complexity you need to round out the flavours in this cake. The dark malt has a roasted coffee flavor that stands up the molasses. Neither overwhelms the ginger, but together they contribute to an undercurrent of caramel.
This is just different enough and yet just familiar enough to be the perfect not-too-sweet treat for the several snowy days yet to come. Best part is that you get to finish your beer with it, but I’ll be sipping aged rum with mine.
One last clever bit: you don’t need spices to hide the bitter taste of the leaveners, because the beer does a lot of the work of rising the batter. Porter Gingerbread would make a fantastic accompaniment to baked or roasted pears. With whipped cream, of course.
Recipe is listed here: http://ciaodownwithmamatheresa.com/recipes-4/
♦♦♦♦♦
IPA Guacamole
David makes his IPA guacamole, a surprising recipe that is as delicious as it is unique.
Recipe is listed here: http://wp.me/p3YTNE-3J
[…] Video […]