Column Mon Oct 12 2009

Not-So-Basic Tomato Sauce

I've had a very, very packed full summer. It wasn't full of the leisurely iced adult beverages sipped slowly under stars, or the long, lazy Saturdays at the beach that I had imagined, but it was definitely an adventure. I've spent the last five months working on a cookbook. And it isn't quite finished, but it is close enough to completion that I'll talk a little about it.

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— Cinnamon Cooper / Comments (2)

Column Fri Jun 19 2009

Mad for Mofongo

I have no qualms saying how much I love to eat pork products. I do. I think pigs are delicious animals. But, even I have my limits as to how much pig fat I will eat in one sitting.

For example, I was recently trying to figure out what the quintessential dish was for a number of cuisines. And I looked up Puerto Rican food and Mofongo seemed to win. I began to compare recipes and noticed that they all involved the same basic things. Cutting green plantains into chunks, deep frying it in lots of pig fat until the starchy fruit soaked up the pork fat, and then blending or mashing that with garlic, salt, and other spices, along with pork rinds. This mash was then formed into balls or patties and used as the starchy base for a number of different types of dishes.

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— Cinnamon Cooper / Comments (3)

Column Wed May 20 2009

Flywheel Green Vegetable Curry

Several months ago I was lucky enough to attend a preview of Beer! from the Neo-Futurists at Metropolitan Brewing. Not only did we get to see a hilarious performance that involved a puppet named Puke, learn the basics of the brewing process, but we also got to sample some of the tasty beer that was made on site. And it was tasty. Flywheel Bright Lager was my favorite and I anxiously awaited the beer to be sold in bottles so I could buy it and try it in my home.

As I was milling around and meeting some of the other beer-loving attendees, I got to meet one young man who found out that I occasionally write this column and he provided me with a challenge which I whole-heartedly took up. "I would love a green curry vegetable dish that used beer." I instantly began sniffing my Flywheel and imagining it mixed with flavors like ginger and lemongrass and coconut milk and I was pretty sure I had a winner. The slight bitterness from the hops concerned me but I figured there was only one way to find out.

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— Cinnamon Cooper / Comments (2)

Column Mon Apr 20 2009

Fennel Alchemy

I really like the alchemy that can happen when you take just a couple of ingredients, mix them together, and cook them until they all turn into one harmonized thing. Sometimes this happens when some sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil are drizzled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. But we're still in the winter dearth of produce, so that dish will have to wait for a few months.

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— Cinnamon Cooper / Comments (3)

Column Sun Mar 29 2009

Recession Busting: Creamy Cauliflower and Potato Sauce

I'm not sure whether I should blame the ugliness of this winter, the lack of time I've had due to work and other commitments, people, or The Recession, but I've not felt like cooking lately. I've cooked, I've eaten, but I've not been inspired. Arrival of a fresh cooking magazine would typically inspire at least a stolen hour of time thinking about how I could do things better, but lately they've sat unread. I wander the grocery store and try to figure out what to cook that takes little effort.

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— Cinnamon Cooper / Comments (1)

Column Wed Feb 11 2009

Down Home Mac-n-Cheese

I don't know about you, but I've been craving some crazy amounts of comfort food. Its the time of year where I just get a little whiny and sluggish. And making dishes that are creamy and starchy have been making me feel better.

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— Cinnamon Cooper / Comments (4)

Column Thu Jan 15 2009

Chicken Tortilla Soup

If you read last week's feature about tamale-making and made it to the bottom of the column, you saw my instructions for cooking chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks) with dried peppers. Last week I showed you how to take that chicken and shred the meat for turning into tamale filling. Which means that if you actually did that you'd end up with a couple of quarts of smoky, spicy, and dark red chicken broth.

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— Cinnamon Cooper / Comments (1)