Chop Suey with Barbecued Tofu and Ginger Shallot Sauce, Jasmine Rice January 19 2005

Fish sauce tastes like feet. There, I said it. But I put some in there anyway. It stunk up the whole kitchen. Fortunately, the sauce was excellent in spite of this. In fact, for a dish involving tofu, this chop suey totally had it going on.

You know what else tastes like feet? Those teensy little ears of corn that come in cans. I put some of those in there, too.

Black Bean and Mushroom Wedgies with Avocado and Corn Salsa January 18 2005

I am not going to lie to you. I am not altogether certain that grinding them into a paste and then frying them in not enough oil is the best possible preparation for black beans and mushrooms. To avoid the sinking sensation that you are eating health food, it is necessary to douse this paste more liberally than you might think prudent with chile or cumin or garlic.

Blocks of Soup Thawing in the Sink Prior To Their Destruction January 18 2005

If two months go by and you haven't eaten your colorful frozen blocks of soup, you gotta chuck'em, that's my motto.

Boeuf Bourguignon January 17 2005

When you soak a hunk of chuck in a vat of pinot noir overnight, and then make a stew of it with mushrooms and pearl onions and a rich, glossy sauce, you are being very wise, and may refer to the dish in French, even though your wine came from Napa.

A Couple of Lamb Chops with Red Currant Glaze, Aspiration, Herbed Mashed Potatoes January 16, 2005

The hybrid vegetable known as "broccolini" or "baby broccoli" in every other produce department on earth is labeled "aspiration" in the store I frequent. This causes me to imagine chunks of broccolini getting sucked into a pair of lungs, with the result that I don't buy it very often.

Broccolini is not "baby" broccoli--vegetables don't have babies--but a cross between yer garden variety broccoli and gai lan, a species of Chinese kale. In spite of this, it tastes pretty good.

Scallops with Tarragon Cream and Pancetta, Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage, Brussel's Sprouts in Lemon Brown Butter January 2005

One day I was whining on the phone to young Rachel, "What'll I have for dinner? I can't think!" And Rachel stepped up. The words "butternut squash risotto" dripped from her lips like a champagne sabayon, as though she'd been chanting them morning noon and night all her life.

The butternut is the trendiest of squashes at the moment. You can tell a thing has achieved total trend saturation when it ends up in a risotto recipe.

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