underrated ingredients

The fashion equivalent of the boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 May 2012

Do fashion people ever want to throw on a pair of uninspired jeans with an ill-fitting college sweatshirt, and step out in public? Do they ever get tired of making some statement with clothes, or if not a statement, at least showing their expertise? Every day we get dressed. But what if it’s your job [...]

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In praise of corned beef and cabbage

15 March 2012

Every Irish-American family has at least one good St. Patrick’s Day story. Ours involves green beer, green teeth, and a banner at a wake that said, “Good luck Casey!” (Casey, may he rest in peace, needed a lot more than luck in that story.) Even so, enjoying St. Patrick’s Day has nothing to do with [...]

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Brain Food: Grilled Sardines

19 July 2011

When I was in preschool, I ate fish for breakfast. It’s not as strange as it sounds. At the time, my family lived in Davao, the main city on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The fish in question were small, no bigger than an index finger. They were fried crisp, and you could eat [...]

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Italian Refried Beans

21 February 2011

Beige beans have never been flashy. A few years back, I would have called them healthy and left the topic alone. That is, until I sampled beans glossed with olive oil. These beans, one of the first things I ate at A16, forever changed my appreciation for—and expectation of—beige legumes. The beans, first cooked in [...]

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How to Winterize a Salad

18 December 2010

Produce gets all the attention when it’s in season. But dishes have seasons too. Take gazpacho, for instance. When snow hits the ground, I don’t want to cozy up to a bowl of cold tomato soup. Salads also are affected by the season, and in a way that goes beyond using seasonal produce. Texture and [...]

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Sandwiching in Leftovers

10 December 2010

Why would anyone call anything a garbage salad? A garbage salad isn’t made up of garbage at all, but rather leftovers, those bits and bobs preserved in deli containers in the fridge. It tends to be a reocccuring component in a restaurant’s family meal. Sometimes, it came together like this: 3:00 p.m. “Adam, what’s for [...]

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Caramelized Cauliflower

29 November 2010

When cauliflower hits hot oil, it takes on a sweetness that is entirely at odds with its less-inspired boiled self. Instead of emitting a cabbage-like aroma, the cauliflower smells like popcorn. It tastes similarly addictive. It’s crispy. For me, cauliflower seared in a pan with plenty of olive oil has been nothing short of a [...]

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A Tuna Sandwich and a Crossword

23 September 2010

Let’s talk about the perfect power lunch. A tuna sandwich and a crossword puzzle. I’ve come around to crossword puzzles so late that it’s almost embarrassing. Part of the reason I abstained was logical. I never understood the point. For instance, if you spent half an hour writing a paragraph, you have a paragraph show [...]

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Eat a Prune, Start a Movement

14 September 2010

It started when I was about knee-high, perched around the table at my grandparents’ house in Menlo Park. My grandfather told me to eat a prune. They’re good for you, he said. I looked at the strange, wrinkled orb and thought: whoa, that’s asking too much. My response was a lot less sophisticated. I probably [...]

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