Two days ago, Christopher Kimball (@cpkimball), founder of America’s Test Kitchen, tweeted this:
The “Best” Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe? You try it and let me know!
So I did.
Having a son perennially hungry for cookies, it’s never a question of what kind of cookies to make—it’s more like, how fast can I bake them? An entire batch can go in a matter of two or three days, and since chocolate chip cookies are his favorite kind, I couldn’t resist the call. Especially not when the call came from Christopher Kimball, who is just about the only male television personality I look forward to watching more than Hugh Laurie of House, M.D. Come to think of it, I haven’t watched House, M.D. in a while, but continue to watch America’s Test Kitchen every chance I get. So I guess Mr. Kimball’s pulling ahead in the polls.
Uh-huh. We can have polls in our house. It could happen.
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I’ve always loved pancakes. Growing up in the Philippines, we called them “hot cakes.” It was always a treat when we had them for breakfast, and it was always made with a mix. I still remember the red and white hot cake mix box, and I’m not even sure now if it was mixed with water or evaporated milk. I doubt we used fresh milk, since cow’s milk wasn’t really the childhood staple there that it is here.
And maple syrup? Finding out that “maple syrup” and “regular pancake syrup” were not interchangeable came as a big surprise to me. Then again, half the time, I used condensed milk on my hot cakes anyway, so I didn’t feel like I missed out.
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This is curry chicken. More specifically, Trinidadian chicken curry. Even more specifically, my husband Tom’s Trinidadian chicken curry. Last week’s version, to be exact.
There are as many different versions of curry in Trinidad as there are individual cooks in those islands. I’m serious. Each one has his or her own method, and some guard their secrets so closely that they’ll season their meat the night before, far from prying eyes, and then feign a hearing impediment the next day, when asked for their recipe.
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This has probably been the snowiest winter we’ve seen in a few years, and despite its inconveniences, there really is something very beautiful about snow. I love how it just blankets everything, making it look clean and white and pretty.
This is my backyard. Every morning, I get to wake up, look out my window, and see this. And every morning, I tell myself I really should keep my camera upstairs so I can take photos from my bedroom window. (Of course, I never remember this by the time I’m ready for bed at night.)
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My mom and I try to have lunch together as regularly as we can. Even when I was still living at home in the Philippines, we would have regular “Wednesday club” dates and movie nights. We always found reasons to hang out together, which would explain why I’m such a mama’s girl.
Last week, our lunch date took us to Woo Jung, a Korean restaurant in Palisades Park, New Jersey. I happened to mention to my mom that my husband Tom had never been to a Korean restaurant before, and while galbi jjim (Korean braised short ribs) happens to be one of my earliest specialties, my version is probably not truly authentic. So, rather than schedule our usual sushi lunch, she decided we’d introduce my husband to Korean cuisine instead.
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