morsels & sauces

We are in May: the month of exhaustion for teachers and students alike. And in the midst of said exhaustion, a simple, beautiful, and flavorful salad seems just the ticket. Because I don't have energy for much else. Seriously. Do not expect a lot from an educator in May. I snapped up this bright and peppy cookbook a few months ago at my local used bookstore. Marked down to a mere fraction of the cost of a new cookbook (and without a spot, scratch, or dallop of sauce on it!), this book basically begged to be mine. What, with it's beautiful photographs, Middle Eastern recipes, and association with Ottolenghi, how could I deny it? Honey & Co. is the brain- and love-child of Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, acclaimed chefs who opened a small restaurant in London in 2012 after having done their time with the famed Yotam Ottolenghi  (among others in their storied culinary upbringing). Srulovich writes that they wanted their restaurant to be "a noisy, cr...

This is not lemonade.  This is a vehicle for vodka. Or a topper to a crisp champagne.  Helene Henderson in her re-issued cookbook,  Malibu Farm Cookbook   (2014) , will try to convince you that you should drink this lovely little concoction without a little hooch.  She'll even tell you that you can make lemonade when life gives you lemons. And I say, mix that lemonade up with something stronger, and sweet business, you have a sweet, herby, tart drink worthy of any summer backyard. This latest cookbook comes to us as we're prepping for those upcoming sultry summer days. I get it, those of you in Colorado cannot fathom such a future, given that Loveland just got 15 inches of snow in the last 72 hours, and my New Yorker friends suffered through a baseball game where the weather was more appropriate for a Jets tailgate.  I get it. Summery lemonade may not even be registering. However, Henderson is promising us Malibu, promising us ...

There's a lot of pressure when you put the definite article the  in front of anything. You're suggesting that yours is the one and o nly, the end all be all, the real deal. Such is the case with Ithai Schori and Chris Taylor's hamburger recipe from Twenty Dinners.  They claim that they, in fact, have  The  Hamburger Recipe. I'll let you determine this for yourself. But it is worth the experiment. The somewhat fatty meat lends moisture.  The bourbon lends noticeable and welcome sweetness.  The jalapeno gives a little heat and pop.  The sheer quantity of onions guarantees super juiciness.  This is a nice change of pace from your everyday hamburger.   Seriously, you want to give this a try, don't you?  Pile with grilled red cabbage (or heap it on the side, as I did), and you have a real burger. The slaw was perhaps is a little oily for my taste--you might cut a little of the oil yourself, but the ...