Tokyo: Eating in the land of the rising sun… and deep fried pork!

Alright, so a couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend several days in Tokyo. Though it was a rather brief time and though I speak a sum total of six words of Japanese, I feel qualified to  offer a profound anthropological treatise on Japanese culture.  Actually, I think I’m just going to resort to stereotypes and generalities when I say this: Japanese folks seem to be good at everything.  I don’t know why. They just are – even with things that weren’t indigenous to their culture.  Think about it: rock gardens, bonsai trees, tea ceremoniessamurai, samurai movies, anime, electronics, cars, all things cute, tv game shows, really expensive jeans, crazy ass fashions, even reggae dance hall. So, think about this level of perfectionism and attention to detail as it pertains to food, something that Japanese folk – no, ALL Asian people are obsessed with (generally speaking, of course) – and you’ll understand my excitement at having the chance to eat Japanese food in Tokyo.  I was not dissappointed.  In fact, I was kind of blown away.  Click on the bento box below for the full story.

This give a whole new meaning to Iunch box. I almost didn't want to open this box up, but my stomach thankfully got the better of me.


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Katie’s Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto

Say what?  Exactly.  Until last year, Katie and Bret (aka Meatball Hands) had never cooked with Jerusalem artichokes.  But they got them last year in their CSA vegetable box.  Wondering what to do, they perused their copy of the venerable Silver Spoon Cookbook which lists recipes by their main ingredients and they found a recipe for Jerusalem artichoke risotto which they made and said was absolutely delicious.  This year, they got Jerusalem artichokes again and I was fortunate enough to be invited for the encore preparation of the delicious meal.  And fortunately for all of you, I documented the cooking process so that you all might enjoy and perhaps duplicate.  Click on the delicious tuber below for the full dish.

Katie holds up a prime example of the delicious tuber

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Bread and Cheese in France – Where Life Gets Good

Ahhh…Bread and Cheese. The very basics of French Cuisine. If you head to your local Whole Foods and attempt to pick out a French cheese, it can seem pretty daunting, it seems like there are a million varieties and they all have names that sound funny. Likewise, it is nearly impossible to find a decent crusty bread, both in the US AND even in France. Either it’s uber-chewy on the outside and goopy in the middle or it lasts for less than one day and unlike me, you can’t bring yourself to eat an entire baguette in 4 hours.

Clarence, here’s what I’ve been learning: French people know where to buy baguettes and where to NOT buy baguettes. And ALL french cheese is good:)

(s’il vous plait, read the full story here…)

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A meat frenzy in the City of Angels

Oi, tuto bem?  That’s Portuguese for “what up, yo?”  Here’s another word for you: churrasco.  That’s Portuguese for Brazilian style bbq wherein a variety of meats are slow cooked over charcoal until dripping with juicy deliciousness and then sliced into little morsels for people to eat over the course of several hours.  In other words, it’s a little slice of heaven.

And thanks to Jake and Sari who opened up their home and back yard to Almir Santre whose skill, talent and marinades have no rivals that I’m aware of, I got to spend a few blessed hours in heaven last weekend. Click on the mouth watering photo below to read more about the bbq and the rest of the blessed food weekend in LA.

really, have you ever seen a prettier sight?

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Cassoulet – the frenchiest darned thing in France

Cassoulet for LUNCH!

In my last post, Clarence, I believe I vowed that I live in France but I never eat French food. Well, I’ve been in the south of France for 3 months now and I can now say that my stomach is totally French. I eat an entire baguette every other day. I eat more “patisserie” et “viennoiseries” than I did in all of the 3 years that I worked above 5 bakeries at NYC’s Chelsea Market. I’ve eaten tons of different cheeses (hope do to do a little blog on that soon), and I drink wine every other day. My stomach is un “ballon de foot”.

My French cousin took a look at my recent facebook photos and exclaimed in delight over a “texto” that I’d finally “taken weight”. Dit Quoi?!!!! – I need a salad…and not a french salad because they always like to add sausage or ham!

The above photo is one of my latest favorite things – it is, in my opinion, the most typical of french dishes – The Cassoulet… (read the full story here.)

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