Thai Larb

The key to Thai Larb is the ground toasted rice, providing the flavor and texture that makes this refreshing and fulfilling ground meat salad. I used to order Larb when I went out for Thai food, until I learned that it’s so easy to make at home. It’s great for a main dish served as…

Dan Dan Noodles

Dan Dan Noodles are typically served layered (sauce at the bottom of the bowl, then noodles, meat, and vegetables), and you’re supposed to mix it yourself before eating. But I’ve found that I can cook many of the ingredients together, cutting way down on the number of steps and still resulting in a delicious bowl…

Thai-Inspired Salad

We’re in the midst of summer right now, and it’s just too hot to be cooking and eating a hot meal. I was craving a salad that was hearty enough to be my dinner, but cool and refreshing to eat in this heat. While not an exact match for any traditional Thai salad, I used…

Buta No Shogayaki (pork with ginger and onions)

Cookbook Club – Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking Our cookbook in May was Iron Chef Morimoto’s Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking. See all the Japanese cuisine we cooked at home on my Cookbook Club site. For now – my dish! Pork with ginger and onions sounded so good to me, and…

Kabocha Squash with Ground Pork

I love the taste of squash, but it can be hard work to cut, remove the seeds, and peel. Kabocha is one of my favorite squashes because the skin is edible. It’s so much less work when you don’t have to worry about removing the skin, and it makes a hearty and delicious stir-fry with…

Zucchini Stir-Fry with Ground Pork

Zucchini is awesome for stir-fry because it soaks up the flavors of the sauces so well. In this case I just use a handful of sauces and seasonings that I always have on hand. Great for when you need a quick but satisfying weeknight meal. Guessipe olive oil for stir-frying 5 cloves garlic, minced 1…

Lettuce Wraps

I find myself drawn to lettuce wraps when I see them on a restaurant menu. But they’re also pretty easy to make at home, and people are so excited when I serve lettuce wraps. You can pre-assemble them, or just put out all the elements and let people build their own. Interactive dishes are always…

Pasta all’Amatriciana

Cookbook Club – Milk Street: Tuesday Nights The cookbook for our March Cookbook Club was Milk Street: Tuesday Nights. Due to host availability we had scheduled it for earlier in the month than usual, which turned out to be a lucky thing since COVID-19 may keep us from gathering for awhile. It looks like we’ll…

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!…

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…

Aburiya Raku Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #64 Aburiya Raku is a West Hollywood branch of the much-talked-about Japanese izakaya restaurant of the same name in Las Vegas. The cozy spot apparently has a very different feel from the Las Vegas original, but the food is just as good and it makes Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. Aburiya Raku…

Connie and Ted’s Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #63 Connie and Ted’s is the big place with the swooping ceiling on a main stretch of West Hollywood that on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list, he calls a “clam shack”. Inside is an open kitchen and a bar. Outside is a fantastic patio, which unfortunately looks out onto the parking lot…