Posts from August 2011

From pastas to stir frys, the weeknight menu in my kitchen skews towards the short order end of the spectrum. Without the luxury of time, there are certain dishes that just don't make it into the repertoire.

About a month ago, a vegetarian friend was in town and came over for dinner. I wanted to serve something elegant/different that didn't rely on carbs to be filling. This is always a  challenge for me when it comes to vegetarian entrees.

I've returned from the sun and shine of Playa del Carmen to be greeted by the earthquaking and hurricaning Eastern Seaboard. Not so thrilled to be back home in this doom and gloom, I'm planning to recreate my Mexican fiestas and siestas right here in Washington, D.

Editor's note: Today we have a returning guest blogger - Lizzy! Our local expert in all things roof top (gardening, grilling, yoga-ing). Read on! One of my favorite people on the planet recently visited which meant an epic dinner was in order.

This is my fish spatula. I think it came into my life one Christmas morning. At first, it sat longingly amongst my other cooking spoons and whisks. Not being a total moron, I knew to reach for it when I was cooking fish.

I'm an annoying date – whenever we go out to dinner I start to think about if I could reproduce the dish we are eating. I poke, I prod, I sniff. My first criteria when choosing where to eat out is whether or not I could make food as good as the restaurant can offer.

Mom's corn salad will always hold a special place in my heart, but after an unfortunate incident earlier this summer in which I made a potluck sized portion and then took corn salad to work for lunch every day for a week, I was a little maxed out on the original.

Hola from Playa del Carmen, Mexico! It's been a while since I've traveled abroad, but somehow I don't remember  being all that careful about what I ate in Peru or Costa Rica. Milk, fruits, veggies -- I feel like I ate it all! And I didn't get sick (barring some mild altitude sickness in Cusco).

Editor's Note: Today's blog is contributed by guest blogger, Aninda Maitra (anindavidual.wordpress.com) - myChef's first male guest blogger! Aninda is a food-lover and home-cook who resides in Washington, D.

Samuel Johnson said, “It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery, and as much happiness as possible.” This is how I feel about cooking.

[caption id="attachment_2063" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="picture via b.e. hopkins"][/caption] I was perusing the travel section of Kramerbooks & Afterwords, for a moment overwhelmed by the many exotic destinations in the world I could be going to.

Have you ever come home late from work, opened the fridge and thought, "Ugh...I have no food"? About a year ago today, I would have promptly picked up the phone and called for Peking Express or put an Amy's pizza in the oven in a moment of panic.

Most Saturday mornings, my better half and I split ways. He heads to the surf while I slink into the yoga studio. Afterwards, as long as I can still stand/manage a public appearance, I head to the Santa Monica farmers' market.

My dad came to America in 1970, allegedly with one pair of pants, a shirt and a pot that had a hole in the bottom of it (I always wonder if he's embellished the tale...). As he worked his way up the corporate ladder, getting his MBA at night and working as an engineer on a drafting board by day, my mom worked night shifts at RCA (later GE, later Lockheed Martin).

One of the many epicenters of hip in my hood is a coffee place called Intelligentsia. Entry requirements: a scruffy yet cute dog, awesome sunglasses (not to be removed) and time on your hands.

Most of my memories of my family involve an image of a large dining table covered end to end with colorful dishes, people tall and small milling about, and an average of six conversations happening at once.

Chicken is an odd bird. So ubiquitous yet so difficult to do right. I'll let you in on the only chicken secret I know: yogurt makes it better. Tandoori chicken should have tipped me off, but until recently I hadn't put two and two together and realized that yogurt marinade is the only way to grilled chicken success.

Being home with my sisters, parents, nieces and nephews inevitably means many  a late-night conversations in our pjs over a game of Scrabble. Sometimes (okay, most of the time), these discussions are about the family members not in the room - what they've done right, wrong, how they've most recently offended our sensibilities (MD and SD, I'm totally kidding.

For those of you not in the know, big news. Today is Swiss National Day. Happy 720th birthday, Switzerland! To celebrate my newly found heritage (I married in), we stopped by the Swiss fair this weekend, and reveled with the other Swiss citizens of the larger Los Angeles area.