Mother’s Day Brunch

My gift to my mom and the spread for Mother’s Day brunch

The past weekend for Mother’s Day, my mom wanted a home cooked brunch with the entire family. Since we’re a hungry bunch and my mom did not care what kind of cuisine, we cooked a hodgepodge of dishes that satisfied [...]

Soup Dumplings, aka Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) – The Recipe

Soup dumpling or xiao long bao (小笼包) before cooking and my spread

If you notice around the big wide Web and read a couple of food blogs, you might come across the obsessive chatter of soup dumplings or xiao long bao (小笼包), especially if you live in New York City. These baos [...]

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner 2013 – Braised Abalone & Roast Foie Gras and Truffled Chicken

On Saturday, February 9th my family and I celebrated this years’s Chinese New Year Eve, the Year of the Snake, by cooking a storm. Nothing particularly new about that generally except our menu has changed slightly compared to last year. As always, dishes cooked or baked during this holiday have a [...]

Kumquat Cardamom Cakes

Recently, I was fortunate to receive a shipment of Kerrygold butter to work with.

Kerry Gold butter is a premium butter brand that uses milk from Ireland’s grass-fed cows that are free of artificial growth hormones. Kerrygold supports and utilizes cream from Ireland’s small dairy farmer co-ops and co-op creameries.

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Homemade Chinese cured goose leg (臘鹅腿)

Homemade Chinese cured goose leg (臘鹅腿)

About a month or so ago when I had my goose centered Thanksgiving meal, I had leftover beautiful geese legs that I had to wonder, would it be possible to make Chinese cured goose leg (臘鹅腿)? Sure, there are those yellow cured duck legs hanging in [...]

Reginald’s Nut Butters, Baked Elements Cookbook & Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ginger Scones

Reginald’s Nut Butters

You might be wondering, how does a (very good) artisanal nut butter company Reginald’s Homemade based in Richmond, Virginia can connect with the upcoming release of the (awesome and beautifully photographed by Tina Rapp) Baked Elements by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito cookbook?

Reginald’s Homemade create what I think [...]

Yogurt Themed Brunch

Earlier this week, I received a bunch of Dannon Activia yogurts by Foodbuzz (seen here) to cook a brunch for a couple of friends.

I’ve tried the flavors prior to making anything. I had vanilla, and their fruit flavored yogurts Harvest Picks of peach, strawberry and mixed berry. They tasted good. It’s not too thick [...]

Christmas Dinner – Carnivore’s Feast of Pat LaFrieda Meats and Pure Bred Lamb

Christmas table setting, Whole mustard-rosemary Chateaubriand roast and my portion of that meat

Christmas dinner was essentially a carnivore’s feast. Don’t get me wrong, I love my vegetables but since I’m thinking holidays, I normally associate large hunks of meat to share with friends and family. That’s when I start ordering from [...]

Cooking with Emile Henry – Chicken Apricot Tagine

Emile Henry Pans and Mortar and Pestle

For the past several years, I’ve been a fan of Emile Henry‘s French ceramic cookware and more recently, their colorful plates. It reflects my Francophile ways. Their products are very useful at home, giving some colorful punch to my mostly silver pans, and it helps [...]