20 Sep 2011
by scolgin
in Recipes, Video
Tags: bacon, barbecue, chicken, Gonpachi, grill, hibachi, japan, japanese, robata, steak, sumiyaki, tokyo
One of the things I like about Tokyo — and Japan, in general — is you will find different restaurants catering to specific styles of food preparation. Here in America, we have sushi bars and teppanyaki table grills (given a P.T. Barnumesque American twist where chefs flip shrimp into the air, catch eggs in their hats and make rice volcanoes). In Japan, you have ramen joints, tempura bars, shabu shabu houses, unagi (eel) restaurants, skewered chicken innards cafes and countless other establishments catering to a single style of cooking or eating. There are even, unfortunately, restaurants specializing in whale.
Sumiyaki
With our large Japanese population in Los Angeles, more and more of these diverse eateries are appearing. More
30 Aug 2011
by scolgin
in Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: barbecue, BBQ, Beach Boys, Ecclesiastes, figs, pink wine, proseco, rib eye, rosé, summer
Culinarily speaking, summertime is a feminine season. Sure, the dudes are out by the grill — sucking beer, flipping burgers and talking pre-season football. But it is the salads, the lightly seared skinless chicken breast pailliards, the peaches and the pink wines that prevail.
Pink wine and figs
I sit here drinking my pink wine and looking at a bowl of figs, feeling emasculated. By late August, I’m wondering where is the cold weather and a long-braised leg of some animal? More
09 Aug 2011
by scolgin
in Recipes, Video
Tags: barbecue, BBQ, butter, chicken, grill, grilling, recipes, spicy vinegar, thighs, wings
Among the world’s barbecue meats, next to regal rib-eyes and blissful racks of pork baby backs, chicken is the ugly red-headed stepchild.
More often than not, as I’m sure you’ve experienced at your share of backyard feasts, chicken is ruined on the grill. Rubbery thighs emerge black and blistered. Breasts languish on blazing grates while the host chats and tends to other things, turning them six or eight times over the course of an hour or so and eventually asking, “Do you think they’re done?” (Is it possible to successfully cook a chicken breast on the barbecue? Yes. Is it likely you will encounter it this summer? No.) More
22 Jul 2011
by scolgin
in Cooking Tips, Observations, Pork, Recipes
Tags: barbecue, brisket, Carmageddon, North Carolina, Pork, pork shoulder, Stubbs, Texas, vinegar, Watermans
My neighbor Chris, a man of noble appetite and impeccable palate, invited us over for a Sunday barbecue. It was the much-hyped, much-feared “Carmageddon” weekend, in which the busiest freeway in the country would be shut down for two days. No one was going anywhere. So the commute 50 or so feet to the Watermans’ house sounded perfect. And I took it as a good omen when I saw Chris out in his pajamas at 8 a.m. that morning, tending to his smoker.
The Man & his smoker, "R2D2"
Chris hails from Florida, close enough to the smoking belt of the Deep South to count. More
04 Jul 2011
by scolgin
in American Series, Pork, Recipes, Video
Tags: 4th of July, barbecue, grill, grilling, Kansas City, Pork, ribs
50 million grills will be fired across America on the 4th of July. On many of them, the breasts of chickens who gave their lives for the event will be cooked long periods at a high heat into chalky oblivion. Burgers that held such promise will be transforming into rocky discs while their cooks chat with party guests over a beer. But on the best barbecues, magic will be happening. And I want that to be yours.
When I contemplate what to grill for Independence Day, my imagination travels the great barbecues of our country. More
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
skinny girls & mayonnaise 