I could live on this. It's so easy and yet utterly beautiful looking, I always feel better after eating it.
Being a Top Chef contestant can be grueling and exhausting and crazy fun. When we're all wiped out from nonstop competition, we do what we do best: eat good food. Some of my most memorable meals with those talented chefs involved banh mi, traditional Vietnamese sandwiches that layer cured meats, sausages, and pickled vegetables in small, soft versions of French baguettes. I love anything with pickles and fresh cilantro! I've put those flavors in a burger patty here and sandwiched them in my favorite French roll: buttery brioche. The rich bread makes all the difference, as does high-quality pork.
If there is one recipe in this book guaranteed to have your family moaning with gratitude, this is it. After eating these shrimp a five-year-old has been known to say, "Wow, Mom, thanks!" And they've driven a grown woman to shamelessly lick her plate -- in front of everyone. Our only caution is follow the directions to the letter. There is a fine line between caramelization and cremation.
The yams are best at room temperature and improve with several days in the refrigerator.
Though not usually found in the typical local Chinese takeout menu, you have to try this pairing of tender lamb and sweet and savory hoisin sauce with the crunch of water chestnuts and fresh snow peas. Lamb is one of the hallmarks of northern Chinese cooking, especially Mongolia. It is logical when you think of the vast steppes of the region where sheep and goats thrive when little else will.
The term curry conjures images of sturdy sauces dense with spice, and some are just that. But they can also be light, fresh and surprisingly gentle in their spicing.
A classic, very spicy Chinese dish that is usually made with minced meat and tofu, but this vegan version still delivers the punch that is associated with the original.
I eat pho -- chicken or beef -- almost every morning at the restaurant.
My first bowl was in Paris 30 years ago. It brought instant devotion. Hot steaming broth with wafts of ginger, anise and clove, slick rice noodles, slices of rare beef, and flanking the bowl was a plate of what is called "table salad" (sa lach dia in Vietnamese), a heaping platter of additions, like fresh herbs, bean sprouts, greens, lime and chiles—this is the essence of North Vietnam's Pho (pronounced "fuh") soup. Entire restaurants are built on this one dish and all its variations.