Meat

Thumbnail image for how to make stuffed chicken breast

how to make stuffed chicken breast

Danny and I ate this for lunch on Friday. We did it for you. One of my favorite easy weeknight meals is something Danny taught me how to make: a stuffed chicken breast. You make a filling — in this case goat cheese, arugula, sage, lemon zest, and salt — butterfly the chicken breast, sear it, [...]

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gluten-free in Austin

We walked through the door of our home late last evening, bedgraggled from a day of traveling and bedazzled from the five days behind us. It took me all day to look at photographs and try to digest even a tenth of what happened to us this past week. Here I am, at the end [...]

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carnitas for Cinco de Mayo

In just a few hours, these ribs will be our dinner. This morning, Danny created a spice rub, just for the heck of it. After he did the dishes, he started playing. A little coriander, a touch of cinnamon, some ground coffee, a little chipotle. I love when he plays with food. After smelling the [...]

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Thumbnail image for spicy escarole with sausage and tomatoes

spicy escarole with sausage and tomatoes

A few years ago, if you had asked me to identify the vegetable up there, I would have scrunched up my face, looked at it sideways, and said, “Really good green leaf lettuce?” Nope. It’s escarole. I first ate it only a few years ago, thanks to Danny. This is the first winter that I’m [...]

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we want to hear your love stories.

I want to tell you a story. On New Year’s Day, I received a message from one of my dearest friends. She’s in New York now, far away, but we still talk frequently. All through the fall, however, we barely talked. After we saw her in the city in September, and stayed in her apartment [...]

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how to butterfly and stuff a pork tenderloin

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Thumbnail image for chorizo sausage (made for stuffing)

chorizo sausage (made for stuffing)

We often have a strange assemblage of items on our kitchen counter. But this one was the most intriguing lately. Time to make sausage and stuff it in a pork tenderloin. (I love seeing what’s in other people’s kitchens, like this gorgeous Polaroid from Ab Chao. In fact, I’ve started a group in Flickr, called [...]

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The Chef shows you how to butterfly and stuff a pork tenderloin (a video)

Hey, everyone. It’s video time. Life has been a little complicated around here. Pack and clean out a house with a baby. Move in the middle of cold rain and hail. Unpack, for days on end. Walk the baby up and down the house all night, then go to the emergency room. Danny gets the [...]

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Thumbnail image for the grace of salisbury steak

the grace of salisbury steak

I once knew a girl named Grace. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I didn’t really know her. I sat across from her in Mr. Lester’s fifth-grade class. She knew most of the math problems we figured out on the chalkboard. She had an odd, intermittent giggle, like helium escaping from a small balloon slowly. And [...]

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friday food photo

Last night, he marinated the beef. This morning, he put this in the slow cooker. When we returned home this evening, the beef was so tender that it shuddered against the tongs. Oh, this is going to be good for dinner tomorrow night.

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the smell of fresh ginger

The other day, the Chef and I pushed our grocery cart through Uwajimaya. We’re always a little dazzled by the place, the red bean curd desserts, the tiny Japanese ladies pushing past us on a mission for the right fish, the shelves of Kewpi mayonnaise and Pocari Sweat. When we drive there, we quote our [...]

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lamb

Today’s ingredient post is brought to you by the Chef, in his own voice: Pick an ingredient. Any ingredient. Something simple. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. Lamb shanks. Start with the best lamb you can find, hopefully from a local rancher, grown humanely. They taste better. Truly. What goes well with lamb shanks? [...]

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sausages

This afternoon, the doorbell rang. When the Chef opened the door, he found the Fed Ex man waiting. All day, we had been hoping for a package. Here it was. As the Chef signed for our beauty, the Fed Ex guy leaned his nose into the house. “Wow, it sure smells good in there.” “Thanks,” [...]

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working on the book

“How about spiced prune chutney?”He makes that face, the pursed lips and fast shake of the head.“Why not?” I ask. Sounds good to me. I’d eat that with great cheese.“Hmmm…No.” At least he took a moment to think about it this time.I love this banter, this back and forth. And besides, I really like discovering [...]

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a fresh start

There’s something heartbreaking about September light in Seattle. The trees are filled with light, liquid and soft as baby’s hair. I love the fall. By the calendar, January is the beginning of the year. All that grey and cold hardly feels like a fresh start, however. If we throw away the calendars and look at [...]

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frikadeller is my new favorite word

Long before I became pregnant, I was curious about other women’s food cravings. Popular culture says that we’ll all slaver over pickles and ice cream. But I don’t actually know any women who were desperate for either when they were pregnant. Not me, certainly. I’ve always loved pickles anyway, but I’m much more excited by [...]

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soon, please

Spring in Seattle? You are so fickle. Please stop. This morning, when we woke up, the green lawn was covered in grey-white frost. This made the walk to grab the paper an unpleasant experience in pajamas. The Chef found photos of snow-covered roads from the previous night, online, taken about twelve miles from our home. [...]

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Little Bean

For over a year now, I have promised him that — if this ever happened — I would announce it with this sentence: The Chef has knocked me up. (There you go, my love.) I know that these are pretty incongruous words to write about the most awe-inspiring, hilarious, and life-changing experience we have ever [...]

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Thumbnail image for bacon, a party unto itself

bacon, a party unto itself

Oh bacon, how we love you. A few weeks ago, I received a rather long and hateful comment from someone hiding in anonymity. I didn’t publish it. No big deal. These things seem to happen, if you have a life online. Still, one of the lines that was meant as a terrible insult turned into [...]

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our morning routine disrupted

Damn you, Jamie Oliver. You always make me hungry. Long, languid morning moments in bed with the Chef are almost always my favorite of the day. In a way, that time is sacred space. I don’t mean that we light candles and chant incantations. I mean, in the utter mundanity of cups of hot coffee, [...]

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Thumbnail image for hands hard at work making food

hands hard at work making food

These days, it seems, my best ideas for food comes from other people’s hands. Have you ever watched the hands of someone who really knows how to cook? Ask him about how to prepare a recipe, and he’ll start pinching salt in the air. He scoops up sausages and flings them into hot fat, flicks [...]

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Thumbnail image for daily gluten-free food photo: bacon press

daily gluten-free food photo: bacon press

Finding the Chef was enough. How could anything compare to waking up and seeing his fce next to mine in the morning, the sun coming through the windows? We have nothing to do for hours but read the newspaper, laugh and eat something scrumptious for breakfast. Really, this is enough. But sometimes, there are also [...]

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oh, the honeymoon

We thought we knew where we were going on our honeymoon. Honeymoon. The sound of it alone makes me feel a little glowy, like the pale-yellow sunset out the window as I write. After nearly four decades of being on this earth, I had nearly given up hope of meeting that man of my dreams. [...]

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Thumbnail image for The way we eat around here.

The way we eat around here.

Furtively, the Chef and I glance in other people’s baskets and gesture toward each other. “That one has Fig Newtons, Oscar Mayer hot dogs, and bottled spaghetti sauce,” he whispers to me. “Yeah? Well that girl has twenty little containers of the yogurt with the gelatin and food dye in it. She’s also buying nonfat [...]

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Thumbnail image for when life hands you plums…..

when life hands you plums…..

Italian plums I, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. Autumn moves through the air these days, even though it is just past the middle of August. In the mornings, the sun rises just a touch later than it did last week. The warmth of the day feels like an echo, an old memory instead of a present [...]

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Thumbnail image for veal goulash — now this is a man

veal goulash — now this is a man

veal goulash, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. I eat well around here these days. Late in the evening, the Chef comes to my house, after an entire day of cooking at his restaurant. He smells of warmth and richness, the mingled scents of grilled lamb, Spanish goat cheese, and Rainier cherry ice cream. When I kiss [...]

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Thumbnail image for Come with me to the Casbah.

Come with me to the Casbah.

lamb tagine I, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. Some sentences you just never forget. When I was twelve, a beautiful boy leaned toward me and whispered in my ear, “Come with me to the Casbah.” I can still remember the hazy sunshine I saw through the window as he said it. He smelled faintly of sweat, [...]

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Thumbnail image for salty sweetness and smiling surprise

salty sweetness and smiling surprise

My creation, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. Last night, I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve alone. And I loved it. I’ve been to fabulous parties at the top of tall buildings. I’ve been to small gatherings with only a dozen friends. I spent all my formative new years with my parents and brother, willing ourselves [...]

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Let’s celebrate!

Scotch III, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. When I was a kid, I wasn’t much of a rulebreaker. In fact, I pretty much did what I was told. Homework done, chores accomplished, goals met: I was regular and plodding as bleached white bread. Well, not entirely. Not internally, where I lived a wild life. But on [...]

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Thumbnail image for happiness: lemony squash and roasted pork

happiness: lemony squash and roasted pork

butternut squash pork salad, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. Happiness arrives on a rainy afternoon, after a long walk through the neighborhood. Happiness steps forward on a break from waiting, waiting for the words to fall through my fingers. Happiness emerges shyly, then stays, brazenly, for a few moments. Walking west on Galer, the grey clouds [...]

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Thumbnail image for the Monday round-up of great gluten-free recipes of the week (plus an adorable nephew shot)

the Monday round-up of great gluten-free recipes of the week (plus an adorable nephew shot)

Elliott and Mousie II, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. These days leading up to Thanksgiving? Somehow they’re more frenzied than last week, clutched and cluttered, bunched and uncomfortable. But they don’t have to be. If we can just relax, and make the days spacious, the Thursday of all-day cooking can be a relief. That hasn’t been [...]

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Thumbnail image for a celebration in juicy red

a celebration in juicy red

seeds of pom, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. When I was a kid, we lived in one house longer than any other. 1715 Westwood Place, in Pomona, California. The rhythm of that address often repeats in my head, a mantra I can’t quite shake. No matter how many places I have lived in the world, that [...]

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Thumbnail image for lamb, basil, citrus, and fish (stock)–must be Paper Chef!

lamb, basil, citrus, and fish (stock)–must be Paper Chef!

saffron seafood soup, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. On Sunday afternoon, I stood up in the kitchen and cooked. Now, of course, for months, that was a quotidian activity for me. A daily activity I never took for granted. The ineffable grace of a mundane day. But for the previous nine days, standing in the kitchen [...]

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Thumbnail image for the comfort of roast chicken

the comfort of roast chicken

roast chicken, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. It has been a hard week. My smashed-up ankle, which I downplayed at first, for myself, for all of you reading, has occupied most of my last ten days. The pain has throbbed through me, exhausted me, and it just wouldn’t go away. At first, I thought, “Am I [...]

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Thumbnail image for but then again, there’s always meat

but then again, there’s always meat

apricot sausage, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. Sometimes at lunch these days, my colleagues ask me, “What did you do last evening?” These are the ones who don’t know me well, the ones who just happen to sit next to me in our large, happy lunchroom because there is an open seat, the ones who haven’t [...]

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Thumbnail image for sometimes, the ugliest food tastes the best

sometimes, the ugliest food tastes the best

Jabba the Hut red pepper, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. I swear, sometimes the squashed fruit tastes the best. The nectarine with the dull sheen, the lumpy tomato, the apples with holes in them. Lately, I’ve been realizing more and more deeply how obsessed we are in this country with everything looking pretty. I don’t know [...]

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Thumbnail image for chicken soup with rice (and avocado)

chicken soup with rice (and avocado)

chicken soup, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. I’m sure that it’s having to wake up at 6 am that has given me this cold. I’m a reluctant, early-morning riser. Always, my entire life, I’ve wanted to stay up late and wake up later. During the long, indolent months of summer, I could let my body tell [...]

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red beans and rice

red beans and rice, originally uploaded by shaunaforce.I couldn’t just keep feeling furious at incompetent officials, walking around broken-hearted about people starving on the streets, or watching the television for hours at a time while pacing the living room. Mostly, I had to stop watching the television. It’s bad for the psyche. I knew what [...]

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loving the kitchen

summer lunch, originally uploaded by shaunaforce. I’m loving my kitchen lately. For the past couple of years, I’ve neglected my poor kitchen. I let dishes pile up in the sink. The countertops were perpetually ringed in coffee stains. Splatters stayed near the burners after I had made pasta sauce. It wasn’t that I didn’t care. [...]

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