I was going to fry chicken tonight in some of the surplus bacon greaseprincipaltogar 's food paradigm shift has generated, but Whole  Foods had fresh whole wheat tortillas, so I tried out a recent notion.

I filmed a cookie sheet with some of the aforementioned grease, dashed some seasoned salt on it, then put chicken thighs on the sheet skin-up, then put ( Read more... )

[Freely adapted from Gloria Bley Miller, Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook, which I think I got from the Intimate Bookshop in Chapel Hill back when it was circling the drain and served as a remainder bin for the entire Southeast.  I always start from the assumption I'll need to double the seasoning in any given recipe.]

3lb. chicharrones (Salvadoran ( Read more... )

I stocked us up pretty well Friday (DC Disaster Hint: shop at the tienda, the clientele is less panicky than the Whole Foods crowd.) so it's been pretty much a matter of sitting still and reading. I've gotten through the second edition of John Guilmartin's Gunpowder and Galleys, which was even better than the 1974 original, a formative book for me ( Read more... )

What has been, for my modest purposes, the best bar in town is about to be evicted and sixteen people put out of work so that the Peace Corps can get an extra conference room.

The world is full of nice beer and tasty cheeseburgers, but comfy places to consume them run by thoughtful people, not so much, and at the end of the week there will be one ( Read more... )

The Gurgling Cod:

The problem with Kimball, and what makes him think in this way, is the fundamental joylessness that permeates every corner of his enterprise. I use and like some of his recipes, but they generally emanate from a presumption that eating is a burden, and food is nasty, and only relentless experimentation can prevent you from failing ( Read more... )

Acting on a notion that's been percolating for awhile and despite some folks' forebodings, I made up a half--pound of smalec from a half-pound of not-so-lean slab bacon, then I repureed it with the same amount of year-old Grafton cheddar in the food processor, plus some sea salt, fresh black pepper, and paprika to brighten the taste a little.  I ( Read more... )