Content about Appetizers
June 24, 2011
A Chicago Backyard and Many Happy People
Mexican food is made for parties. The construction of tortillas, fillings, salsas, and toppings; the spicy, rich flavors; and above all, the fact that it tastes so darn good. This was our guiding principle on a recent Saturday when, with the help of a handful of talented friends, we threw a Baja Fish Taco party under warm string lights in a Chicago backyard.
We were celebrating one of the early recipes published on this blog for beer-...
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January 31, 2011
Here's an oldie but goodie on nachos creation for the Superbowl. How do you top your tortilla chips?
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September 16, 2010
Plus a recipe for Oaxacan-Style Peanuts with Chile and Garlic
Forget the chips.
You know the drill. You walk into a Mexican restaurant anywhere in the country. You sit down. Within moments -often before drink orders are taken- a bowl of tortilla chips and salsa are rushed out to the table. You immediately dig in. Time disappears. Before you order, before you even think about ordering, salsa stains the tablecloth and all the chips are mysteriously gone. That’s just how it goes. Right?
So...
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June 30, 2010
Hummus' neglected cousin
When it comes to Middle Eastern dips, hummus hogs most of the love and attention. (The New York Times recently reported that hummus is "catching on" in America, where it dominates the $325 million-a-year refrigerated flavored spreads category). You see tubs of it everywhere, and for good reason: it's a great snack to have around.
But there's another beige spread (now doesn't that sound appetizing?) that gets short...
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Visiting the Spanish coast.
Barcelona was a wonderful city to be in, but leaving it was just as fun. Installed in a tiny stick-shift Citroen, we headed north from the city for Costa Brava, opting for the cheaper no-toll road that snakes along the coast and could take twice as long. Driving in Europe was harrowing the first time I did it, but I've since learned to embrace the speeding, reckless flow--I figure it's safe to go with it than stand in its way....
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June 16, 2009
How to save money in the stylish Spanish city.
While Nick has been saving the world with quick no-soak-beans and investigating the roots of Wisconsin bratwurst (part of my family is from Wisconsin and I hope to weigh in with strong opinions on the subject sooner than later), I've been on the run, away from a kitchen, squeezing every trip out of Europe I can afford. Which isn't much at the moment. But a lack of cash didn't deter us from enjoying some of the best...
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September 10, 2008
How to make pickles at home without filling your place with the smell of pickles.
But all I did was worry. Why was there no garlic in the dill pickles? Every other jar of dill pickles I had bought contained garlic. And why did the pickling spice smell so sweet? Dill pickles weren't sweet. I worried that Ruhlman's recipe was too refined. I wanted simple dill pickles. I'd have to look elsewhere.
I pulled out Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking and found...
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December 3, 2007
Crawling the streets in search of ham and beer
We arrived at the ultra-modern Madrid airport terminal half-asleep, legs in need of a stretch, eager for what we imagined might be a giant, country-wide cocktail party. The Spanish tradition of tapas awaited (or, as we would later call them in San Sebastian, pintxos, our American tongues unsure how a “t” can be pronounced before an “x," the result a squished noise that sounds like "chah"), in which...
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June 9, 2006
The best fried fish tacos we've ever had.
Our own version culled from a few different recipes, an emulation of the classic recipe of homemade tortillas, lightly fried tempura-style fish, a dairy-based white sauce, and fresh, crunchy, gently spicy cabbage.
Real Baja fish tacos are nothing like what you're used to eating when it comes to Mexican food. In fact, true Mexican cuisine might be our biggest missed chance. Satisfied by the (admittedly tasty) Tex-Mex-style...
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April 22, 2006
Braving the cold weather for all the $1 tasting plates you could want
Tai Hong Lau 70 Mott Street Deep Fried Dumplings Verdict: The first of many deep-fried samplings, not the cheapest but quite tasty. They had an assortment of vegetables and mini shrimp.
Eastern Villa Restaurant 66 Mott Street Sweet and Sour Short Ribs Verdict: Good meat, but your basic sweet-and-sour taste. Heavy on the MSG. Notice Blake in the scrum. Each restaurant had crowds like this one, and each one had short...
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In which our minds are blown by the food
Founded by Mario Battali and Joe Bastianich, Casa Mono is no culinary secret, nor is it hidden in some trendy outpost like Red Hook or Bushwick. It sits in stately Gramercy amongst the trees of Irving Place, which hush the hustle of neighboring Union Square. I'd never stepped foot in a Battali-affiliated place before, and I felt nervous and ready. It's not that his restaurants are exceedingly expensive (Del Posto obviously excluded...
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March 29, 2006
In which we find a wildly handsome Spanish man
Step 1: Find a Spanish Man.
Step 2: Find a Spanish Ham.
Preferably, a wildly handsome Spanish friend with a hunk of Spanish ham that his mother sent him. Jorge had looks. And he had the ham. What follows is an evening of many, many stages that included overcoming fears of anchovies, quail eggs, and two romantic party members who ate their share, doted on each other, and cooked absolutely nothing at all....
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All content copyright Nick Kindelsperger and Blake Royer.
