It’s National Guacamole Day, or at least for a few more hours it is. Having said that, there is no bad day to make guacamole. There are few things as easy, healthy, and delicious as this ubiquitous dip. However, unless you’re grinding your aromatic vegetation in a molcajete, or against a cutting board as seen here, you’re really not tasting a classic guacamole.
The flavors not only become more intense, but actually change in character. This is just what those bland, fatty, but delectable avocados need. That and a thoughtful seasoning of lime juice, and maybe some more salt.
I know we’ve already posted a guacamole video, but that was like 8 years ago, and probably before I knew how to make it properly. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 12 portions:
1/4 to 1/3 cup finely diced white onion
2 tablespoons minced serrano pepper (or more jalapeño)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided in half (half to grind, half to add later)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt for grinding vegetables, plus more to taste
I’ve wanted to show this “naked” cherry tomato technique for a while now, and after having something very similar at a Japanese restaurant recently, I decided the time was right. The tomatoes this time of year in Northern California are spectacularly sweet, and there is literally no better way to enjoy them, and that includes eaten raw.
You really don’t have any idea how tough a cherry tomato skin really is, until it’s not there anymore. With this we get that same sweet/tart explosion of juicy flavor, as the fruit pops in your mouth, but with no skin to distract us. We’re talking pure tomato pleasure.
I used sherry vinegar, since my tomatoes were like candy, but if yours are less stellar, you may want to go with a sweeter vinegar, like rice or balsamic. By the way, I usually go with basil for this, but the shiso they used at the restaurant worked so perfectly, that I decided to go with mint, which has a similar fragrance and sweetness.
I realize that peeling cherry tomatoes may seem tedious, or even ridiculous, and I’m sure there was a time when I felt the exactly same way; but then you try these, and it all makes complete sense. I really hope you give these naked cherry tomatoes a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 "Amuse Bouche" sized portions:
24 perfect cherry tomatoes (3 per portion, plus extra for “quality control”)
The best way to eat eggplant is fried, which I’ll hopefully prove to you one day with a video recipe. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for the second best way, which is this eggplant escabeche. It’s cold, refreshing, vibrantly-flavored, and I’m guessing, very healthy.
This was inspired by a visit to a restaurant in San Francisco called Lolinda, where Chef Alejandro Morgan serves a simple, but incredibly delicious Argentinian-style eggplant escabeche. I won’t go so far as to say it came out as good, but the noises of pleasure Michele made while eating this were very similar.
If you didn’t get the #dotsnotslots reference, I explained how to tell a “male” from “female” eggplant in a old video, which involves looking for a dot shaped mark at the end, and not a slot shaped one. This indicates a “male,” which generally has less seeds.
By the way, “male” is in quotations because eggplants don’t actually have different genders, but apparently some are less pregnant than others. I’m certainly no expert when it comes to eggplant sex, but I’ll go with that until I hear otherwise. I really do hope you give this fabulous eggplant recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 2 pints: 3/4 cup sliced roasted sweet and/or hot peppers 1 large eggplant, halved, cut in 1/4 slices 1 large zucchini, halved, cut in 1/4 slices tossed with 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1 cup white wine vinegar 2/3 cup water 1/2 cup olive oil 2 cloves finely crushed garlic 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley 1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano 1/4 cup reserved vinegar cooking liquid kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons vegetable oil .
This is one of my all-time favorite ways to enjoy fresh, summer corn, and a great lesson in just how little help these sweet ears need. If you’re using perfect, peak season ears, a little butter, salt and pepper is really all you need. And no, water never counts.
In case you’re wondering why we blended half the corn at the beginning, even though we were going to blend it at the end anyway, I have a great reason for that. The first time I made this soup, it came out so perfectly delicious that I’m now afraid to change the steps.
I blended the corn, and started cooking; not knowing it would look so terrible and broken. It tasted amazing, but looked like a horrible mistake, so I ended up giving it a little blitz with the stick blender. That did the trick, and I had something that looked as gorgeous as it tasted.
Would it taste the same if you simmered the corn in the water, and then blended it all at the end? I’m not sure, but my instincts say no. By the way, if you don’t have a stick blender, you’ll have to carefully puree about half the soup in a blender (in batches if necessary), and then add it back in. I really hope you give this amazing corn soup a try soon. Enjoy!
I’ve been seeing savory, non-breakfast versions of Dutch Babies pop up on menus lately, and while I’m not sure that means it’s a hot new trend, I figured I would get in on the ground floor with this amazing bacon and asparagus version, just in case.
Above and beyond the ingredients, the most important thing here is using a cast iron pan similar to, or better yet, exactly like, the 12-inch example seen herein. These relatively cheap and indestructible pans are one of the best kitchen investments of all time, but if you don’t have one, there is a Plan B.
You’ll have to do the bacon and asparagus steps in a frying pan, and then transfer everything to a similarly sized casserole dish. Make sure the sides are coated with your bacon fat, and then pour in your batter, and bake as shown.
It will take a few extra minutes in the oven, but just simply bake it until it’s browned, and properly puffed. It won’t work as well, but you should get similar results.Either way, I really hope you give this wonderful bacon and asparagus Dutch Babya try soon.Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 large or 4 small portions:
3 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/4 cup if packed, but don’t pack it)
freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste 1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup all-purpose flour *packed *push and pack as much flour as you can fit into the 1/2 cup measure)
1 tbsp olive oil
6 strips bacon
1 generous cup sliced fresh asparagus
- Bake at 475 F for about 12-13 minutes, or until browned and puffed
