Crispy Shrimp Risotto Fake Out

25 Sep 2015 16 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I’m a big believer in the ol’ saying, “If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.” I often spring it on my children when something hasn’t gone the way they were hoping, and they roll their eyes at me.

One lemon that life keeps giving me over and over again is burnt rice. About one out of every three times I make sushi rice, I space out and forget to turn it off and it burns.

Crispy shrimp risotto fake out

Crispy shrimp risotto fake out

If it isn’t too burned, I’m able to salvage most of the rice and it has a nice woodsy nutty smoked taste that works well with sushi. Also if it’s not too burned, the “burnt” part comes off with a wrist twist of the spatula in crusty golden brown strips. If you put it in a 200 degree oven for 40 or so minutes, it dries out and becomes the hard stuff the Chinese fry to drop into sizzling rice. More

Why Iceland?

18 Sep 2015 14 Comments

by scolgin in Humor, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

My 11-year-old son Flynn is obsessed with Iceland.

“I think I want to learn to speak Icelandic,” he declared to us at some point.

He now has two different Icelandic apps on his iPhone and paces around the house working on his pronunciation.

“Kveðja!” he says cheerfully by way of an Icelandic goodbye to our 5-year-old daughter Imogen as she heads off to summer camp.

Svið (singed sheep's head)

Svið (singed sheep’s head)

Why Iceland? I take some responsibility, having introduced him to the Icelandic band, Sigur Rós, and taken him to one of their very dramatic concerts.

I’ve always been a bit intrigued by Iceland myself. I’m Irish, I like cold and dramatic northern landscapes and broody people who drink a bit too much and write mournful poetry and music. More

The Subversion of Quinoa

04 Sep 2015 14 Comments

by scolgin in Humor, Recipes, Starlets Tags: , , , , , ,

The occasion was the Commitment Dinner for my daughter, Imogen’s kindergarten class. Our friends, Casey and Simone were hosting at their home.

The purpose of the commitment dinner is for the class parents to get together, sign up to volunteer for certain responsibilities in the class, hear the pitch for money from our version of a PTA parent, and then drink profusely and eat potluck.

My quinoa salad

My quinoa salad

As you might guess, it is the “eating potluck” part of the equation that, every year around this time, sows fear in my soul. And, this being Topanga Canyon, there is one word in particular I expect to see a lot of in the emails leading up to the event: quinoa. More

A Vermont Roadtrip Dinner

07 Aug 2015 10 Comments

by scolgin in Eating Out, Humor, On the Road, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Though it would get bumped off the itinerary of our recent Northeast vacation due to logistic issues, we would have our chance to see Vermont after all, on the drive between the Adirondacks and Boston.

Vermont

Vermont

Our pal Jon’s brother, Charlie — who went to college in Vermont and has a cabin there — gave us his recommendations for two different routes. The first was slightly more direct and passed through Middlebury, which was supposedly quaint and scenic; the second wound around a bit more and featured some nice waterfalls and a swimming hole. Both passed through the beautiful Green Mountains. Having gotten a late start from the Buck Summerhill Camp and it being well after lunch time when we crossed Lake Champlain into Vermont, we opted for the first. More

Singapore Swing

24 Jul 2015 12 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

“There must be more to Singapore cuisine that bak kwa,” I thought to myself.

The dried sweet meat our friend Shoba brought us back from the tiny island nation — her home turf — was certainly delicious. But there had to be more.

Hainanese chicken rice

Hainanese chicken rice

Other than writing a marketing blurb here or there for one or the other cruise line about the Jurong Bird Park, breakfast with tigers at the zoo or Singapore slings at Raffles Hotel, I hadn’t really thought much about Singapore before Shoba entered our lives. More

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