An inspiring edition of the New York Times' Dining Section... lots of cooking!
• Empress of Domesticity Drops In: Harumi Kurihara, Japan's answer to Nigella or Martha, comes to the US and her fans congregate. (We got a kick out of reading about her being on Fuji Television, an experience we had a few weeks ago ourselves!)
• Beneath a Prickly Exterior, A Welcome Taste of Spring: Bittman is given a full page to sing the praises of spring artichokes, with three recipes, and his ever-entertaining video, which borders on R-rated.
• When in Doubt, Add an Egg, Japanese Style: The Chef column visits with David Chang again - with recipes for Bath-Cooked Eggs, Asparagus with Miso Butter, Conventional Poached Eggs, and Grits and Shrimp.
PLUS...
Oh my goodness - that egg technique looks amazing. Now, I just have to figure out a pot/rack that will work on my (unfortunately) electric stovetop. I think I'll try it with grilled asparagus in the next few days.
And the artichokes! It's spring, and I love it.
I thought there was something in the air - now runny eggs show up all over the NY Times, as well as the blogosphere!
Speaking of eggs, I tried huevos fritos this morning, inspired by this post on Spanish style fried eggs. (http://inpraiseofsardines.typepad.com/blogs/2006/04/while_were_on_t.html ) Oh my goodness. This is my new go-to for a fried egg. It makes the white crispy and and bubbly and tasty, as well as the yolk. I was babysitting a two year old this morning and she first demanded to try mine, and then commanded me to make another one. She was rather intrigued by the spectacular sound the egg makes as it bubbles in the oil. Very, very good.
I just bought Harumi's cookbook this weekend, it's great, lots of good 'do-able' recipes, a few of them for tofu! Recommend.
Faith- I had the best extra-virgin olive oil fried potatoes in Spain, where they seem to fry everything in it. When I asked why the fried potatoes looked greenish & if they'd been cooked in olive oil, the reply was "of course!" like there was no other way! Love it. Tortilla espanola rules because of it too, I'm sure.