Another day, another dinner. This time it’s tofu massaman curry.

I made refried beans and rajas from Rick Bayless’ Authentic Mexican tonight. Man it was good.

Here’s the mis en place: Eggs, water, lemon juice and salt, along with about five backs-of-the-spoon worth of drizzled oil: Here it is with about 1/2 cup of the oil integrated: A close up of the finished mayo: And in a container ready for storage: Of course even I can’t just eat mayo (as good as it is) from a spoon, so I made some egg salad. This is simple stuff: Read more

I’m a big fan of pizza and I like to make it at home. Something I’ve noticed the past couple times I’ve made a sauce though is that it ends up bitter and acidic. Jeff Varasano has what is probably the most comprehensive review of making pizza at home and on his site he talks about something he calls “Tomato Rinsing”: Tomato Rinsing: All cans have some bitterness. To lessen this I have developed a process that I call Tomato Rinsing. Read more

I recently ordered some books – The French Laundry Cookbook, Irreligion and In Defense of Food – and they shipped the other day! How very exciting. The main bit in this order is The French Laundry Cookbook. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on The French Laundry At Home blog, specifically the entry on Maine Lobster Pancakes with Pea Shoot Salad and Ginger-Carrot Emulsion and thought to myself, “self, you have to make that. Read more