Editor’s Pick
JUNE 7, 2010 8:48AM

Corn Salad Fit for Mr. Darcy

Corn Salad
 
I spent the summer between my junior and senior years of college working in the epicure department of Neiman Marcus.  That was the year I crossed over to the dark side.  I spent all day selling high-end kitchenware and specialty foodstuff.  And I spent my breaks trolling… Read full post »
18 Comments
Editor’s Pick
MAY 24, 2010 9:25AM

Drunk Off Your Chicken Butt Shrimp

Drunken Shrimp
 
When I was eight, my parents took me and my brother for our first visit back to Taiwan.  It was a rich and full experience that touched all our senses, from the unbelievably hot and humid weather that actually gave us heat rash, to the strange sight of more… Read full post »
11 Comments
MAY 17, 2010 9:36AM

SexyBack Peas: Wasabi Encrusted Pea Crostini

Wasabi Pea Crostini 
 
I find it amazing that anyone could wax poetic about fresh peas or feel so passionate about them that he could get an "explicit language" warning on a cooking podcast.  I can understand feeling relief that you don't have to fight your kids over vegetables that ev/
… Read full post »
7 Comments
MAY 10, 2010 9:53AM

Sea Cucumber-Free Spring Rolls

 Spring Rolls

I have to admit, I had a difficult time thinking of a dish to write in honor of my mother this week.  That's not to say that my mom was a bad cook.  She is a fantastic Chinese cook.  But my memories are tainted by the fact that,… Read full post »

6 Comments
Editor’s Pick
APRIL 26, 2010 8:46AM

Granola for a Near Perfect World

 Granola

Two years ago, I was notified that there was a shortage of volunteers for the Cub Scouts and unless someone (hint, hint) stepped up to be a den leader, my son would not be placed in a den.  "Oh well," I shrugged and then promptly deleted the email.

After

… Read full post »
13 Comments
APRIL 19, 2010 7:09PM

Tax Day Dinner Surprise

 Filo Triangles Filo Triangles Inside

Stuffed Hamburgers 

Once upon a time, I was a little tomboy.  My best friends were my brother, my cousins, and my across-the-street neighbors – all boys.  Our summers were endless halcyon days, cruising the neighborhood on two-wheelers and skateboards, catchi/

… Read full post »
3 Comments
Editor’s Pick
APRIL 12, 2010 10:00AM

Agnostic Egg Salad

Egg salad 
 
When Mao and the Communists took over China in 1949, both my parents’ families fled with the Kuomintang forces from the mainland to Taiwan.  Because my maternal grandfather was in the air force, their family was able to fly over in relative comfort, but they had to le/… Read full post »
7 Comments
Editor’s Pick
APRIL 2, 2010 5:36AM

Ichi, Ni, San, Sushi!

 sushi
 
I love sushi.
 
I love the colors – the bright reds, oranges, and yellows that I rarely eat, outside of fruit.  I love the textures – the smoothness of sake (salmon), the firm chewiness of tako, the salty pops of ikura.  I love the flavors –/… Read full post »
19 Comments
Editor’s Pick
MARCH 29, 2010 9:33AM

Sesame Chicken Wings - An Asterisk-Free Smackdown

 Sesame chicken
 
I'm generally not a competitive person.  I always root for the underdog, until they start winning and then I feel bad for the losing team.  I usually play games, just for the fun of it.  But Michael brings out the best and the worst in me.  … Read full post »
13 Comments
MARCH 22, 2010 9:34AM

Green Curry Deviled Eggs and a Life Lesson in Failure

Green curry egg 
 
I admit it.  I parent by the book.  Granted, the books keep changing (and perforce my parenting philosophies keep changing.  But it helps me feel grounded to keep a parenting book on my nightstand and to read a chapter or two each night before I turn off the… Read full post »
13 Comments
MARCH 15, 2010 9:39AM

A Snifter of Asparagus with Aioli Sauce

Asparagus 

"I have yet to lose a patient to starvation," my first pediatrician told me, tongue-in-cheek.  Not the most awe-inspiring statement to be made by a leading Bay Area pediatrician, I admit.  But I had a good laugh and still remember it seven years later.  He went on to expl… Read full post »

5 Comments
Editor’s Pick
MARCH 8, 2010 5:38AM

Me and My Starbucks

Soy milk and ginger syrup 
 
Ten years ago, I became a Starbucks addict.  
 
Before that, I rarely drank coffee or tea.  But I started a new job with a morning commute that walked me right past a Starbucks, and it was only a matter of time before I wandered in.  The… Read full post »
13 Comments
Editor’s Pick
MARCH 1, 2010 8:28AM

Cassoulet and Duck Three Ways a la Mamie

Cassoulet 
Duck Soup Duck Burrito
 
Beans, beans, that magical fruit.
The more you eat them, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you feel.
So eat them up at every meal. 

Not the most mature and sophisticated way to start a post about a French dish,

… Read full post »
15 Comments
FEBRUARY 22, 2010 9:23AM

Having a Ball With Ice Cream

Ice Cream Ball 

Las Vegas has gone through many personality changes in its history: Mormon stronghold, mobster stronghold, family megaresort destination, and gambling mecca.  By the time we moved there in 2005, Vegas had firmly re-embraced its Sin City image with its infamous “What happens h/… Read full post »

6 Comments
Editor’s Pick
FEBRUARY 8, 2010 9:45AM

Next time, could someone just send me a care package?

It took over three hours, and sadly, this was the best of the batch. 

Is it that time of the year already?!?!  Some people sink into depression right around now because of the unrelenting gloomy weather.  I get the winter blues because I know there are Girl Scout cookies to be had by all, but not for me….

Back in the days when… Read full post »

11 Comments
JANUARY 10, 2010 11:59AM

Cooking on a Whim

Fruit Salad

There are those who might blame some of my marriage woes on the fact that I don’t cook.  After all, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?  One of my friend-of-the-family aunties from Singapore told me that she never ceded the job of household cooking to/… Read full post »

1 Comments