Toasted Sesame Ice Cream

I was visiting Istanbul for a few days, and one evening when we returned to our hotel, they were serving house-made sesame ice cream in the lobby. It was one of the most incredible ice creams I have ever eaten – white sesame with and incredible deeply toasted flavor – and I’ve been hunting around…

Chinese Chicken Salad

I picked up a rotisserie chicken at Costco, and as I was driving home remembered my mom’s Chinese Chicken Salad. She used to roast her own chicken, but then discovered the Costco rotisserie chicken and never went back. At $5 for a whole chicken, I don’t think it costs much more than it cost my…

Crispy Yangnyeom Chickpeas with Caramelized Honey

Cookbook Club – Holiday Year in Review 2023 For our last Cookbook Club of 2023, we did a Holiday Year in Review event where you could choose a recipe from any of the cookbooks we used in the past year. For the full 2023 retrospective, check out my Cookbook Club site. For now – my…

Braided Loaf

Cookbook Club – Magnolia Table, Volume 2 In March, the Cookbook Club explored a little part of the Magnolia cult… I mean “network”… using the Magnolia Table, Volume 2 cookbook by Joanna Gaines. If you couldn’t tell, I was a bit dubious going in, and you can find out whether or not the meal turned…

Banchan – Danmuji Muchim

I made Korean food for a dinner party, and tried a couple new banchan which were really successful. Danmuji is yellow pickled radish – I buy it at the Asian market and usually just slice it up and serve it as-is. But this time I decided to season it, making Danmuji Muchim. Turns out I…

Spicy Garlic Tofu

Thanks to the air fryer I’m not avoiding frying tofu anymore, so I’m free to experiment with what I can do with fried tofu. At a local restaurant recently my boyfriend had a spicy garlic tofu that he wouldn’t stop talking about. I tried a bite and it was indeed tasty – spicy sweet with…

Banchan – Korean Bean Sprouts

Another Banchan that I really like is these Korean Bean Sprouts. Bean Sprouts are so inexpensive and they have such a nice pop when you bite into them, which I feel somehow gets enhanced when you cook them. Bean sprouts are an underutilized vegetable in my opinion. This is one great way to use them….

Banchan – Sesame Bok Choy

Continuing my Banchan series… this dish is more commonly made with spinach (which is good too), but I like the extra crunch of Sesame Bok Choy. The combination of sesame oil and sesame seeds really brings out the sesame flavor I love. Guessipe 8 baby boy choy, separated into individual leaves marinade 3 green onions,…

Ponzu Cucumbers

When you’ve put in your order at a Japanese restaurant and you’re so hungry you think you might pass out before the food arrives, and then they bring a little dish of complimentary cucumbers to your table… cucumbers have never tasted so good, and it’s just enough to hold you over. You can have this…

Korean Rice Cakes

Korean rice cakes are awesome because they have a fantastic soft chewiness and they absorb flavor really well. This guessipe is a spicy sweet treat that only involves 2 minutes of cooking and takes less than half an hour all together! Guessipe 8 oz Korean rice cakes 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 TBSP sugar 2…

Japchae

Japchae is a Korean dish that uses noodles made from sweet potato starch. I love the flavor and texture so much that I eat it at AYCE Korean BBQ, even though I should be getting my money’s worth with the meats instead of filling up on noodles! It usually has beef in it, but I…

Jicama Lime Slaw

I love the crunch of jicama. It is great for make-ahead salad, because it stays crisp in the dressing. The sweetness of the apples brings out the sweetness of the jicama, and contrasts nicely with the bite of the lime and vinegar. This jicama slaw is so refreshing I find myself popping into the fridge…