Category Archives: Mains

Here are the big boys. The heavy hitters. Main courses to build a meal around. We specialize in strong flavors and quality ingredients and not overly complicated preparation. Check ’em out.

Recipe: Chef Salad

Is it Chef Salad or Chef’s Salad? Considering its roots in the aspirational 1950s, “Chef” might have been some food writer’s idea of a descriptive adjective connoting quality—the kind of salad a chef (as opposed to a mere cook) might … Continue reading

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Recipe: Popcorn Chicken with Real Popcorn

What to do with leftover movie popcorn? Here’s a mod of my General Tso’s Prawns which uses popcorn instead of (or in addition to) rice as the starch to make popcorn chicken. Serves 4. Ingredients: 3-4 c popped popcorn* 1 … Continue reading

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Recipe: Ceviche

Two critical decisions when making ceviche are a/whether to add oil and b/how long to let the fish “cook” in its acid bath. The answer to the first question is no. The second is a bit more nuanced. Serves 3-4 as … Continue reading

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Recipe: Grilled Squid

When it’s in oil, it’s calamari. When it’s over the flame, it’s grilled squid. That’s how we roll in my house. And this is one of the easiest yet most delicious preps you’ll find. Just be sure to use a … Continue reading

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Recipe: Steak American Pharoah

Here’s my contribution toward the excess caused by the arrival of the Triple Crown winner to run in this weekend’s Travers Stakes. It was inspired by some ripe stone fruit and a tub of duck fat that was in danger … Continue reading

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Recipe: Texas Schoolburgers (IMPROVED)

After preparing a palatable version using my recollections of school lunches in Dallas and ideas I’d found on the web, I finally bit the bullet and converted the original institutional recipe. Guess what: it is terrific. No idea why we … Continue reading

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Recipe: Egg Foo Young

I had a surfeit of bean sprouts so decided to experiment with this Chinese-American classic. On the way I investigated a few options which will give you better results than mine on your own batch. Serves 4. Ingredients: 6 eggs … Continue reading

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Recipe: “Destination” Shrimp

Years ago I cooked at a prime rib chain called Victoria Station. Our radio tag was Johnny Cash singing “Destination… Victoria Station” in his deep tremolo, hence the name of this delicious and easy dish. We’d always have a few … Continue reading

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Recipe: Grandma Eggplant

Another Southern classic from my friend Judy Cromwell, who writes: My grandmother would cook her dinner in the morning and set it on the top shelf of the stove until it was time for the evening meal. She would make … Continue reading

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Recipe: Secret Recipe Ramen Burger

Don’t be distracted by those ironic burgers using dried ramen noodles instead of a bun. If you like ramen and you like burgers, here’s the secret way to have the best ramen burger. Makes 4 burgers. Ingredients: 1 lb. good … Continue reading

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