Let’s forget I am gluten-free for a second and talk about how amazing NJ & NY pizza is. Big, thin slices that you fold in half lengthwise and the orange grease drips down your arms to your elbows. Just plain, old-school cheese pizza is my favorite. I miss eating this pizza so much it breaks my heart and sucks.

I know other people think the pizza at their local pizzeria is the best. Some like thick pizza, Chicago-Style pizza, others with pineapple and ham which is fine with me to each his own…but in my opinion, old-school NJ & NY pizza is the kick-ass pizza of all time. Hey, it’s my blog so I can say it with a complete and utter passion. I am going to go even further in my Jersey accent and say you can only get “real” pizza in NJ & NY. The whole country has NY style pizza, but it is not the same thing. Capese?

However…A few years ago we went to CT for two days and all we heard about was Frank Pepe’s New Haven signiture white clam pizza. Our son Noah lived in CT for a couple of years and went to Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria the original home of New Haven white clam pizza and raved about it. Frank Pepe’s opened in 1925 and uses a coal-fired brick oven for his signiture crust.

Sadly, when we were in New Haven, CT we couldn’t find a gluten-free version to try so like everything else, I had to make my own. Guess what? They were right about New Haven-Style pizza…it’s fucking delicious!

The ingredients for the topping are the same as my white clam sauce for linguini: clams, olive oil, garlic, oregano, kosher salt & pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, Italian parsley, fresh lemon zest, and lemon juice.

Now I know that at Frank Pepe’s they are adamant about using freshly shucked clams. If fresh clams are not available, they do not serve white clam pizza. Period. Bravo. Hats off chef!

Here in VT I am forced to use canned clams since we aren’t on the coast but in a land locked state where fresh clams aren’t always available. For this reason, I keep a few cans of minced clams in my pantry for white clam sauce, baked stuffed clams or New England clam chowder. Are they as good as the real deal? Hell know, but where I live it’s hard to be a food snob when it comes to fresh, specialty ingredients.

Here is a link to a New Haven-Style white clam pizza recipe in case anyone is interested in making one.

I am sure that my CT friends are doing backflips that their beloved New Haven pizza got some well deserved recognition. It truly is a delicious, gourmet, specialty, pizza that belongs in its own category.

Nowadays, there are as many different toppings for specialty pizzas as there are for pasta and sandwiches. All good…but still not that drool worthy NJ cheese tomato pie I crave so badly.

Last year I wrote a Thanksgiving cooking piece for beginners on Facebook. This was the post that made me want to start a blog. This was also the post where so many people told me I should have a blog. Ok, so it took two months for it to happen.

I shared my Thanksgiving post with a group that I am in called The Apocalypse Supper Club. On my newsfeed, I kept seeing so many people who were panicking because they were being forced to stay home for the holiday and would have to cook themselves.

Whenever I teach a cooking class one of the first things that I say to my students is that my goal for the class is to take away the intimation of cooking. When students saw how easy recipes really are they weren’t intimated by them anymore; they felt accomplished! Yay! Watching people who were afraid to cook then are suddenly excited by it is priceless to me.

I wanted to write a post that would be informal yet informational to first-time Thanksgiving cooks. I wanted them to not be afraid of cooking for a big holiday. I wanted them to maybe even enjoy it a little bit.

You know what? That post went viral on Facebook. Not only did the three thousand members of the group see my post, but they shared it on their personal Facebook pages. I also shared it on my Facebook page. Lots of my friends shared it on their pages. You get the picture.

Thousands of people loved my post. They found the advice helpful and it did indeed take away some of the fear & dread for many people. Mission accomplished. I decided to share last year’s post with all of you even though there aren’t travel restrictions in place this year and many of you who don’t like to cook; won’t have to. Without further ado here’s the post:

Hey!!! If this is your first Thanksgiving that you have to cook because of travel & gathering restrictions I must tell you this….today (Sunday) is the day you may want to take your frozen turkey out of the freezer and defrost in the refrigerator in a container in case it leaks while it defrosts. I made the mistake of taking my turkey out too late too many times and sweated it out if it would be ready to roast on Thanksgiving. Here are a couple other pieces of advice I have found helpful over the last 31 years of cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

▪️Read the recipes you plan to make AHEAD and re-read them. For real you don’t want to find out on the big day you forgot to get something that would change the dish drastically. 

▪️Make a list and shop early. No one wants to torture themselves and be in a last-minute panic situation at the grocery store. 

▪️Simple recipes with fewer good ingredients always come out better and are way less stressful.

▪️Mise en place or prep ahead!!!!! I cannot stress this enough!!! Being well organized and ready to go on the big day is fucking priceless! You will thank me and this goes for other big meals not just on thanksgiving. Seriously just taking the time to prep a few things here and there instead of just sitting on your phone is time well spent and is good for you mentally as well. Lol! 

▪️Never apologize for your food!!!! To quote Julia Child “I don’t believe in twisting yourself into knots of excuses and explanations over the food you make. Usually, one’s cooking is better than one thinks it is!” 

▪️Let yourself off the hook and don’t try to make everything from scratch. If you like to bake then by all means make your pies on Wednesday, but if you don’t enjoy baking then buy them!!!! Keep your menu small and don’t try to tackle too many things. This one is huge. People start thinking about every dish they have ever had on past Thanksgiving and think they need to make them all. 

▪️Plan on something super simple or order a pizza on Wednesday night so you can take the time to get organized for tomorrow. The same thing goes with a simple breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. This is not the day to make pumpkin pancakes or some other dumb shit you think is necessary. It’s not. 

▪️This may be the biggest one of all. The big daddy of advice….clean as you go!!!!! Honestly, people get so overwhelmed when they look around their kitchen and it looks like a bomb went off or worse when the pot or bowl or whisk that you need is dirty under a mountain of dishes!!!! 

I hope this helps anyone who is dreading to cook…because they don’t enjoy cooking or perhaps they have always been that person that is lucky enough to just show with a pie or flowers for the table. I have some time today so I am prepping ahead things that can be made far in advance and make turkey day a snap!! 

Take a deep breath. Count your blessings. Give thanks for all the good things that did happen in this shitass year and Bon Appetit! ❤️❤️❤️~julz

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It took me a long time to master regular pie crust for pastries. Then, I needed to go gluten-free and was devastated that I had to start all over. I tried lots of recipes for gluten-free pie crust that were either too dry, fell apart, or just sucked in general. Gluten-free baking is difficult and turns people off from baking completely. That was me for about five years.

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Before I attempt any gluten-free baking, I read tons of recipes online. I see which recipe does this and which ones do that. After I chose a recipe and follow it exactly, I figure out what went wrong. None of the recipes came out the way I wanted them to, and the dough was tough to work with.

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Over the last ten years, I have found that many gluten-free bloggers write recipes for home cooks that are way over the top with too many unnecessary ingredients, steps, and dishes. In my humble opinion, I think they all try to outdo each other making their recipes unique. Working in a professional kitchen, I have found solid ways to simplify fussy recipes with great results.

Those food bloggers would be shocked that I don’t weigh my ingredients but measure them. I use salted butter. I warm up the dough, so it’s easier to work with. Eee gads…it won’t be flaky if the dough isn’t ice cold, they say. It still comes out flaky, trust me. I haphazardly throw caution to the wind and throw everything in the food processor. I don’t overwork the dough by pulsing the food processor too much or adding too much water too fast.

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This crust “comes together”; it doesn’t form itself into a ball in the food processor. The dough looks like little pieces of rice that hold together when squeezed in your hand.

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The dough can be made up to a week in advance and kept in the fridge wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. The dough can be frozen then defrosted in the refrigerator. The dough is very forgiving and can be reformed and rolled out multiple times.

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You know the dough is perfect when it feels like play-doe, not too wet or too dry. I urge you always to try out any new recipe in advance. Holidays or dinner parties are not the times you should try a new recipe. In other words, don’t use your guests as guinea pigs. Knowing the recipe results before you make it for any occasion cuts down on stress and embarrassing failures.

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This is a gluten-free recipe and shouldn’t be tried with conventional ingredients. Follow a traditional pie crust recipe that works beautifully.

For first-time or inexperienced gluten-free bakers, you will have to use your hands to feel and your eyes to see if the dough is too wet or dry.

When kneading or rolling out the dough, use plenty of flour on your bench-top, so the dough doesn’t stick, but not add too much that it makes the dough too dry. Trust your instincts; remember, it’s only baking and not a real-life tragedy if it doesn’t come out perfect the first time.

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When I was in my twenties, I would have complete shit-fits when a recipe didn’t work out; then, I would throw everything away. I would be so pissed-off and angry. Unbelievably, I have much more patience in my fifties and take it all in stride now.

If you want to use my pie crust recipe for Thanksgiving, please try it out before the big day. You don’t have to make a pumpkin, pecan, or apple pie; you can make a meat pot pie, a tart, or a galette for dinner or dessert.

Today, I am going to try making Chinese steamed buns with Peking Pork. I have read tons of gluten-free and conventional recipes and chose a couple to follow. Will they come out? I don’t know, but at least if they fail it won’t be in front of guests. Will I be mad? Most likely, but won’t turn into the Hulk as I used to back in the day.

Gluten-free Pie Crust

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend containing xanthan gum such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour or Thomas Keller’s cup for cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
6 Tbsp salted butter cut into cubes and chilled
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
Ice water by the teaspoon as needed

Directions

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except for the water. Pulse to blend into pea-size pieces.

Add the ice water teaspoon by teaspoon, pulsing the food processor after each addition. Open the lid of the food processor; using your hand squeeze the dough, checking to see if it is too dry. It will not form into a ball but will be on the crumbly side that looks like rice and holds together when squeezed.

Take your time adding the water not to add too much too quickly. It usually takes 4 teaspoons depending on the weather; then, it could be more or less.

Remove the dough from the food processor, flour your benchtop, then knead until smooth and form into a ball. Divide the dough ball into two, then form them into two disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap. Pop the disks into the refrigerator until ready to use.

When ready to use, take disks out of the fridge and let “warm” up for 15-20 minutes. This step makes the dough easier to work with. Squeeze the dough with your hands until smooth. Flour your bench-top and roll out for tarts or galettes.

For pie crusts, spray two pieces of plastic wrap with pan spray and sandwich the dough between the two. Roll out to the size you wish. Carefully peel the top plastic wrap off, then turn over, putting that side onto the top of the pie pan. Carefully peel off the other piece of plastic wrap. Press into the pie dish, fill, then repeat with the top crust.

Follow the directions for your favorite pie filling, and baking instructions like you used a refrigerated pie crust from the store.

FYI…You can reroll the scraps multiple times, and it will not affect the flakiness or texture of the baked crust.

*** If you enjoy my recipes, please consider making a mall donation to my blog in the “support my blog” section. No matter how small, all donations are welcome and make me feel like my time and effort is appreciated. Thank you so much for your support! 🤗

I had a reader request my recipe for lazy man’s lobster. I had to sit down and think about how I actually made it. The thing to keep in mind with recipes like this depends on the size of the lobsters you are using. I used two 1 1/2 lb lobsters and got 3 nicely filled baking dishes.

This is a super-rich dish; the portions don’t need to be extravagant due to the richness. I recommend serving with fresh lemon wedges for each diner. The fresh lemon juice squeezed on top cuts through the richness and makes the dish in balance.

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Lazy man’s lobster

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of crushed Ritz type crackers
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
¼ cup fresh Italian leaf parsley, chopped
½ cup butter
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup sherry
The juice and zest from one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked lobster meat from 2-3 lobsters, depending on their size, cut into bite-size pieces.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter 3-4 ovenproof dishes, place them on a sheet pan. Divide the cooked lobster meat amongst the dishes. I say 3-4 dishes, depending on the size of the lobsters. Set aside.

Crush crackers in a ziplock bag and a rolling pin or a food processor. Crush or pulse until it becomes crumbs. I like my crumbs with more texture crushing them less.

Melt the 4 Tbsp of butter. In a bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, melted butter, lemon zest, and parsley. Mix until completely combined, set aside.

Heat 1/2 cup butter in a saute pan over low heat. When the butter has melted, add garlic and slowly poach the garlic until soft, not brown. Add sherry and lemon—season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Divide the butter mixture evenly between the dishes, pouring the butter mixture over the lobster. Top with a generous amount of cracker topping on each dish.

Put the baking sheet in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the lobster is hot and the topping is golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges and more parsley. Serve with rice, pasta, or a baked potato. Enjoy!

*** If you enjoy my recipes, please consider making a mall donation to my blog in the “support my blog” section. No matter how small, all donations are welcome and make me feel like my time and effort is appreciated. Thank you so much for your support! 🤗

Coming up with ideas to cook is the hardest part of cooking for most people. I nailed Sam and Marty down on Sunday morning asking for some dinner ideas for the week. They came up with their suggestions; I would fill in the blanks based on what I wanted. 

Every week, I write down dinner menus in my cooking notebook; then below it, I make a shopping list of ingredients. I leave the list at home when I go to the store and have someone take a photo of it and text it to me. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I had a craving for something flavorful, different, and better yet, a one-pot dish. Jambalaya was that dish. Having a well-stocked pantry makes pulling one of these dinner ideas out of your ass possible. 

I’ve mentioned that we live in a food desert here in Southern Vermont, so if you want something a little different, you have to cook it yourself. If you don’t cook, you are out of luck or settle for mediocre, ordinary cuisine.  This is not a food snob talking, just a person that likes different varieties of food. 

Finding ingredients around here is another story; I do most of my ethnic shopping in Albany, NY. When you want to make a dish with ingredients that aren’t available here, you make do the best you can. 

I made my version of jambalaya tonight, one that would make creole folks go crazy since it isn’t authentic. I used common ingredients out of necessity but tried to mimic the flavor the best I could. 

I started sautéing in olive oil, what they call in New Orleans the “holy trinity,” which is onions, celery, and bell peppers. Cooks know what the “holy trinity” is, just like a “mirepoix,” onions, celery, and carrots in French cooking. 

Next, I added the sausage to the vegetables. Since I didn’t have andouille sausage, I used kielbasa. I made my own creole seasoning on the spicy side to help the kielbasa masquerade as andouille. 

For the rest of the recipe, I used long-grain white rice, a can of Rotel tomatoes & green chilis, chicken broth, and a bay leaf. I added a bag of shrimp at the very end of the cook.

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I browned the rice with the kielbasa and veggies. Next, I brought it up to a boil, covered it, and cooked it on low for 20 minutes. I stirred in a bag of mall shrimp that I marinated in a touch of olive oil and creole seasoning. I turned off the heat, covered the pot, and walked away for ten minutes. The residual heat cooked the small shrimp through without overcooking them.

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Not many ingredients like most of my recipes, just flavorful AF ones. While it was cooking, the house smelled delicious. So delicious that when Sam woke up at 5 pm (he works night shifts), he came down to see what the hell I was cooking. 

After I told him it was jambalaya, I realized I had never made it for him before; I made it while he was away at school. He thought it smelled amazing with flavors he had never had before. 

It turns out he wouldn’t be having it this time either since he wouldn’t be home. I packed a take-out container for a 3 am work dinner later this week for him. Yes, I pack him his dinners. I love feeding people! 

The jambalaya came out exactly how I wanted it to taste, smokey from the smoked paprika I put in the creole seasoning, a little heat but not too much, and that holy trinity was the foundation of the dish building flavors.

The house still smelled good three hours later when I took out the trash; I considered having more but decided against it. I hate feeling overfilled and have to stop myself by having only one portion. I also put my fork down the second my brain tells me I am full, no matter how delicious the meal is.

So a pot of faux jambalaya was the food hero last night and will be again today for lunch before belly dance classes. Yum!

Faux Jambalaya

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 package of grocery store kielbasa
1 Tbsp Creole seasoning
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilis
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 lb bag of easy-peel raw shrimp
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp creole seasoning
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Chop the onion, pepper, and celery. Mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or large pot, then add the “holy trinity” and the garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the kielbasa and the Creole seasoning. Stir to combine. Sauté uncovered for 10-12 minutes, stirring often or until the vegetables are soft.

While the kielbasa and veggies are cooking, peel the shrimp. In a bowl, add a tablespoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of creole seasoning. Stir gently to combine thoroughly. Set aside.

Add the rice to the kielbasa and veggies, stirring until combined. Brown, the raw rice for 3-5 minutes, stirring often to prevent the rice from burning. This step gives the rice a rich and nutty flavor.

Add the Rotel tomatoes and the chicken broth stirring well. Add the bay leaf, then bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Uncover, check the doneness of the rice. Stir in 1/8 cup water, cover, and cook for five more minutes if the rice is underdone. When the rice is tender, stir in the shrimp, turn off the heat, cover and leave for 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf, check for seasoning and serve. Enjoy!

Macaroni and chop meat. I am not sure if this was just a Jersey saying or generational. 

What in the hell is chop meat some of you may be asking yourself. It’s also know as ground beef or hamburg here in VT. 

Macaroni when I was growing up in Elizabeth, NJ was any pasta except for lasagna. It wasn’t called pasta. Ever. 

In restaurants, they had fancy names for their macaroni like linguine & clam sauce, penne vodka or baked ziti. But where I come from it was all macaroni. 

Macaroni and chop meat is also know here in America as goulash; not to be confused with the Hungarian kind. I’ve also heard it called American Chop Suey which is so wrong! I saw a show about Asian cuisine in which they made it crystal clear there is no such thing as chop suey in Chinese cuisine. 

A Chinese woman who was over 100 years old who was the first woman to ever own and cook in a Chinese restaurant. She had her own story about chop suey when Chinese food was still considered exotic.

When the interviewer asked her what chop  suey was she laughed. She said it means chopped up shit thrown in a wok. It was named chopped suey for the unknowing American customers. She was a fireball guzzling down booze and cursing like a sailer. 🙌🏼 She is my hero!

Macaroni and chop meat is one of a handful of dishes that I haven’t changed when I make it. I’ve been making it for as long as I can remember. I’m not sure who I watched make it, but I still do it the same way with the same simple ingredient. Jazzing up macaroni and chop meat is pasta with meat sauce; this is not. 

The only thing that I’ve changed about the dish is the macaroni. Originally, I used the classic elbow macaroni. When we had to go gluten free I made it with gluten-free penne pasta that fell apart and sucked up all the sauce. It sucked so bad I stopped making it. 

Now I make it with our gluten-free spätzle. The beauty is no boiling necessary for our “pasta.” It can go straight into a soup, sauce, gravy or casserole without having to boil it. The spätzle doesn’t get mushy or fall apart. Brilliant!

With all the fancy-ass cooking that I do, it’s refreshing making something so simple, comforting and familiar. It’s like a grilled cheese sandwich with butter, white bread and yellow American cheese.

The macaroni and chop meat that I make is a pound of chop meat, 1 diced onion, salt, 1 28oz can of plain old tomato sauce and a pound of macaroni. 

The beef is sautéed with the diced onion that has been seasoned with kosher salt until the onions are translucent. 

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Once the onions are translucent, you add the tomato sauce. Cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer and stir often for 30 minutes adding water if the sauce looks too dry. This is a looser sauce than my regular “sauce.”

Next, the cooked elbows or in my case spätzle gets mixed it. Cover, and let simmer for 20 more minutes adding water if it gets too dry. How do I know if I should add water or not? You just know.

I check to see if it needs more salt, it usually doesn’t since tomato sauce can be salty. That’s it. I serve it as is. No spices, no parmesan cheese, no black pepper…just plain. I love it with buttered white bread. Mmmm! 

I’d love to know if anyone else called this dish macaroni and chop meat. I’d also love to know how others make it. One time I ate at a friends house that were serving macaroni and chop meat with melted American cheese melted on top of it. I told my father about it and he said adding American cheese is sacrilege. 🤣

Please share in the comments section I your experiences with this dish; I am dying to know.

Happy Friday guys! Time to go!  It’s dinner time! Yum! Have a great weekend! ☺️

I love lobster but I am way too much of a cheapskate to buy them these days. Have you seen the price of lobster? We bought two of them for Sam’s seafood boil for his birthday back in August and they cost a small fortune.

Our friend Martin had two live lobsters leftover from the seafood salad he made for his wife’s celebration of life luncheon on Saturday. He asked me if I wanted them he wasn’t going to cook them for himself. Hell, yes! 

I’ve killed lobsters before and hate doing it. I am a person who likes their food already dead, but when it comes to some shellfish like clams, oysters & lobsters you have to take them out yourselves. I’ve put the in the freezer before throwing them into the pot. I’ve done it putting a knife swiftly through the head, which is considered the most humane way for this task.

This time I made Marty do it. I thanked them for their lives and that their death wouldn’t be in vein. I’ve been weepy enough this week and wasn’t up to doing it. I promised them before they went into the pot that I would make something amazing with them. Ten minutes later, I had two beautiful cooked lobsters. 

I decided to make Lazy Man’s Lobster which I never made before but love. It just so happened that I had some gluten-free ritz type of crackers on hand so I wanted to give it a whirl. 

I removed all the meat from the tails, claws and knuckles from the lobsters. Next, I crushed up the crackers and mixed them with some butter, lemon zest, and parsley for the topping.

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I butter poached some minced garlic then added a splash of sherry, the juice of the lemon I zested, kosher salt & pepper. Next, I divided the  lobster meat between three oven safe dishes, I spooned the melted butter mixture over the three dishes and topped them evenly with the cracker crumb topping. 

I threw them into the refrigerator then just needed to heat them up and brown the topping at dinner time. I baked two of the dishes at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. The third one I kept in the fridge for Sam since he was working.

I served the lazy man’s lobster with a baked potato. We squeezed fresh lemon wedges on the lobster. Lemon with rich dishes like this one is necessary because it cuts through the richness and brightens the dish. Rich food can be sickening without the acid.

The lazy man’s lobster was incredible. Better than any lazy man’s lobster I’ve ever had at a seafood place. The garlic and lemon elevated the dish making it so bright and flavorful.

The next day, I told Sammy there was a lazy man’s lobster in the fridge for him. He got the biggest grin on his face that made my heart sing! His smile looked like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland or the Grinch when he decided to ruin the whos down in Whosville Christmas.

I gave him the heating instructions then went upstairs to put away laundry & shower. When I came back downstairs there was still the smell of garlic waifing in the air. All of a sudden Sam practically yelled, “That was soooooo good” with a big smile on his face

Cooking delicious food for others is what I live for! I was thrilled I did those two lobsters justice. I sent Martin a photo of the lazy man’s lobster and thanked him again. 

I love Chinese food! When I was little my parents took me out to dinner for my birthday every year; I got to pick what type of food I wanted to have. It was always a hard decision between Italian food at Spiritos in Elizabeth, NJ, or Chinese food at a place in Linden.

Spiritos was my number one favorite place to eat, but my mouth drooled anytime I thought about Chinese food. The place in Linden had my favorite ice cream, pistachio with lots of maraschino cherries that were right in the ice cream.

One of the biggest bummers about having to be gluten-free is not being able to eat most Chinese food because of gluten in the soy sauce and marinades; along with gluten contamination coming from the deep fryer as well.

When I was a kid I loved chicken lo mein, shrimp chow mein, pork fried rice, spare ribs, eggrolls and spring rolls, egg drop soup, chicken with lobster sauce soup, and anything on a pupu platter. Yum shrimp toast!

As I got older I expanded my food selections to more adventurous and flavorful choices. That’s when I discovered hot and sour soup. I started making my own version after going gluten-free several years ago.

Asian cuisine is getting easier to make at home with many of the ingredients available at your local grocery store. Those specialty items used to be found at Asian-type markets exclusively. I still get mine at the Asian Supermarket in Albany because I love going there!

To be honest, it’s taken me a long time to master a few Chinese dishes. It’s fucking hard to make Chinese food that tastes like the kind you get at a restaurant. There are so many variables why the home-cooked versions don’t compare. Cooking equipment, ingredients, cooking style, and the lack of crazy hot BTU cooking temps that cannot be reached on a home stove.

Starting out with Chinese soups is a good place to start since the cooking methods aren’t hard and no special equipment is necessary.

One thing I tell my cooking class students is just because you don’t have one or two ingredients in a recipe, you don’t have to scrap the entire thing. Obviously, you can’t leave out major ingredient components, but some you can either omit or substitute with something you have on hand.

So what exactly is Chinese hot and sour soup? The direct translation is hot vinegar soup. Many other Asian cuisines have their own type of this soup. Don’t turn your noses up to the word vinegar soup, it is simply a form of acid that is necessary to create balanced dishes.

It seems to me that most Asian cuisine dishes are always in balance. A balanced dish contains the five basic tastes-sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. When the taste of a dish is “off” or not right, it’s because the dish doesn’t contain the right taste components.

Knowing what the dish should taste like helps to figure out what it needs, more salt, umami, or acid when tasting it. Always try a dish prepared authentically so you know what you are tasting. Don’t try ethnic cuisine in a place that doesn’t specialize in any one kind of cuisine. For example, ordering ethnic foods from a ten-page diner menu isn’t the place to try it.

My style of cooking and recipes for home cooks is creating food that tastes as authentic as possible but is not too intimidating. Trying to track down dried lily flowers or dried wood ear mushrooms would make most people run away from a recipe. Substituting easier-to-find ingredients is a better choice for home cooks. Advanced cooks or chefs love to seek out these hard-to-find ingredients and would shake their heads at the notion of using baby bella mushrooms available at the local grocery store instead of dried shitake or wood ear varieties.

I keep a well-stocked pantry so I can whip up an ethnic dish any night of the week. A trip to an ethnic market or specialty store and picking up a variety of ingredients. to have on hand makes ethnic or specialty cooking easy.

Some things I always have in my pantry: Ethnic spices like curry powder, Chinese 5-spice, garam masala, sesame seeds, and turmeric to name a few. Canned items like coconut milk, Thai curry pastes, chickpeas, and green chilis. Chicken, beef, and veggie broths. Sauces like oyster, soy, and Thai chili sauce, Chinese garlic chili paste, rice vinegar, Chinese cooking wine, sherry, Marsala wine, and sriracha. Dried items like basmati and jasmine rice, corn, and potato starches…the list can go on and on.

My version of hot and sour soup doesn’t have ingredients such as dried lily flowers but easier to find ones. This version can be made gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan using GF soy sauce and GF broth or omitting the pork and using vegetable broth. For vegan also omit the eggs. The pickled daikon radishes that I add are totally unnecessary, but I add them instead of the bamboo shoots.

Speaking of specialty ethnic items, I am in love with pickled daikon radish! I had it for the first time at an Asian hot pot and BBQ place in Albany this summer and have never looked back. The restaurant sold me a small container of the pickled daikons which I needed to replicate this deliciousness at home and keep in the fridge at all times.

For anyone who is adventurous and wants to make pickled daikons, you can find daikon radishes at your local supermarket. The rest of the ingredients are vinegar, sugar, salt, and water. Black mustard seeds aren’t necessary but kick up the flavor. There are many recipes online. The pickled daikon radishes should be kept refrigerated and need at least a month to pickle in the refrigerator. If you taste the daikon radish raw be prepared for your mouth to be on fire. Pickling the daikon mellows out the heat leaving a sweet, turnipy tasting crunchy treat.

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Here’s my version of Chinese Hot & Sour Soup. There are literally hundreds of different combinations you can use to create your own version.

Chinese Hot & Sour Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

8 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
4 oz lean pork cut into batons
8 oz shitake or baby bella mushrooms thinly sliced
1 8 oz can bamboo shoots, drained (optional)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari for GF version
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper or to taste
1 tsp garlic chili sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
2 large eggs beaten well
1 tsp sesame oil
8 oz extra firm tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3-4 sliced scallions thinly sliced
*** 4 oz cubed daikon radish

Directions

In a large pot add the broth, pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots (if using)
rice vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, ground ginger, white pepper, and garlic chili sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes.

To make a cornstarch slurry, in a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water mixing well until smooth. Begin stirring the soup in a circular motion while slowly drizzling the slurry into the soup. The slurry will give the soup body, but will not make it thick.

In a bowl, stir the sesame oil into the beaten eggs. Repeat the circular stirring motion and slow drizzle method with the egg mixture.

Add the tofu and the sliced scallions. Taste for seasoning. Some people like their soup spicer and add more white pepper, others like their soup sourer and add more vinegar. This is when I add the pickled daikon radish.

Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve immediately in soup bowls garnished with more sliced scallions if desired. Enjoy!

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I’ve written a whole blog post about eggplant parmesan, specifically, my eggplant parm stackers; one of my favorite meals in the world. Today just felt like an eggplant parm kind of day, and I had the time to make it. This time I made a cheese-stuffed traditional eggplant parm instead of the summer stackers.

Here’s the eggplant parm stackers blog post with my recipe. I also made eggplant rollatini which was as good if not better than the stackers! Here’s the rollatini blog post in case you didn’t catch it, there are demo photos showing how to make them.

This season is coming to an end with the incredible, freshly picked eggplant I have been buying from Ron, a farmer/ vendor at the Troy Farmers Market. 🙁 Wahhh…

Tonight I made shrimp scampi, one of my favorite dishes. It tasted delicious and comforting after a long day. Spending time in the kitchen prepping and cooking is my zen zone. I poured a glass of white wine that I opened up for the scampi and played some Italian dinner party music.

I don’t have a formal shrimp scampi recipe, the kind I make is baked and topped with breadcrumbs.

I peeled and butterflied two pounds of 21-25 size shrimp. I take the tails off my shrimp for scampi; my family hates having to cut them off. Next, I minced 5 cloves of garlic. In a bowl, I combined the shrimp, garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tsp dried oregano, a pinch of crushed red pepper, salt & pepper, the zest and juice of a lemon, and 1/4 cup white wine. You can leave the wine out and add either stock or more lemon juice. I didn’t have any fresh Italian parsley on hand; I added about 4 tbsp minced if I did.

Turn the oven to 400-degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients and marinate for 20 minutes while the oven is pre-heating, I like to arrange my butterflied shrimp in a pattern in a baking dish, but you don’t have to. You don’t even have to butterfly the shrimp; I like them that way.

After arranging the shrimp, I pour the rest of the ingredients from the bowl evenly over the shrimp. Next, I sprinkle Italian seasoned bread crumbs. I use gluten-free because I have to; I used to use Progresso Italian breadcrumbs before going gluten-free.

I melted 4 tbsp of butter and poured it over the breadcrumbs. I thinly sliced lemon slices to arrange on top. Again, this is how I do it; the lemon slices aren’t necessary; they are more for looks.

Bake the scampi at 400-degrees for 15 minutes. That’s it, don’t overcook them. Serve immediately with rice or pasta.