Game nights, movie nights, people in the house — nachos are the answer. Three components, all of which can be made ahead, assembled at the last minute. Use tortilla chips or any sturdy seasoned chip you like. Thin ones collapse under the toppings. Serves 4 Ingredients 3 cups tortilla chips For the pico de gallo […]
For anyone tired of the usual green bean dish, this is a different way to handle them. It comes from Giresun on the Black Sea coast, and what sets it apart is the rice cooked in with the beans. The result tastes familiar but drier — closer to a pilaf than a stew. Serve it […]
This comes from Aksaray in central Anatolia, and it is the kind of dish that surprises people — quince treated as a savory vegetable, filled with beef and walnuts, finished with grape molasses. Sweet and savory in the same bite. If you like regional Turkish cooking, this one belongs on your list. Serves 6 Ingredients […]
Mıhlama is the dish Trabzon is known for — butter, cornmeal and cheese, cooked in a pan until the cheese pulls into long strands. It has to be eaten hot, straight from the pan. The moment it cools the cheese sets and the stretch is gone, which is the entire point of the dish. The […]
Boyoz belongs to İzmir. It came with the Sephardic Jews who settled there after leaving Spain in 1492, and five centuries later it is still what the city eats for breakfast — usually with a hard-boiled egg alongside. The technique is the interesting part. The dough is not laminated with butter; it is rested in […]
The potato rarely gets the credit it deserves. In South America, where it comes from, it was treated as something close to sacred — it carried people through famine, it became drink, and it found its way into everything else. Today it turns up in every cuisine on earth. Fried is one thing, but roasted […]
A clean kitchen is not only a matter of hygiene. Residue left on equipment carries flavor into the next thing you cook, and most of the time you will not know why the dish tasted off. These are the ones I see most often. Grinders and blenders Whatever you ground last is still in there. […]
Cut an apple, a pear or a banana and within minutes the surface starts to turn brown. Nobody wants to eat it, and nobody wants to throw it away either. The cause is an enzyme in the fruit reacting with oxygen the moment the flesh is exposed. Slow that reaction down and the fruit stays […]
Air is what starts most spoilage. Mold needs oxygen and moisture, and cutting off either one buys you time. A few habits worth building. Tomato paste Once the jar is open, tomato paste is one of the first things in the refrigerator to grow mold. Smooth the surface flat with a spoon and pour a […]
Fish is leaner than red meat and carries fatty acids you will not get anywhere else. It is also the protein most people overcook, because the window between done and ruined is narrow. Here is how I approach the main methods, and the one rule that applies to all of them. The rule that matters […]