I thought and thought about it, but Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes would feel off. Sort of like going to the movies and getting popcorn but no candy. I was really irked by the fact that my potatoes never came out silky smooth. I don’t own a potato masher and until I came to Korea the food processor I had was teeny tiny. However, I realized that if you put the word “rustic” in front of mashed potatoes it’s absolutely acceptable to have chunks and irregularities in your mash. People expect it; it’s practically a rule; you have to have lumps.
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November 24 2009 | Side Dish and Thoughts and Vegetarian | 4 Comments »
If one of your dishes suddenly goes up in smokes or an unexpected (or uninvited) guest decides to show up, this side will save the day! It’s super easy, flexible, and the ingredients will already be on hand. Without a clue as to what I was going to cook today, I went into this dish blind. BLIND I say! No flipping through cookbooks or browsing through recipes. I simply thought about what I had and went for it! I’m like my own parent, watching my inner chef grow! My, how far I’ve come. Two years ago, I probably couldn’t tell you exactly what roasting was. Oh yea, that was me.
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November 23 2009 | Side Dish | 4 Comments »
Mushrooms are one of my favorite ingredients. They’re easy to work with and perfectly accompany almost any savory dish out there. They’re amazing on pizza, in pasta, soup, stews, pies, casseroles, you name it! It enhances a dish by supporting and deepening the main flavors. Mushrooms, however, are always given that role, the sidekick. They rarely take center stage and shine on their own. That’s why I love this recipe because it’s all about the mushrooms.
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November 07 2009 | Asian and Korean and Recipe and Side Dish and Thoughts and Vegetarian | 5 Comments »
Yesterday, I shared with you a great way to use leftover, stale rice. Today, I will tell you about the side dish I ate it with: soy braised burdock! Burdock is a root most commonly used in Japan where it’s called gobo. In Korea it’s called woo-ung, 우엉, and it’s mainly used in kimbap, 김밥, a dish similar to the Japanese sushi roll. Burdock has a sort of sweet, earthy taste that disappears when cooked. After it’s cooked, the texture is similar to the potatoes in this dish.
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November 05 2009 | Asian and Recipe and Side Dish and Thoughts and Vegetarian | 4 Comments »
One of my roommates is in dental school and for the past couple months she’s been busy preparing for the board exams. We’ve been living together for two years now and have shared quite a few food memories. We occasionally make dinners, go out for Restaurant Week, and even took a couple of cooking classes together!
When she asked me if I could pack her lunch on the day of her board exams I was happy to do it. I kind of felt like a mom sending her kid off to take the SATs. I couldn’t sleep the night before because I planned to cook in the morning so the food would be nice and fresh. I was afraid I might not wake up in time, which is silly because I’m one of those people who don’t need an alarm to get up. I kept on looking at my clock throughout the night and finally at 6 am (1 hour before I planned to wake up) I got out of bed and started cooking.
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August 31 2009 | Asian and Beef and Korean and Recipe and Side Dish and Thoughts | 5 Comments »
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