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…

Broken Spanish Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #68 Broken Spanish is one of the Mexican restaurants on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. The wide rectangular space has a glass front wall and large bar in the center. It feels mostly modern, but has some rustic touches like a side wall hung with family photos and shelves full of clay…

Sherry Cream Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

A friend of mine made these brussels sprouts for a Friendsgiving dinner one year. The combination of sherry, cream, bacon, and mushrooms made a richly nuanced sauce that was wonderful on the brussels sprouts (but would also be good on pretty much anything). I forced him to teach me how to make this brussels sprouts…

Joe’s Special

Who is Joe? I’ve no idea, nor does my mom who made this dish often throughout my childhood. I’ve occasionally seen it on restaurant menus, but usually as a breakfast scramble. My mom’s version is lighter on the eggs, heavier on the ground beef. We ate it for dinner. Guessipe 2 lbs ground beef 2…

Pork Bok Choy Boats

Everybody loves a lettuce wrap. But what’s even better? A bok choy boat! Lettuce is bland and tends to be just a flimsy vehicle for delivering the filling into your face. Baby bok choy has a nice flavor and crunch, which complements the filling nicely and serves as a sturdier scoop. It also presents nicely, so…

Spicy Sausage & Mushroom Tomato Sauce Pasta

I adored this spicy sausage and mushroom tomato sauce pasta when I was a kid. My mom always made it with spaghetti noodles, and half the fun was watching my brother eat it. He would suck each individual noodle through his lips, and then eat the sausage and mushrooms later. By the end of the…

Warm Spinach Salad

Warm Spinach Salad always makes me think of eating in a nice restaurant. But do you know how much extra effort it takes? …about 30 seconds! If you put dressing on some spinach leaves and throw them in the microwave for half a minute, you can serve what seems like a fancy salad and class…

Steamed Chinese Mushroom Chicken

Steamed Chinese Mushroom Chicken was one of my favorite dishes growing up. Steaming the chicken in the sauce keeps it super tender and lets it absorb all the great flavors. The Chinese mushrooms add a great woodiness and bit of chewiness. And the Chinese sausage gives some pop and sweetness. It’s also easy to make,…

Sticky Rice Stuffed Chicken

When I was a kid, my grandma often made sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves. I loved it, but she lived across the country so when I couldn’t get it from her, it would always be one of the items I ordered at dim sum. There was something kind of magical about peeling open the…

Wonton

One of the first cooking memories I have is making Wonton with my family. I think it was the origin of my ongoing search for more opportunities to build community around food. My mom would make a big bowl of the filling, and then we would all sit around the table wrapping up little pockets…