18 Jun 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Recipes
Tags: Attempts in Domesticity, Buffalo wings, chicken wings, China, Chinese cooking, food, humor, pool party, salt & pepper wings
It’s no secret that I think the chicken wing is the best part of the bird. I recently commented on an Asian chicken wing post on one of my favorite blogs, Attempts in Domesticity, that I heard they were engineering chickens with eight wings — spiderchickens! (A combination of humor and wishful thinking.)
One of my favorite kinds of wings, along with original Buffalo wings and twice-fried Korean wings, are Chinese salt & pepper wings. I used to get them back in the day at cheap Chinese takeout counters — you know the kind, with the compartmentalized styrofoam take out boxes where you can choose between noodles or fried rice and two entrees for $5.99. More
11 Jun 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Humor, Observations, Recipes
Tags: Bob Dylan, chili, humor, Michael Portnoy, quinoa, soy, Soy Bomb, tofu, vegetarian, yoga
When I was a kid, all the hippies were crazy for soy. It was the new thing. They had discovered tofu and tempeh, and were putting it in everything.
Today, soy is in the culinary dog house. Vegans, yoga students and Birkenstock wearers have moved on to quinoa, textured vegetable protein and nut cutlets. Websites with names like Natural Health Strategies and Hidden Soy decry the dangers of soy, and expose the nefarious secret intentions of the soy industry. All of this just as it seems to me that soy is finally getting its act together!
Performance artist Michael Portnoy soy bombs Bob Dylan at the 1998 Grammy Awards
It was the Halloween carnival fundraiser last year at my children’s elementary school. I was approached beforehand: Sean, could you make a large pot of chili to sell at the fundraiser? More
07 Jun 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Observations, Recipes
Tags: Alaska, barbecue, bruschetta, Groupon, salmon, San Marzano, Santa Monica Seafood, summer, Tae Kwon Do, tomatoes
There’s a lot going on this week — summer nearing, the last few days of school. The calendar is full, my cooking commitments many.
Savoring my last bite of lunch before the floodgates open
As I sit here this warm afternoon eating one of my favorite summer lunches — crusty multi-grain bruschetta with ripe heirloom tomatoes, basil, olive oil, mozzarella and parmesan reggiano — I think of the next several days. It began this morning, as pal Ernie and I tried to go to the amazing, miraculous Santa Monica Seafood to redeem Groupons we’d purchased to make a seafood dinner this evening. More
03 May 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Humor, Recipes
Tags: Baja California, Bri Winkler, Cinco de Mayo, machaca, margaritas, Mexican cooking, Mexico, Oaxaca, queso fundido, Yucatan
My friends and family (and probably quite a few of my blog readers) know that when it comes to food, I’m a theme-and-holiday geek. Oftentimes as a holiday approaches, various people will reach out to me. “So,” they’ll say, “What are you guys up to for St. Patrick’s Day?” They know full well what we’re up to, and are angling for an invitation.
The stuff Cinco de Mayo dreams are made of.
One of my favorite “reason-to-cook-and-drink-ethnic” holidays is upon us — Cinco de Mayo. Much like St. Patrick’s Day, it’s a holiday that’s more popular with Yankees than it is back in the home country. It’s the day everyone is Mexican! Also like St. Patrick’s Day, it’s a convenient excuse for those who would drink in excess to head for their favorite watering hole. For us, Cinco de Mayo — again, like St. Patrick’s Day — is an opportunity to celebrate the food and drink of the holiday’s culture. If we drink too much, it’s not on purpose. More
25 Apr 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Humor, Pork, Recipes
Tags: Chengdu, China, Chinese cooking, Huang Fei Hong spicy peanuts, ma la, peppercorns, Saveur, Sichuan, Szechuan
One of the strangest culinary experiences I’ve ever had was more than a decade ago, when our friend from Szechuan, Guonan, invited us over for Szechuan hot pot.
Among the more unusual items on the condiment plate that evening as we sat on the floor around a bubbling pot on the coffee table of her Marina del Rey apartment, gazing out at the twinkling lights of the boats in the harbor, was duck tongues. More
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