Grown-up Filet-o-Fish

I still had some yellowtail in the freezer from my awesome fishing excursion, and was pondering yummy ways to use it. For some reason I flashed back to when I was a kid on the extremely rare occasions that my parents would take us to McDonald’s. My mom, I guess in an attempt to get…

Maisel Day

Living in LA, you see lots of TV studios promoting their shows in the lead-up to the Emmys. Most of the time I just ignore them, but this year Amazon did a massively scaled promotion for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel… 1959 prices for goods and services at some of LA’s most iconic retailers! Most of…

Orange Chicken Sauce

The only time I’ve had Orange Chicken is in those Americanized Chinese restaurants you often find in mall food courts, but I have to admit there’s a time and place where “Chinese” fast food hits the spot. Occasionally I get that craving, and I’ve found it’s easy enough to make Orange Chicken sauce at home….

Spicy Sweet Cabbage and Noodles

This spicy sweet noodle dish is a great side dish, but also hearty enough to be a main course. You could add fried tofu or your favorite meat to make it even more robust. I love meat, but when I’m in a pinch and don’t have any on hand, this dish still does the trick….

Fly’s Head

Cookbook Club – The Immigrant Cookbook For February’s Cookbook Club, we used The Immigrant Cookbook by Leyla Moushabeck. It was a fun way to try recipes of immigrant chefs from a diversity of countries. To experience our whole trip around the world in a meal, visit my Cookbook Club site. For now – my dish!…

Creamy Corn Fish

There was a homestyle Cantonese restaurant my family used to go to, where my favorite dish was fried fish smothered in a creamy corn sauce. When I moved away, I missed this dish so much I decided to recreate it. Guessipe 1 lb light white fish filets, cut into 2-inch pieces 1 tsp salt 1…

Turkey Pot Pie

Turkey is one of my least favorite meats, but what’s one way to make it better? Combine it with one of my favorite foods… pie! While I don’t look forward to the Thanksgiving turkey meal, I do look forward to turning that leftover turkey into a creamy savory turkey pot pie. If you want to…

Ginger Scallion Steamed Fish

Growing up, one of my absolute favorite things was Chinese steamed fish with ginger and scallions. We would get a whole steamed fish at restaurants, or have a steamed filet at home. This recipe works for either – it just depends how comfortable you are pulling the meat from the skin and bones. While I…

Pizza Marinara

Cookbook Club – The Elements of Pizza In June, we did a special event in partnership with the LA Bread Bakers, using their outdoor wood-fired pizza oven! We used The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish for dough and sauce recipes and topping combos, and also came up with our own pizza creations. Go to…

Kalua Pork

My dad went to college in Hawaii, and added some fantastic Hawaiian dishes to his food repertoire during his time there. This is one that is simple and great for a luau-themed party, as it makes enough food for a crowd, especially when supplemented with Hawaiian sides like rice, macaroni salad, fresh pineapple, and ramen…

A Traditional Yannukah Stew

This story begins with a holiday called Dirktoberfest – an annual celebration thrown around the time of Oktoberfest by my cousin Yan’s German roommate, Dirk. The highlight of Dirktoberfest was a contest to present Dirk with a beer he’d never had before, the winner of which would receive a specially reserved piece of Dirk’s homemade…

Mexican Casserole

This is my mom’s Mexican Casserole recipe. It has nacho cheese Doritos in it, so naturally I adored it when I was a kid. Actually, I still adore it now! It is cheesy, crispy, meaty goodness. You can dress it up with sides, but honestly it’s good enough to eat plain. Guessipe 20 oz cheddar…