Best Low-Budget Salty & Sweet

I tried balancing cold semi-sweet chocolate morsels on a salty cracker and was rewarded with the perfect quench for my salty/sweet craving.  Cost calculator?  Both items were free thanks to my roommate and the gratuitous back of the freezer.  (Health factor = bad.) Conversation with self: -Which do you prefer, salty or sweet? For instance, if you had to choose one over the other to eat for the rest of your life? -Salty, probably. -Well in that case, how come when luck goes your way you don't exclaim, "Saaalty!!" -I don't know. Should I?

My Big Fat American Thanksgiving

Hopefully many people reading this blog who don't know me personally will have sensed that my culinary tastes are quite various and international in scope. But what I haven't disclosed for this long and would feel irresponsible about withholding at this moment, is the fact that every Thanksgiving dinner I've attended has served the same traditional, no-nonsense all-American spread favored by the senior Erway clan of upstate New York.

McClure’s Pickles Launch Party

NYC foodies! What have you got to do this Friday after sleeping off your turkey stupor and shopping 'til you drop? Spicy garlic dill pickles, picklemartinis, kick ass music, and good ol' bar drinking might be just the weekend wake-up call. What's more, the McClure's Pickles cukes are all primed and prepped for the holiday season, at their most delectable after a 3-month steep. I'd go to this if I weren't in upstate New York visiting my 93-year-old grandfather and yes, still stuck in a turkey-induced sleepwalk (more on that later--how fascinating!). The Bushwick Country Club in Williamsburg is the place to hit, at 513 Grand St. off the Lorimer St. L stop. Everybody goes home happy. Unless you don't like pickles . . . and that would be strange.

Here’s Lookin’ at You Cook: Michael Manning

Maybe "cook" isn't the right word in this case. This is a truly special installment of Here's Lookin' at You Cook (albeit my second), one of a New York exile. As long as I've known him (since his jew-fro-sporting high school days), Michael Manning has been a connoisseur of all things delicious. After living in Manhattan for a few years working for NBC, Manning surprised us by doing something that we all should have done: he took an English teaching job in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (aka: the farthest Western desert of China), packed his bags, and hasn't really come back since. No longer teaching, Manning’s moved on to writing guides for Fodor’s, upkeeping his blog and world’s largest photo gallery of the Xinjiang region on The Opposite End of China, and helping start up a sundried tomato operation as the Vice-President and Quality Manager of Demeter Foods.

The Brooklyn Kitchen takes apart de-boning a turkey

For any of you foodies living in or around Williamsburg, Brooklyn, there's finally a place where you can go and everybody knows your name. No, it's not a bar, it's a kitchenware and specialty foods shop called The Brooklyn Kitchen. I had the pleasure of watching the shop's first gathering this evening on "A Different Way to Bird": how to de-bone a turkey, just in time for Thanksgiving. I've noticed in magazines and cooking shows how popular this method has become as an alternative to roasting a whole turkey with bones. It takes a bit of skill with the knife, but after a quick informal session like the one The Brooklyn Kitchen offered, pretty much anyone can give it a go.

Rosemary Pasta with Sausage, Peas, and Parmesan Beschamel

This was a leftover dish. It might not sound like one, but every ingredient used down to the parsley was already in my fridge for various reasons and past uses. It was so perfect, that because I didn't have pasta, I decided to make pasta myself. I had flour, eggs, and salt...I even had fresh rosemary that was going to dry up soon. Dismissing the fact that I had never actually made pasta before, why not?

Parmesan Peppercorn Biscuits

This probably sounds like a no-brainer trick to use on a basic biscuit recipe: fold in a few of your favorite things. The other day I tasted a sample wedge of cheese, and it was an Italian cheese (parmesan or romano?) that had whole black peppercorns encrusted throughout. It piqued my tastebuds so much that I had to re-enact it in a more palpable form, something that I could literally stuff my face with.

I Love You but I’ve Chosen Karol Lu’s Champion Vegetarian Chili

My friend Karol always wins at stuff. Whether it's the Ms. Pac-Man playoff, or the guy at the other end of the bar, Karol just wins. So it was no surprise when her chili took home first prize in the annual "Bruce Chili" cook-off at Barcade. Coming back from a 7th place finish in the 2005 cook-off, her curiously titled batch, "I Love You But I've Chosen Chili" struck lightning this year, and is now the reigning 2006 champion to beat.

I Heart Baby Bok Choy

There's nothing that spells cute to me more than a bunch of baby bok choy. The tenderest and most mild of cabbages, the contrast between leafy green parts and white stems has never been more appealing. When boiled, the fibrous whites turn translucent and practically melt in your mouth. The greens hold true to their shape and are delicate as a floppy bunny's ear.

Mini Meatloafs with Apricot Glaze and Baby Greens

Last winter, I thought I had perfected my meatloaf recipe. Although we've been having unusually warm weather in New York this week, I was more than ready to pull it out, this time in a more delicate fashion. It's an easy dish to make since almost everything in it is essentials from your kitchen that you can throw in at your own discrepancy. Some of these ingredients I like to hold dear to the recipe, such as the chopped carrots. But in other cases, it's an open field. For instance, I was torn between making a maple glaze, and accompanyingly, a maple vinaigrette for the salad greens. But instead, I used apricot preserves for a brighter flavor. You can always just opt for the ketchup slurry to glaze your meatloafs with, just like your mom taught you, too.

Li’l Cricket

Why doesn't New York come up with nice food store mascots like South Carolina? This logo is so cute, I can't stand it. Here, I'm stuck with "Associated" or "Key Food" or "C-Town." Even the fancy grocery stores and organic ones don't have cartoon characters ripped off of Disney like South Carolina does.

Moussaka, circa 1961

I'm trying out the Retro Recipe Challenge Fall Favorites competition, just as I was in the mood to make something savory, spicy, and prepared in that ever-so-homey style, a casserole.

Day of the Dead Bread

Sam and Richard had me over on Thursday for some hot toddys and sweets in honor of Day of the Dead. Or night of the dead? It was about 10:30 p.m. when I got there. The drink of choice was toasty hot chocolate made with Mexican dark chocolate and Kalhua.

Sweet Potato and Pork Stir Fry

The other day I had a not-too-satisfying experiment with eggplant, making a curry with whatever spices I possessed on my shelf that might combine in a pungent taste. It made me want to try another underused vegetable, but this time get the flavor right.