15 Jul 2014
by scolgin
in Recipes
Tags: Argentina, asado, empanadas, gravlax, Marcus Samuelsson, recipes, Swedish food, World Cup
So your friends, the Murphys, down the street, who lived in Argentina for awhile and fancy themselves Argentines, are having a party for the World Cup Final. They are making a traditional asado for the afternoon meal, and you want to bring a nice complementary appetizer. What do you settle on? Gravlax, of course.
Sockeye salmon curing
While the closest thing to a Scandinavian country in the World Cup would be, I guess, the Netherlands, in today’s globally connected world of culinary mash-ups, there’s no need to be overly legalistic. More
11 Jul 2014
by scolgin
in Beverages, Recipes
Tags: agua fresca, Attempts in Domesticity, cocktails, margarita, Mexico, Sir Isaac Newton, watermelon
I remember watching a Ken Burns documentary series a few years back about the National Park system. It was called, “America’s Best Idea.”
I was thinking about this on a particularly hot Southern California summer afternoon, the desert winds blowing through the canyon and out to sea. It was stifling, I was thirsty… and then it came to me: My best idea!
Watermelon Aguarita
It began with a half-eaten watermelon sitting on the kitchen counter. I was reminded of a post about watermelon agua fresca on my friend’s Jessica’s blog, Attempts in Domesticity. I pulled up her website, glanced at the instructions, and made myself a nice cold pinkish glass of watermelon agua fresca, which was just as refreshing as the post had suggested. More
20 Jun 2014
by scolgin
in Markets & Stores, Recipes
Tags: Canoga Park, Filipino cuisine, food, green papaya salad, humor, Island Pacific supermarket, longaniza, pancit, Philippines, seafood
I’m always on the lookout for interesting ethnic markets. And so, while driving several days a week to a deep western corner of the San Fernando Valley to visit my father recovering from cranial surgery, was delighted to discover the Island Pacific Supermarket.
Green papaya salad
My repertoire of markets boasts a healthy array of ethnicities — Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, German, Italian, Persian, Mexican… But here was something new — a Filipino market! More
22 Apr 2014
by scolgin
in Recipes
Tags: artichokes, Easter, fava beans, fettuccine, Italian food, Jesus, Roman cooking, Rome, Saveur, Wine Guerrilla
I like to glom onto religious holidays that have interesting regional food traditions and make them my own.
I’ve often been inspired by Saveur magazine, my favorite food rag. Such was the case all those years ago when I got issue #11, March/April 1996 (yes, I’m proud to say I was a charter subscriber to the publication in its first year), and there was an article on a traditional Roman Easter feast. More
10 Apr 2014
by scolgin
in Markets & Stores, Recipes
Tags: abelskivers, food, humor, Ikea, lingonberries, recipes, rosti, Scandinavian cooking, shrimp, Sweden
We’d been putting it off and putting it off — the family trip to Ikea.
Not because we don’t like Ikea — we love it. But it’s nearly an hour away, and there never seems to be a good time. But late Sunday morning, a bit hungover from too much tequila the night before, we had no excuses to put it off any longer. And a big plate of Ikea Swedish meatballs sounded like just the Rx for the hangover.
Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, gravy and lingonberries
My wife can spend hours at Ikea. We were going to go the previous weekend, until I told her we’d probably be able to stay 90 minutes, which was going to be sorely inadequate. It seemed like plenty to me. I’m more of a strategic strike sort of shopper — 30 minutes would be plenty for me. I guess it’s probably a male/female thing. More
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