The chefs at my culinary school in Guangzhou would often whip up this homestyle dish for our family lunches. Tossed on the stinging-hot sides of a wok, cabbage leaves wilt quickly and caramelize on the edges; this recipe makes them aromatic with dried red chiles and Sichuan peppercorns, and laces them in a savory, vinegar-tinged sauce. Use your wok or skillet over the highest flame, and you should still get a nice seared-in juiciness and aroma without an industrial burner. If you’re doubling the recipe, stir-fry it in two batches to avoid overcrowding the wok, which would steam rather than sear the cabbage. When prepping the cabbage, tear the leaves with your hands instead of using a knife for maximum raggedy edges—Chinese cooks swear it tastes better this way. The best cabbage for stir-frying is the flat-headed, looser Taiwanese cabbage, which has sweeter and more tender leaves.
Inspired by Mrs. Donna M. Hayes | North Alabama State Fair, Alabama
Originally held on Blakeley Island, the Alabama State Fair (Greater Gulf State Fair) began as a fundraiser for the Junior Chamber of Commerce. The inaugural year featured a young Elvis Presley as the first performer, and brought in 60,000 people to the fair.
This recipe from Nick Leighton and Leah Bonnema–hosts of the hilarious etiquette podcast Were You Raised by Wolves–pretty much sums up everything we look for on our podcast The One Recipe.
It’s a recipe with provenance. It comes from Cathy Burgett, a cooking instructor at the legendary Tante Marie Cooking School in San Francisco where, while he was still in High School, Nick took evening and weekend classes. It’s a simple, and adaptable recipe, as Leah learned, when she swapped in blueberries for the cranberries. And it yields a sneakily fancy result because, according to Nick, everything feels more fancy when it’s upside down.
This is one of the most popular recipes of all time on my blog. Normally, a restaurant chef would deep-fry the eggplant and then cook it with the sauce in a large wok over extremely high heat to keep it glossy and crispy. To avoid all that hassle, I’m sharing my favorite method for preparing eggplant without deep-frying while still making it crispy. The eggplant is then finished in a savory, sticky sauce—just enough to coat the eggplant so that it won’t turn soggy.
The joy of a crumpet lies in the little holes that cover the surface which, when toasted, hold the melted butter that is slathered over. Crumpets are not always something we consider making from scratch, but they’re incredibly easy and, as with most things,
so much better when homemade.
Use a regular rack or St. Louis-style rack of ribs for this Vietnamese kho recipe. Ask the butcher to saw the ribs into strips; that is not a job for the home cook. Serve with rice and a boiled vegetable or simple stir-fry. In Vietnamese, this is called sườn kho.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Tsukune is a Japanese-style meatball that is typically cooked yakitori style over live coals and accompanied by a rich dipping sauce. They are most often made with ground chicken thighs for rich flavor. At my parties, however, I have switched to ground turkey—US groceries sometimes won’t even sell ground chicken, let alone ground thighs, and turkey is both readily available and inexpensive. The following recipe finishes the meatballs under the broiler, but they are also marvelous grilled.
I don’t know if crostatas are any simpler to make than pies or tarts, but the relaxed, unfussed feel of the pastry makes them my preferred summertime dessert. I don’t peel the peaches for this; if you prefer to, I recommend you add a little extra cornstarch to the filling so it doesn’t wind up too juicy. I cool all crostatas on a wire rack to prevent the crusts from steaming and softening. Note: This recipe calls for only 3/4 cup of the crumble, but I make the whole batch and freeze the rest for later.
Celebration IPA season is a magical time at the brewery as we toast the start of the holiday season. Celebration IPA is layered with citrus and rich sweet malt notes which pair nicely with the bitterness of the chocolate and accentuates the citrus zest in the crust. The ginger adds a little punch to tie it all together.
FOR THE SHORTCUT DAN DAN SAUCE (makes 2¼cups sauce, enough for 18 servings):