World’s Best Sandwiches — the Reuben

Do you know what I love most about St. Patrick’s Day? The drunken debauchery, you answer by reflex? No, I don’t need an excuse for that. (Although my sister, Andrea, and I did once consume a long queue of red wines at an Irish pub in Venice, Italy, during a particularly good exchange rate.) It’s the leftover corned beef I have after my once-a-year foray into Irish cuisine.

Reuben ingredients

Whichever of the World’s Best Sandwiches I happen to be eating at the time tends to be my favorite. (And typically I’ll make a strong case for my own sandwich, the Topanga tri-tip.) But you’d be hard pressed to find a better sandwich than the Reuben. More

Salmon Extraordinary

Soon it will be salmon season! (I know you’re not buying that farmed Atlantic salmon that’s dyed orange and is ruining natural salmon runs worldwide.) And rather than that ol’ standby of slapping giant olive oil-and-soy-marinated fillets onto the grill and cooking them until they turn into chalk, I’d like to show you another — I like to think better — way of cooking salmon. (Especially if you’ll be inviting me over for dinner during salmon season.)

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The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!!

…to dinner, that is.

You have to be careful when cooking an ethnic dinner for ethnic friends. You don’t want to appear cliché or offend anyone. Will your Mexican friends really appreciate it, for example, when they come for dinner and you announce, “Hey, I’m making burritos! Muy bueno!!“?? (Imagine your own horror should you be invited to a dinner party in Paris or Tokyo, anticipating delicious local cuisine, only to have your hosts serve you meatloaf and mac n’ cheese.)

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Party Dip Goes Piedmont

The author (center, rear) and friends, hour 8, pitcher #12 — Vesuvios bar North Beach, San Francisco

Next time you’re having a dinner party at your home, dispense with the crudites or the waxy wedge of brie. I’ve got something better for you. It’s called bagna cauda (or bagna calda, if you prefer — easier to pronounce), it hails from the Piedmont region of Italy, and you’ll marvel how your guests gather around it, each trying not to look like the guy who’s hogging it all. More

Freako for Frico

Mini-Caesar salad in a frico cone

It’s one of life’s best things. That little bit of melted cheese that escapes from the edge of the grilled cheese sandwich or quesadilla, and sizzles into the pan, becoming crisp and lacy. More

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