Taste With The Eyes

Why deep-fry a turkey?

I can state unequivocally that we will NOT be deep frying a turkey at my house next Thanksgiving. I’d be a nervous wreck – two busy nephews, a dog, and a huge vat of hot oil do not mix. But it sure was fun to watch my friends Sally and Al deep fry the bird at their home this past Super Bowl Sunday (recipe here). No little kids, no pets in sight.

In about 45 minutes this 12 lb. hen was faultlessly cooked – with crispy bronzed skin and succulent flavorful meat. A thing of beauty. It didn’t hurt that it was a banner day for cooking outdoors either. Sunny and 70° here in Southern California. So, why deep-fry a turkey? If the conditions are right, the weather and all the (many) safety issues are considered, it would be difficult to get any closer to poultry perfection.

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One of Chicago’s Most Elegant: RIA

What are your three favorite dining towns?

Topping my list are…

Chicago
Las Vegas
Paris

…in order of where I happen to be visiting at the time, and were the next reservation will take us. I recently returned home from Chicago, experiencing nothing short of culinary nirvana.

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A Quinoa Meatball Landscape

Evolution of the Creation/
A Quinoa Meatball Landscape

Meatballs. Swedish meatballs. New Nordic Cuisine. Landscape design. Bed head. Tousled. Meatballs. Vegetarian. Quinoa. Fundamental naturalism. Foraging. Windy. Wavy. Ruffled. Native. Tasty. Satisfying. Elemental. Pickled. Fresh. Healthful. Tumbled. Unordered. Artfully disheveled. Meatballs…

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purple sweet potato soup – coconut, red chili, toasted cumin

purple sweet potato soup – coconut, red chile, toasted cumin

Color, color, color. This is one intensely hued soup. It is warm and comforting because it is soup, after all. But it is also exotic, spicy, jazzy. Made from purple-fleshed sweet potatoes from the farmers’ market. But what if one was to close the eyes? No “Taste With The Eyes” allowed. Would this soup still hit the mark? Flavor, texture, balance, intrigue…yes, yes, yes.

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Sweet, Spicy, Savory Kale Salad

Organic Kale with Dried Cherries & Shirataki Noodles
Garlicky Chili Lime Dressing

I’m not usually a fan of those free food samples at the supermarket. Seen too many “grazers” with poor manners and questionable hygiene, I suppose. But every once in a while, when there is a conscientious host passing out tastes of a unique offering, I might give it a try, as was the case this past weekend at Whole Foods.

A charming older woman was enthusiastically portioning out little cups of this interesting raw kale salad. It turned out to be an outrageous combination of flavors and textures, so fresh and bright, with an unexpected umami note. I put a bag of her shirataki noodles in my cart, and went home to create a salad inspired by that sample.

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