My Most Favorite Snack In All Of Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World in Florida is a huge resort. With theme parks and hotel resorts, it is almost impossible to sample the entire area.

Still, after going there multiple times in a year, and for a lot of years, I can easily say that my most favorite snacks in the entire place is the Nutella fruit waffle that is sold at Sleepy Hollow in the Magic Kingdom.

It is a thick, Belgian-waffle style, schmeared with chocolate hazelnut spread (thus, the Nutella), and then filled with fresh slices of bananas, strawberries, and blueberries.

It is the bomb! And I may have called it a snack, but it can easily qualify as a meal.

Zz.

Sukiyaki At Home

Had a great time last night having the Japanese favorite Sukiyaki at home. This a popular dish, and often prepared tableside. In this case, we prepared it right on the dinning room table as we sit around having wine, pleasant conversation, and preparing the food.

The prep work started earlier in the afternoon. There were lots of ingredients.

Yam noodles and Inoki mushrooms.

 

Tofu, bamboo shoots, Inoki mushrooms, Mung bean sprouts, green onions, white onions, and the yam noodles out of the package. The other ingredients not shown here are the sliced beef and the fresh spinach.

All the ingredients are cut into proper sizes and, when ready, brought to the table.

Now the fun begins. Cooking them. We had two separate pots to prepare them. First, the beef.

Then most of the ingredients are added.

The entire mixture is seasoned with beef broth, soy sauce, Mirin, and sugar. It is seasoned to taste, so you need to have a reference point of knowing what it should taste like.

After this has cooked for a couple of minutes, add the spinach.

Once the spinach has wilted, the dish is done and ready to be eaten. We each served ourselves in individual bowls.

While it is good as is, we accompanied this with a side dish of rice and pickled Daikon radish. The rice here was cooked with kombu, and then served sprinkled with rice seasonings and shredded Nori.

The meal was oishi! It was definitely the perfect dish to have on a cold, winter evening. It goes perfectly well with a slightly sweet Chardonnay.

Zz.

How To Boil An Egg

OK, confession time. I'm a food snob!

{shock rings through the room!}

Now, let me explain. It is not that I turn up my nose at some food. What I meant by being a food snob is that I like something to be the best that it can be, and hate settling for less, even though in many cases, I do.

Take a hard-boiled egg, for example. I mean, how difficult can it be? It is a hard-boiled egg!

Ah, but that is where you are wrong. Even boiling a hard boiled egg can be an art and a science. I once was staying at a hotel in Berkeley, CA that provided breakfast, and the hard-boiled eggs were boiled for so long and so overcooked that you can almost bounce the egg off the floor! In fact, many of these breakfast places simply abused the egg, turning it into a rubber ball!

Here's the thing. Overcooked hard-boiled egg is less tasty, and once you get that dark ring around the yolk, that is when you get the acrid, sulfuric taste one associates with smelly egg.

But I go even a step closer. I way prefer a hard-boiled egg where the yolk still has a patch of darker, almost orange color where it is slight moist (see photo). Not only is the egg white nice and soft, the yolk is also tastier without the strong egg smell.

Trust me, you can tell the difference between these eggs, and the ones that are overcooked and rubbery.

So how do you get such "perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs"? Put the eggs inside a heavy-bottom saucepan, and filled it with water will the water level is about 1/2 inch above the eggs.

Put it on the stove on medium-high heat. Let the water comes to a rolling boil.

Put up the lid onto the saucepan, and kill the heat.

Let the eggs sit in the saucepan for 5-6 minutes.

Remove the eggs and immerse them in cold, ice water. Let it sit in the water for 3-5 minutes.

Peel the eggs. Do this even if you don't intend to eat the eggs. You may store the eggs in air-tight container till you are ready to eat them. Do not cut or slice them till they are ready to be eaten.

After you get used to these eggs, you'll never be satisfied with badly-cooked hard-boiled eggs.

Zz.

Pasta With Broccoli Rabe

Often times, the simplest of usually the best.

This is my frequent standby, either for a quick lunch, or a weeknight dinner. It requires only a few ingredients.

I use linguini for this, but you can use any long pasta. As soon as the salted water boils, add about half pound of pasta. While that is cooking, start the "sauce".

Saute 2 cloves of garlic that has been roughly sliced and a pinch of pepper flakes in some olive oil. Add 1 strip of anchovy that has been roughly chopped. Stir until the anchovies has melted.

Add broccoli rabe (5 or 6 stalks that have been cleaned. You may cut the bottom 1 inch if it is too thick). Saute in the oil. Add 1/4 cup of white wine or chicken stock. Lower heat and let it gently cook until the pasta is done.

Use tongs and fish out the pasta out of the water and directly into the saute pan. Toss. If it is too dry, add pasta water, one ladle at a time. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle some good parmesian cheese if you have some. Toss thoroughly.

And there you have it, a quick and easy meal that is delicious and nutritious.

Note: some people are squimish about anchovies. Don't be, at least, not in this dish. You will not taste it. The anchovies simply add a background flavor to the dish. If I don't tell you that there's anchovies in here, you would not have guessed.

Zz.

Physics And Food

"Hey, if this physics thing doesn't work out, you should be a chef!"

I get comments like this every so often, especially after I have people over for dinner, or if I bring something to be shared. I take that as a compliment, since obviously, they were impressed by what I can cook. Still, knowing how difficult it is to make it and survive in the restaurant business, I don't think it is something I would consider doing.

So how often does the world of physics collide with the world of food? For me, personally, they collide quite regularly. I have a physics blog that I started many years ago, which is still going strong, and I've posted several stories relating to how these two worlds met.

The first one was how I learned how to bake bread by hand as a sort of trying to get my nervous energy out while I was studying for my oral comprehensive exams.

How I learned how to bake bread because of Physics.

During my career as a physicist, I've made banana breads and the blueberry pound cake for various meetings at the office/lab. I remember one time, we had a Dept. of Energy review, and I was requested by our group leader to make something for the breakout group that we will be in, since we usually are served only coffee and maybe pastries from the catering service. So I baked my blueberry pound cake and brought it in.

One of the reviewers actually asked us where we bought the cake, and my boss pointed to me as the person who baked it. My response to all the praise was:

"Hey, making photocathodes, and making pound cake. Not much of a stretch there!"

(One of my major tasks at that time was to produce/fabricate photocathodes for our accelerator). So that got a good laugh.

More recently, I actually used a loaf of banana bread to teach my students a lesson.

Drilling in the importance of units, via a banana bread

So yeah, in my world, physics and food live side-by-side.

Zz.

Dinner Last Night

Since I bought some bitter melons, I decided to use it for the veggie dish last night. I cooked some Malaysian chicken curry with whole spices, onion gravy, Chinese eggplant, and carrots. It is served with Jasmine rice.

For the veggie dish, I simply stir-fried the bitter melon with daikon radish and green beans. I first have 2 garlic cloves and a small piece of ginger that I smashed and minced, sauteed that quickly before adding the vegetables. Stirred it quickly over high heat, poured in about 1/4 cup of water, and covered for about 1-2 mins. I hate limp, mushy veggies and would rather have it raw than overcooked. So I don't cook it as much.

Then I seasoned it with salt and white pepper to taste, and served! This is how the whole thing looks on a plate.

And just like soups and stews, curries taste better the next day! So I made quite a bit to have for the next few days! :)

Zz.

Food Shows on TV

I watch cooking and food shows on TV a lot. In fact, this hobby started in the early 1980's (did I just dated myself?). I watched reruns of The French Chef with Julia Child, and I was also a big fan of the Frugal Gourmet on PBS. In fact, Jeff Smith of the Frugal Gourmet was the first person that I was aware of who opened my eyes to how food relates to the various cultures, nationalities, and social practices around the world. It was at that point that I slowly developed my appreciation for various ethnic cuisines around the world.

When the Food Network came on many years ago, I thought I died and gone to heaven. Imagine a non-stop food shows on TV all day long! For a foodie, this was as good as it got. In the very beginning, there were a lot of interesting shows on that network, especially on "how to" type shows that we are familiar with. One of the early shows on the network was called something like "Dining Around" of "TV Diners", where hosts Alan Richmond and Nina Griscom reviewed 3 restaurants around the country each week. Think of it as a more subdued and upscale "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives". It was one of my favorite shows, because for the first time, I get to see different food at different places all over the country.

Unfortunately, for me, the Food Network has gone down hill, and by a lot! It seems that the focus now is on "game show", where food is incidental, but the style is more important than the substance. Just like MTV, it has lost its way and seems to have ignored the very idea of culinary arts and skills. It is also worth noting that, from all the news reports that I have read, my top 2 food shows on TV that I list below were all REJECTED when they were first pitched to the Food Network. Considering that since then, these two shows have received awards and acclaims, those folks at the Food Network must be very proud of their decisions.

So here is my list of my most favorite food shows on TV:

1. Bizarre Food with Andrew Zimmern
I've loved this show since its inception many, many years ago, and I continue to love this show even today. This is not, despite the title, a show to gross you out. But rather, if you pay attention, it is about how people make do with what they have and what they can get. This show not only presents you with food that people from various parts of the world eat, but also tells you quite a bit on how they live. This connection between the food and people's lives is what makes this show very special and very uncommon as far as TV food show is concerned.

2. A Chef's Life
I love this show so much that I bought all of their shows (all 4 seasons up to this point) from iTunes and loaded them on my iPad. It is what I watch when I'm on the plane, and I've watched each show multiple times. It follows the chef's life of Vivian Howard in opening her fine-dining restaurant Chef and the Farmer in rural Kinston, North Carolina. Strangely enough, the type of food that she presents on the show, which is southern, pork-heavy cuisine, is not my favorite. Yet, I've grown to appreciate the food as part of a historical and social context of people living in that region of the US. Again, the context of the food in relation to the people, and why they eat what they eat, provide an intriguing story to the food. I was so enamored with this show that on our last trip to North Carolina about 2 years ago, we made a trip to Kinston just to dine at Chef and the Farmer. It did not disappoint, and we are hoping to make our return trip to it this coming April.

3. America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country
These two shows, shown on the US Public Broadcasting Stations, are the mothers of all cooking instruction shows. These shows present explicit instructions on how a home cook can make many types of dishes. Most of the recipes and dishes work quite well. Where I have issues with them is when they try to do ethnic cuisines. I know that they have to do this based on what a typical home cook in the US can do and can get access to. But because of that, certain ethnic cuisines, such as Chinese dishes, have been "Americanized" to suit not only the taste, but also the ingredients available. This is really a minor issue, because for other types of dishes, especially when they get to baked goods, their instructions are spot-on.

4. I'll Have What Phil's Having
This was a limited series of 6 episodes, also broadcasted on PBS. As with A Chef's Life, I also have the entire series on my iPad. The show follows Phil Rosenthal, the creator of the TV sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond", as he went and ate through one location after another. The show is funny, touching, irreverent, hysterical, educational, and more importantly, relevant! I have written to the show and pleaded with them to get Phil to do more shows.

That's it. It is interesting to note that Vivan Howard, Andrew Zimmern, and Phil Rosenthal all have won James Beard awards for their shows. It is also interesting to note that the 2016 James Beard award in the Broadcast Media section had no shows that aired on the Food Network. Need I say more?

Zz.

Bitter Melons

For the average American, the range of food that he/she eats is actually quite limited when compared to many other nationalities. This is especially true when compared to Asians.

The sad part about this is that, in many large metropolitan areas of the US, there availability of many "exotic" ingredients is actually quite easy. Here, in the NW suburbs of Chicago, there are many stores and markets, both ethnic and non-ethnic, that carry a wide variety of food products that one can try or add to one's culinary repertoire.

I just got back from Valli Fresh Market near here, and just in the produce isle alone, I can find lots of amazing stuff. This post focuses on this one particular amazing vegetable called the bitter melon. Here, they carry two types of bitter melons.

The ones on the right are the type that are generically called the bitter melon, while the one of the left has a more specific name as the Goya melon.

When I was growing up, I was more familiar with the one on the right. And I hated it. It does have a slight bitter taste, and of course, as a kid, you hate anything bitter. But now, as an adult, I love vegetables with a bitterness to it, and so, this bitter melon is one of my favorite. I cook with it often, usually in a quick stir fry.

The Goya melon, on the other hand, is quite popular in Japan, especially in Okinawa. It has been credited as one factor on why Okinawan has the highest percentage of citizens older than 100. It is often served stir fried in a dish called Chanpuru.

Both melons are popular in other parts of Asia. The generic bitter melon is a common ingredient in the Filipino dish Sinigang, while the goya melon is popular in many parts of India (it is sometime called Indian bitter melon).

I bought some today, and will be having it for dinner tomorrow evening. :)

Zz.

Lunch And Dinner

We knew that we were going out for dinner a couple of days ago, so I decided that we should have a light lunch. I went back to my favorite standby during the cold, winter months, and prepared myself a bowl of miso soup.

I added tofu, inoki mushroom (my favorite!), swiss chard, seaweed, and green onions. I was quite satisfying.

Then for dinner, we went to a Mexican seafood restaurant formerly known as Las Islas Marias (I forget its new name). I had one of my regular item, the Huachinango ala Natural (deep fried red snapper).

It was OK. The fish tasted as if it was old. The quality of the food at this restaurant has gone downhill over the years that I've visited it. Still, this is another photo that I can use for my "Fish are Food, not Friends" t-shirt if I decide to make another one.

Zz.

Blueberry Pound Cake

OK, so I've promised several people to give the recipe for my blueberry pound cake, and I keep forgetting. Now that I have a food blog, I might as well put it on here so that I can refer to it and give the link to people if they ask for it again.

This is the recipe that I first found online many years ago, and have fiddled with it since to suit my taste (which you're welcome to do when you make this).

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk, room temperature
• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

 DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan or a standard loaf pan. For added crunchiness, you may lightly coat the pan with granulated sugar instead of flour.
2. Take 1/4 cup of the flour, and mix it with the blueberries, making sure that all the fruits are well-coated with the flour.
3. Sift the flour with the baking powder.
4. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add one egg at a time and mix well in between the eggs.
6. Stir in the lemon zest, vanilla extract, and milk until well combined.
7. Combine the flour+baking powder into the batter and stir by hand to prevent over-mixing.
8. As soon as the flour is well-incorporated, fold in the blueberries until it is well-mixed and no trace of un-mixed flour can be seen.
9. Spoon the batter into the baking pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove cake from the pan and let it cool completely on a cooling rack.

Best served with a dollop of lemon whipped cream. Enjoy!

Zz.

Caramelized Shallots

I use caramelized shallots as a garnish in many dishes. We especially love it when we sprinkle some on soups, stews, or even just plain white rice. It adds a bit of complexities and "exotic" flavors that one do not find regularly. Using caramelized shallots as a garnish is quite common in many cuisines of South East Asia.

I made some over the weekend for the dinner party that we hosted. In fact, I made a rather huge batch, which I intend to store in an airtight container and use it for the next few weeks to sprinkle over many dishes.

To make this, you need to thinly slice shallots, as many as you want. For this one, I had 10 shallots. Then, using a heavy skillet (better heat distribution so that your shallots caramelize evenly), heat about a 1/3 cup oil (yes, you will use quite a bit of oil, but read on) for that much shallots. If you drop a piece of shallots and it sizzles, then the oil is hot enough and you can pour all of the shallots into the pan.

Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon salt, and saute the shallots over medium heat. You don't have to saute it constantly, maybe every minute or so, but you do need to monitor it closely. This is how it usually look in the beginning.

It may look a bit wet and soggy, but just continue on. Eventually, you'll start seeing caramelized bits and pieces.

Lower the heat just a bit if it is browning too fast, but it is not necessary if you are diligent in stirring it. Eventually, it will become caramelized.

I like it this color, or even slightly more.

When it is caramelized, drain it on a paper towel, but save as much as the oil in the pan as possible.

Let it cool down and then using your fingers, or with forks, separate them out (like shredding meat) if they become a clump. The shallots should be light and crispy after it has cooled down.

Now, for any leftover oil in the pan, I usually save that. It is very flavorful, and I usually use it to cook fried or scrambled eggs, saute vegetables, etc. So don't throw out that flavorful oil.

I'll post a few dishes some time soon where I use these caramelized shallots as a garnish.

Zz.

Whole Spices

I wrote yesterday about using whole spices in making my own Chinese 5-Spice powder. I firmly believe that as far as possible, whole spices should be used and ground as needed. In most cases, the flavor and aroma of freshly-ground spices are significantly better than pre-ground ones. You just don't know how long those spices have been ground, and many of the flavor and aroma from these spices are rather volatile.

Black pepper is the first and most common example of something you should grind as needed. It shouldn't be difficult to use since pepper grinder are rather common. I've also used the back of a heavy pan, or even a pestle and mortar to smash black pepper if I need larger pieces. Pre-ground black pepper loses a lot of its strength, making it tame and wimpy.

Nutmeg is my next example. Pre-ground nutmeg has almost no flavor. Don't believe me? Do your own test. Sniff some pre-ground nutmeg powder and do the same on freshly-grated nutmeg. There is no comparison! If you're baking and spend time and effort to make something good, why wouldn't you just add a small effort in grating your own nutmeg?

Finally, there's cardamom. This has to be one of the most fragrant spices around, and yet, the pre-ground ones feels rather tame. Whole kernel of cardamoms can impart its pleasant aroma to a pot of rice, while ground ones seem to add nothing but grittiness.

So for me, these are the 3 spices where there is night-and-day differences between freshly-ground ones versus pre-ground ones.

Remember, life is too short to eat bad food!

Zz.

Chinese 5-Spice Powder

I have lots of whole spices. I use them frequently in my cooking, so I buy them in bulk. This actually saves a lot of money because I buy them at ethnic food market where they cost a fraction of what you pay for in those little jars that you find in a supermarket.

One of the flavoring spices that I use often is the Chinese 5-Spice powder. I've used pre-made ones when I rubbed chicken pieces before grilling them and then glazed them with a Chinese BBQ sauce. But one day, I looked up the ingredients for the 5-Spice powder, and realized that I could it myself since I practically had all of the ingredients except for the Szechuan pepper corns, which I promptly bought at a nearby Asian grocery store. And I can tell you that the one I make my own is waaaaay more fragrant than the one I bought pre-made. It is worth the extra effort to make this from scratch.

So here is the receipe for the Chinese 5-Spice powder.

• 1 tablespoon Szechuan pepper corns
• 6 star anise
• 1 1/2 teaspoon whole  cloves
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds

I dry roast them in a pan for a few minutes until I can smell the fragrant aroma from the spices. Then I pour the spices into a coffee grinder and pulverize them into fine powder. Keep in an air-tight container, and it'll keep for weeks or months. It won't go bad, but the fragrance and punch will certainly taper off after a couple of months.

I'll post some time soon a recipe for a glaze that you can use with the 5-Spice powder that will be perfect for summer grilling.

Zz.

A Good Hot Bowl Of Miso Soup

It is a cold, wet, windy, and dreary day here in the Chicagoland area. And since I don't feel like having a regular lunch, I opted for a nice steaming bowl of miso soup filled with napa cabbage, wakame (seaweed), tofu, and green onions.

It was just the perfect meal, light but filling. I would have used kombu to make the dashi (stock), but I didn't have time. So instead, I used a powdered kombu/soup seasonings that I added to the boiling water before I added a tablespoon of miso paste.

Now my tummy is quite satisfied, and I feel all warm inside. This soup has always been satisfying on a cold day like this.

Zz.

Cooking Fish Wrapped In Banana Leaves

I love cooking fish in banana leaves. Doing this accomplishes two things: (i) the fish tends to be moist, and even if you overcook it slightly, it doesn't dry out as quickly, and (ii) the banana leaves themselves impart a rather nice aroma to it.

Wrapping food items in banana leaves is popular in many cultures, especially in Central America, India, and Southeast Asia. And I also think that it has a preserving quality to it, and food doesn't seem to go bad as quickly even when kept at room temperature. A very popular dish in Malaysia is Nasi Lemak. It is cooked rice, served with a hot chili paste cooked with dried anchovies or squids, and garnished with maybe a sliced egg and cucumber. The entire thing is wrapped in banana leaves while it is hot, and as it sits for a bit, the aroma from the banana leaves permeate through the rice. It is delicious!

Anyhow, my version of cooking fish wrapped in banana leaves involves several different variations. I've used whole fish such as trout or even mackerel, and have used seasonings such as a mixture of ground dried ancho chili, ground cumin, and tumeric powder. I've also used a wet paste mixture. The ingredients from the wet paste include: onions, garlic, fresh ginger, lemon grass, anchovy fillets, fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. I blend the first 4 ingredients in a blender until smooth and then saute the entire thing, including the remaining ingredients, with, get this, a cup of vegetable oil. It requires that much oil because it will saute for a long time. In fact, there is a trick that people who cook this type of food will tell you, which is to saute it until you start seeing the oil leaching out of paste. Then you know that you've cooked it enough.

I let the paste cools down, or maybe even cook it the day before and store it overnight in the refrigerator. Then, when I'm ready to use it, I simply smother the fish with this paste, and then set it onto the banana leaf. Here, I've added sliced lemons top and below the fish filet, in this case, a piece of salmon.

I then wrap this up with the banana leaf.  I used to use toothpicks to keep the whole thing wrapped up, but a while back I decided to use an outer lining of aluminum foil. It is so much easier to keep the either thing wrapped up using it.

Place the whole package on a baking sheet and bake it in a hot oven, 425 F, for about 20-30 mins, depending on the size and thickness of the fish. This one took about 20 mins but I always check if it is done.

When done, I remove the aluminum foil, but keep the banana leaf, because that is how I present the dish.

I've also done this on the grill, and the banana leaf not only cooked it to perfection, but the wrappings prevented it getting the fish to stick to the grill.

It has always been a crowd pleaser, and it is something I'll continue to do.

Zz.

Fish Are Food, Not Friends

If you have seen Disney/Pixar's "Finding Nemo", you might be the inference. The sharks in the movie were on some sort of a 12-step program to stop eating fish, and they kept reciting the manta "Fish are friends, not food."

So I thought I turn it around, since I like fish. I made this t-shirt and I've worn many times, including at the Walt Disney World.

I've had a lot of people chuckling when they saw the shirt, especially if they made the connection with the movie. The picture on the shirt was something I took. It was a dish of fried whole red snapper, a menu item at Los Compadres Mexican restaurant near here. This is our most favorite Mexican restaurant in the area (more discussion on our favorite ethnic restaurants soon).

This is the original photo of the dish:

It is a delicious, simple dish, and very filling.

Yum... now I have a craving for Mexican food!

Zz.

A Bowl of Udon Noodles For Lunch

Sure, why not? Don't you have a bowl of udon noodles for lunch often? :)

It was cold here yesterday, and I just wanted to good big bowl of hot, steaming udon noodles for lunch. So I want to the Mitsuwa Market near where I live, and went to the food court. Got the big bowl of beef curry udon from Sanuki Seimen Mugimaru. It was delicious.

I also got a few tempura pieces from their tempura bar. While the noodles were terrific, the tempura was hit-and-miss. The problem here is that getting tempura from a tempura bar means that you might end up with pieces that were not steaming hot. And there's nothing worse than cold tempura. I've had days where their tempura was excellent since they just got out of the fryer, while other days, not so much. (BTW, there is another vendor there that will make tempura to order.)

I like the food court at Mitsuwa. It feels as if you have several street vendors with a variety of food to choose from. This is definitely one of my favorite places to get a quick bite, and do some grocery shopping.

Zz.

My Most Favorite Cranberry Chutney

For those of you not family with the holidays in the US, we have 2 major holidays towards the end of the year. First is Thanksgiving, which is usually on the final weekend in November. The traditional meal during this holiday is the roast turkey, although deep-field turkey is gaining in popularity lately.

The second major holiday is, of course, Christmas and New Year. Roast turkey can also be found served during such holidays.

One popular accompaniment to turkey is the cranberry sauce. My first encounter with this was when a jelly-like substance was dumped out of a can and into a bowl. It almost laughed out loud because it stood up proud in the bowl, holding the shape of the can that it had just been liberated from, even preserving the ridges from the can on its side!

The taste was cloyingly sweet, and not to my liking. I thought that there must be something better.

Dial forward many years, and since then, I've taken over the task of one of the accompaniment for the roast turkey that we serve during the holidays. I've settled on a very nice cranberry chutney that goes surprisingly well with the turkey, and to me, is my favorite. I found the recipe somewhere online, but since I couldn't leave things well-enough alone, I've tinkered with the recipe over the years and came up with what I consider a darn good cranberry chutney. I like it better than the simple cranberry sauce, because the chutney had vinegar and other spices that cuts through any heavy or greasy food and wakes up your taste buds.

So here is my version of the cranberry chutney:

• 5 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 (12 oz) bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 4 star anise
• 4 strips of lemon or orange rind

Cook the shallot in the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally. You want the shallots to sweat and soften. I would add the cinnamon sticks and star anise while you're doing this, because it will bloom the spices.

Once the shallots has often, add all the remaining ingredients. Simmer and stir occasionally until all the berries pop. This might take 10 to 15 minutes.

Once then, let it cool. The best part about this is that you can make this 1 week in advance. Store it in a glass container, cover tightly, and keep in the refrigerator. The flavor will actually improve as it sits. When serving, bring it out of the refrigerator for at least an hour. It is more flavorful when served at room temperature. Be sure to fish out the cinnamon sticks, star anise, and lemon rind strips. In my case, I usually leave those in the serving bowl and tell people to look out for those whole spices.

After you make this once, adjust the amount of salt, vinegar, and sugar to your taste. Depending on how tart the berries are, I often add more vinegar than called for, but 1 or 2 tablespoons. I've also been known to add a dash or two of Tabasco. This recipe is flexible enough for you to change it to your liking.

Zz.

Welcome!

Oh no! Not another food blog!

I don't blame you if that is your first reaction. It would have been mine as well.

Still, since you're here and reading this, welcome to my food blog. A lot of people have suggested that I have one since (i) I am a pretty decent cook (ii) I like a wide variety of food (iii) I'm not shy about my opinions of food and restaurants (iv) I like the cultural and historical stories surrounding various dishes and foods from various ethnicity, cultures, etc. Thus, the creation of this food blog.

To tell you honestly, I don't have a clear idea yet if there is a narrow or specific focus of this blog. Am I going to just talk about restaurant reviews? Am I going to tell you what I ate or cook? Or am I going to make use of my background as a physicist and tie it to the food? The phrase "molecular gastronomy" looms over my head like a dark cloud (more on this in a future post). At this moment, I'm just going to wing it and figure it out as I go along. Maybe if this blog is still around and active in a couple of years, I'll figure it out.

But till then, let's just go for a culinary ride!

Zz.