If you like hot and spicy foods, then you’d love harissa; an oh-my-hell-it’s-hot! North African chili paste, most commonly found in Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan cuisine. It’s often used as a condiment, but is also added to meat dishes, stews, couscous or sauces.
A little bit of this delicious chili paste goes a long way. Too [...]

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Legend has it that during World War II American soldiers in Rome would bring their Italian friends eggs and bacon and ask them to make a pasta dish, thus becoming pasta alla carbonara. Another legend claims that carbonara, a derivative of the word carbon in Italian, was made for charcoal workers. Who really knows how [...]

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When we heard that drastic cuts in wild chinook salmon fishing were being taken I admit I freaked out a bit. I live in the Pacific Northwest. Salmon is a staple food up here! We need it like we need fresh air to breathe (well, that’s a bit of a stretch, but I will miss [...]

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I love Mexican food. So much so that I think I was Mexicana in a previous life. Actually, I say that when I eat just about any food, really. I’ve been Japanese, French, Italian…you get the picture.
My newest love is mole. You’re probably saying, “Well, what took you so long?” Honestly, I had a bit [...]

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I worked as an Oyster Shucker at Taste Catering during college. One particularly memorable gig was an Apple Computer party held at the California Academy of Sciences aquarium. Our bar, complete with 6 foot dolphin ice sculptures, was setup in front of the alligator pit and next to Huey Lewis and the News. It was [...]

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If you are like me, you may have assumed that the French Dip sandwich has it’s origins in, well, France. Non! Eeet ees actually from…Los Angeles. Despite my images of Gallic housewives stewing bones in ancient stone farmhouses to render the dipping broth, or Au Jus, that makes this dish unique, it’s generally accepted that [...]

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Barnaby has the uncanny ability to look into the fridge and be able to whip up some fabulous gourmet meal. I, on the other hand, will take a look and immediately say, “We have nothing, nothing at all. We need to go to the store.”
Last night was one such night. I saw nothing and Barnaby [...]

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