In my country this was a condiment.  There were two reasons for that — price and spiciness.  When shopping at a farmer’s market, I used to walk along the aisle of pickled vegetables, rows upon rows of pickled cabbage, marinated tomatoes, “soaked” apples,  stuffed eggplant… And at the end of that aisle, atop of the […]

There is really not much to it.  You take colorful bell peppers at the peak of their ripeness.  You line them up on a baking tray and broil them until blistered and lightly charred.  Then you let them cool.  The magic begins right after the peppers are cooled off.  The scorched skin readily peels right […]

Had a nice trip down the memory lane today.  We picked up a nice size flounder at a farmer’s market.  Flounder has a special place in my gastronomically inclined heart, because I grew up eating it almost every other week.  Flounder came in two sizes and colors in my town — large black ones, the […]

Oh, yes, my friends.  Sometimes the fortune just smiles upon you.  And things work out the way you never thought they would.  But much better.  Hundred times better.  We are talking, blog-worthy better.  We are talking good pictures, and good recipe at the same time.  On the same day.  And even your five-year-old volunteering to […]

If I had to name one dish that immediately recalls childhood for me, it would be this one.  Stuffed cabbage rolls called Holubtzi in Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, and possibly other Slavic languages, invariably bring back memories of my Kindergarten.  You see, in our Kindergarten they fed us breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner, all cooked on […]

We bought a Kamado grill.  Need I say more?  Once I figured out how to light it, things have been cooking on it like no tomorrow.  First I threw a butterflied leg-o-lamb on it.  That thing had been marinating in my fridge for over 24 hrs.  It didn’t quite come out blog-worthy, due to temperature […]

When it comes to cult classic recipes, consulting with the authoritative sources is a must. I feel obligated to do so because I am afraid to misrepresent the dish, give you the wrong impression of the flavor and texture, and thus, if unsuccessful, give you all, both literally and figuratively, bad aftertaste.