Coriander Beef and Sizzly Pork

Beef Slivers with Coriander, page 105, Revolutionary Chinese Cooking
Stir-Fried Fava Beans with Minced Pork, page 210, 105 Revolutionary Chinese Cooking
I don’t know exactly why, perhaps Mary can shed some light on the subject, but the vast majority of Asian cuisine seems dominated by two things: heat and quick cook time. Whenever we stray for two [...]

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Zi Ran Nir Rou: Beef With Cumin

Or thank goodness for the silk road!
Beef With Cumin; Revolutionary Chinese Cooking, page 102

When you think Chinese food, do you think cumin? I didn’t. But thanks to the silk road, Muslim traders and settlers, cumin has a place in Chinese cuisine. Dunlop notes that cumin is associated with the Muslim influenced city of Xinjiang.
Kevin, busy [...]

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Steak Tartare…Mise en place neccesary

As well as Les Halles has been going so far, it was only a matter of time before disaster would strike (at least from me). While the end result was edible and somewhat decent (only after some major EMT-brand resuscitation from Mary), a major lesson was learned. Get your ingredients in line before jumping in [...]

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Back to the Northwest…Scallops

Coquilles Saint-Jacques with Champagne
Les Halles Cookbook, page 106
I’m honestly getting a little tired complementing this book in the form of, “if you source your ingredients locally, use what’s fresh and don’t try to dress up your food in fourteen layers of flavors, you’ll most likely turn out a decent dish.” I’m not though. [...]

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Poulet Roti…Roast Chicken, to you..

Poulet roti, “That’s roast chicken numbnuts!”
Les Halles, p. 181
On page 181 of the Les Halles cookbook, Bourdain eschews, at length, his laundry list of gripes and concerns with both the cooking technique and (subsequent) reputation of one of the most far-reaching mains ever cooked, roast chicken. To sum it up, as per, the concerns deal [...]

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Onion Soup, Les Halles

Onion Soup Les Halles
Les Halles cookbook, page 45
Here is a tip for making French Onion Soup from scratch- and from scratch I mean even the stock from scratch. Don’t start at 5pm. You won’t eat until 10pm. You may be saying, “but Mary, duh. Who in their right mind would start a soup so late [...]

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Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart…

Les Halles
Soup au Pistou, page 42
“Most soups get better the next day.” Bourdain notes. “This is not one of them.”
If you didn’t already guess, Soup Pistou is the French Minestrone with Pesto, of sorts. And Bourdain suggests, no demands, only the purest, finest, ingredients. “The day before you make the soup, soak the beans in [...]

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Bye bye New American Chef.

That is it. Over. We’re done with you New American Chef and your crazy recipe ways.

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Was it the Halibut or was it the recipe? Either way, Cooking Crowes 4, New American Chef, 2.

Coming home to a marinating halibut fillet is always nice. As much as I love cooking, there is little better than walking into an operation with a head start. The fact that Mary cooks about ten times faster [...]

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Cornish Game Hens. Tastes Like Chicken

This week Kevin and I venture into the world of Moroccan cuisine driving blind. We’ve never been to Morocco before, heck, we’ve never even been to a Moroccan restaurant before, and for foodies who pride themselves on their wide range of culinary know how, we are a touch self conscious.
Our first dish, Cornish Hen with [...]

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