Tumbling with Otis

Instant Pot Vietnamese Pork Stew. Our Instant Pot Vietnamese Pork Stew is pilfered from the excellent Nom Nom Paleo blog. We’ve made her substitution of pork shoulder for pork belly but added caramelized sugar, which is definitely a paleo no-no though essential to the traditional flavor of the dish. Makes around 8 servings. Method: ¼ cup thinly sliced shallots or red onion 1 dozen dried shiitake…

Lomi Lomi Salmon Bruschetta. Lomi lomi is a Hawaiian luau favorite combining salmon and tomato. We published a recipe previously; today we’ll cut the cubes a little finer to create Lomi Lomi Salmon Bruschetta. Makes 10 servings (2 bruschetti per diner). Ingredients: ½ pound salmon fillet* Kosher salt or Hawaiian sea salt ¾ lb Roma tomatoes, cored and seeded ¼ pound sweet onion, finely chopped 1…

Best Way Bruschetta. A local inn whose name begins with “H” recently served a bowl of unseasoned chopped tomatoes accompanied by untoasted rounds of a generic baguette. That’s not best way bruschetta. The recipe is simple, but attention to the details will yield a much more satisfying results, Makes about 10 appetizer servings. Ingredients: ½ pound or so (3 or 4) Roma tomatoes, seeded and cored…

Bread Machine White Bread. Bread Machine White Bread came from needing a fresh loaf for leftover roast beef sandwiches, in a hurry. I started with the Pain de Mie recipe on page 104 of Rustic European Breads from Your Bread Machine but made substitutions for ingredients I didn’t have on hand. The result was a very nice sandwich loaf: flavorful in a quiet way with a very soft crumb. Makes one 1 ½…

Is an electric stove in your future?

Cooking with an electric stove, in this case a quotidian Hotpoint, turns out to be not so bad. We have been cooking on a four-burner Hotpoint range, and it’s not bad. The coils heat up quickly and cool down almost as fast, and the dials to control temperature are accurate and consistent. As a result, we’re abandoning our belief that electric stoves are without exception an abomination. This was a…

Recipe: Chili Crisp Sweet Potatoes

Chili Crisp Sweet Potatoes. Chili Crisp Sweet Potatoes are borrowed from our friends at Momofuku. Of course you can use their products if you have them, but this is a pretty good side dish with off-the-shelf ingredients. Serves 4. Ingredients: 2 large sweet potatoes, approximately 1 1/2 lbs ¼ c maple syrup (Grade A dark preferred) 2 T soy sauce 2 T Chili Crisp or other crunchy mild chili sauce 1…

Recipe: Cheese Board Green Hot Sauce

Cheese Board Green Hot Sauce, our rendition. My friend Steve introduced me to the Cheese Board Green Hot Sauce on my recent trip to SF, which is a problem because now I’m gone and I must have more. It’s akin to our schug (aka zhoug) but with a mystery component that involves citrus. Makes about 1 c. Ingredients: 2 c+ cilantro, finely packed, stems ok 3 cloves garlic, peeled Chile peppers to your…

Recipe: Creamy Artichoke Pasta

Creamy Artichoke Pasta Taverna Novo, a rustic Italian restaurant in my home town, makes a delicious creamy artichoke pasta. Here is my take on it, and it’s pretty good. The secret is frozen artichoke hearts, from our friends at Trader Joe’s. Makes 2-3 main dish servings. Ingredients: 12-oz package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained ¼ c extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Zest…

Recipe: Improved Oyster Sauce

Cook improved oyster sauce till it coats a spoon, like this. If you’ve simply drizzled oyster sauce straight out of the bottle on your gai lan (chinese broccoli) and been disappointed with the results, then it’s time for our Improved Oyster Sauce. Adapted with a couple of tweaks from the excellent recipetineats blog. Makes ½ cup, enough to garnish a bunch of gai lan. Ingredients: 1 t cornstarch 6…

You can’t fix stupid. Stock Big Mac has no mustard nor top condiment of any kind. Emboldened by the interest in our In-N-Out experience, we did another burger test. The McDonald’s app had a deal to buy one Big Mac, get one free. We ordered one standard and the second customized with extra onions, extra pickles and mustard instead of sauce. Or did we? It turns out mustard is not among the options…

The ultimate In-N-Out cheeseburger

The ultimate In-N-Out cheeseburger is at left. To experience the ultimate In-N-Out cheeseburger you need to eat in the facility, vs. ordering to go. The public space is jammed, seating on hard plastic benches is uncomfortable and you have to wait for a table. But the presentation of the food makes it all worthwhile. How come? For one thing, you will experience your meal as its best self—sizzling…

The Hmong Aunties of Angel Cruz Park

Informal market at Angel Cruz Park in Stockton, CA Angel Cruz Park is a public park in Stockton, CA where a number of Hmong vendors set up each afternoon to sell traditional foods. Some offer pickled veggies and tropical fruits, others set up grills and cook meats over charcoal, and others bring mortar and pestle and prepare fresh papaya salad on the spot. This has been going on for years,…

Award-winning San Francisco Pizza goes “up in smoke”

Jeremy Fish models Up in Smoke pizza box in its application as a bib. Photo by Jeremy Fish. On arrival for a few days in San Francisco, we discovered an interesting project. Tony’s Pizzeria Napoletana, perennially ranked as of the world’s best pizzerias, has teamed up with Jeremy Fish for a collaboration called “Up in Smoke”. Up in Smoke Pizza Order Tony’s $30 “Up in Smoke” pizza with smoked…

Recipe: Kenji’s Roasted Cauliflower

Kenji’s Roasted Cauliflower. Kenji Lopez-Alt may be a bit of a trickster, but Kenji’s Roasted Cauliflower is solid. The key is to cut the head of cauliflower into large chunks and roast at high heat so it is crispy on the outside, tender in the middle. Makes 4-6 servings. Ingredients: 1 head cauliflower Extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Kenji’s roasted cauliflower salad with pine…

How to build a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich

Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich, up close and personal. (Apologies for being late with this post. If you’re out of Thanksgiving leftovers, bookmark this post for next year.) Our Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich follows a precise formula to get the ideal balance of textures and sweet/savory flavors. We verified this by improvising at a friend’s house the day after the holiday and, with key…

Recipe: Gerald Ramsey’s Chess Pie

Gerald Ramsey’s Chess Pie. Gerald Ramsey’s Chess Pie is the version featured in his Morning Noon and Night Cookbook and presumably served in the tea room at SMU in the olden days. It is different from Mom’s Chess Pie in several ways: more eggs, more solids for a thicker consistency, and lemon juice instead of vinegar. Try them both and see which you like better. Makes 1 9-inch pie. Ingredients: 9…

It’s turkey time!

Follow our recommendations, and your first Thanksgiving turkey can look like this! Welcome to another Thanksgiving, and another BMF Thanksgiving clips post. We moved our 16 pound turkey from the freezer to the refrigerator on Saturday, expecting it to thaw by Wednesday so we can brine it and then put in the oven Thursday morning. (If this happens to be your first time Thanksgiving turkey, this…