Dorado a La Paz
Let’s face it: It’s cold in most of the country. But down here in California, both avocados and prickly pear fruits are in season. So why not combine them with some mahi mahi — dorado in Mexico — and make a dish dedicated to sunny Baja?
Polish Salted Mushrooms
I’d always been leery of the Slavic style of salt-pickled mushrooms. But I finally took the plunge and fermented my mushrooms Polish style, and damn but they’re good — especially with some rye bread and lots of vodka…
Yellowfoot Chanterelles, My Secret Ingredient
No mushroom forms more of a backbone to my cooking than does the humble yellowfoot chanterelle. I will drive great distances in search of it, just so I have enough to get me through the dry months.
Wild Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce has been part of the American holiday tradition for more than two centuries. It is a perfect accompaniment to roast turkey or venison, pork, wild boar or bear. And while this is a pretty classic recipe, it is made with real wild cranberries from New England.
Cooking the Magnificent Matsutake
Matsutake mushrooms are popping all over California’s North Coast now. If you’ve never heard of them, matsutakes are one of the most prized mushrooms in Asia. Firm and clean-tasting, they have a beguiling aroma – like earthy cinnamon.
Black Walnut Snowball Cookies
Snowball cookies were my favorite Christmas cookie when I was growing up. My mum made them with regular walnuts, but my rendition of this classic cookie uses wild black walnuts, plus a little orange liqueur.
Tickled by Pinks
The common meadow mushroom has not been so common for me; I’d searched in vain for years to find them. Until last week, when Holly came home with a bushel of the mushrooms we call “pinks.” I cooked them up using a classic Escoffier recipe, and lemme tell ya: It was worth the wait.
Wintergreen Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips
Wintergreen ice cream. Why not? I love regular mint ice cream, and after my friend Nate and I foraged for a bunch of wintergreen berries on Cape Ann in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago, I reckoned this would be a cool way to use them… no pun intended.
Curing Olives with Lye
Many of the olives I cure each year are done in a brine. But year after year I’ve been curing more with lye. I know it sounds scary, but it’s not – if you follow these simple instructions. The result is a buttery, firm olive that I actually prefer over the brine cured ones.
Huckleberry Grilled Doves
Grilled doves basted with homemade huckleberry (or blueberry) barbecue sauce. You want this. Yes you do.
