In today’s productive diversion from the state of the world, let’s talk about innovation. It took a while to find this old picture, but aww look at my early thought process. Chorizo-Stuffed Squid, Avocado Crema, and a Black Bean Cake. From what I remember, the squid and cream were awesome– but the bean cake dried…
Chicken & Grits à la Carbonara
How are you guys doing? Really. Things have changed a lot in ten days here in Atlanta, but for some all of this has been going on for months. I hope everyone out there is healthy, and in a good mood– and I think I can help with that last part. The stores around here…
Savory Crepes | Arugula & Spinach Gremolata
I’m on a roll– this makes it three weeks on the fly with new food. Ahhh, it’s good to be back. This week, I’m taking on breakfast– rather, brunch for dinner. I’m making crepes from scratch, and filling them with mushrooms, onions, and bacon. There’s a lot to unpack here, but it’s going to be…
Braised Lamb | Zucchini, Leek & Black Garlic Ragú
This week, I give you a fully-executed…experiment. I’ve had this idea chilling somewhere in my brain for a few months, but this was the first time that expectations met reality. I really need my own test kitchen to run multiple attempts at once– but that’s a story for another day. I wanted to make a…
Bean & Hogao Stew
I’ve been scrolling through my feed, old posts, random scribbled notes and sketches this month looking for the spark for the next big idea. I recognize that I sometimes ignore the more “ordinary” things we eat at home because they don’t always match up to the more elaborate, or cool-looking stuff that I try to…
Pecan-Crusted Pork Tenderloin | BlackBerry-Fennel Sauce
It’s always cool when I find old pictures buried on my laptop, especially from back in the days before Craving Mad. I had a lot of cool ideas that I can push even farther today. Take this Pecan-Crusted Chicken: I made this for the first time almost four years ago, and you can see derivatives…
Walnut Chermoula Tilapia
I’ve been making a lot of “components” lately– you only have to check the homepage to see what I mean: lots of confit, tahini sauce, roasted tomato spread, and for the first time, Chermoula. It’s a North African condiment (you know I couldn’t just stop at harissa) that contains cumin, lemon, herbs– and in my…
Seared Catfish |Corn & Pepper Sauté | Chimichurri | Tahini
You’ve had tahini, and plenty of chimichurri…but what happens when you swirl them together? I’ll get back to that. I’ve been doing everything in double time lately, just trying to launch the new year as strongly as possible– and believe it or not, I haven’t come up with anything super remarkable so far. Instead, I’ve…
Rosemary-Pomegranate Chicken |Wilted Red Chard | Couscous
Week two of the decade is upon us– time to bring a few unused ideas into the light. I found some pomegranate molasses for the first time in about a year (thank you, Atlanta markets) and I have plans for that bottle… Let’s start here: Pomegranate molasses is slightly sweet- but very tart syrup made from reduced…
Akara: Nigerian Bean Fritters
Akara is one of those foods that can absolutely suck to make–but it’s delicious when you get it right. If you’ve never had them before, they are like a cross between felafel and hushpuppies… but with black eye peas, onions, and peppers. There’s nothing complicated here, but the first step–peeling the beans–is a mountain. I…
