Cooking from Pantry

Ode to the Roasted Chicken

I’ve been thinking about Julia Child lately. It began when I was perusing my cookbook library and on a whim, began looking at some of Julia Child’s cookbooks. As it happened, a few days before, I tuned into my local public television station and watched old episodes of ‘The French Chef’ and smiled at the sight of Julia Child preparing a chicken for roasting on a spit. It made me realize just how much I learned from her AND just how much I love a good roasted chicken. It was marvelous to watch her truss the chicken, bard it with salt pork and place it on the spit. And then to watch her carve the bird made me salivate.

Sauce Dreams

When I was in culinary school many moons ago, I fell in love with the idea of being a saucier. In fancy restaurant kitchens long ago, there were many chefs in the kitchen, so many that they were referred to as the ‘brigade’. One of the chefs in that brigade was the sauce chef or ‘saucier’. This person, as the name implies made all the sauces to be used during service. In order to make good sauce, one starts with a good stock. So this person made all that as well. I have always loved making stock.

How to Make Portuguese Pepper Paste

I don’t know if it’s because I’m Filipino that I love condiments so much. I remember as a child setting the table for meals and getting out the bottles of condiments that my parents prefer and setting it by their places. For my father: Kikkoman soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, for my mother: Tabasco and fish sauce. It was from my parents that I learned to adjust the seasonings of my food with various sauces. So I guess it stands to reason that our refrigerator looks like the condiment aisle of a grocery store.

My First Cookbook, The Super Bowl and Hot Dogs

My life has always centered around food. It seems to always be on my mind: I have ‘taste’ memories like the taste of the slightly melted salted butter that my Lola (grandmother in Filipino) put on my piece of hot pan de sal for merienda or afternoon tea; I associate certain words and names with food like thinking of ‘cake’ when I hear the name ‘Carol’. (I don’t know why this is- don’t ask please.) And of course, I have lots of food memories. One of my very favorite early food memories was my first cafeteria meal. I was six years old and I had just started school in Los Angeles.

Pantry Pasta-Spaghetti with Canned Tuna, Lemon and Parsley

Yesterday evening was one of those busy days of me driving from one appointment after another. I was a bit frazzled more than usual since a San Francisco taxi cab nearly collided with my car..I’m convinced my car is invisible and I should get it Bedazzled or painted orange to be noticed. But I digress. I found myself in my kitchen with the husband and toddler at home earlier than usual and no dinner made. On nights like this, I always make a giant fried rice with the protein and vegetables all mixed in or I make a pasta with a ‘sauce’ made from whatever I have in my pantry.

A Drink and A Nibble- How to make Satan’s Whiskers and Cheese Popovers

Ever since I stopped working as a line cook and stopped working either early morning brunches or dinners, I’ve been able to enjoy a few things I used to take for granted. One of the things I’ve come to love again is staying up late on Friday or Saturday nights and enjoy a civilized cocktail with my husband. When we lived in the City, we usually went for a stroll around our neighborhood and had a drink at our local pub or wine bar. We could discuss the week’s events, even cerebral things like art and politics, all while we sipped a drink and nibbled on bar snacks.