Cucumber Melon Salad

I made this dish twice to get it right. The first time, I was going for salsa. It had hot peppers in it, vinegar, oil and sea salt. The second incarnation was more of a fresh fruit salad. Both were mellow, juicy and crisp little concoctions, like a summer cocktail. When I finally decided on the right balance of flavors, I hit a wall on what to name it. Salsa, or salad? Then again, what is the difference -- really -- between a chunky, pico de gallo-style salsa and a finely chopped, tabouli-like salad. They were one and the same. So call it what you will, but this recipe's a simple, summery marriage of both worlds.

Eggplant: Itchy Mouthfeel?

Is there something wrong with me? Does anybody else suffer from this problem? Let me back up. Throughout my entire life, I have eaten and enjoyed eggplant. I recall one day at my old apartment, I proposed cooking an eggplant dish with then-roommate Erin. She said she was allergic to eggplant -- "It makes my mouth itchy." Well that's unfortunate, I thought. Then today I made this baked eggplant, sauteed spinach, fresh mozzarella and sundried tomato crostini, and found myself smacking my mouth afterwards, annoyed by this fuzzy, tingly itchy feel on my tongue.

Meatball Bruschetta alla Puttanesca

This is a leftover dish. It combines leftover ground pork (which I used to make some cilantro-spiked Vietnamese-style meatballs), fresh bread crumbs (aka: all those properly manicured tea sandwich crusts), spicy Thai chiles and fresh thyme (just had some sitting around). Those were some mean 'balls. They’re neither Sicilian or Italian-American, nor Asian or Asian/Italian fusion -- I don’t know what style they would be most influenced by, but "random leftover."

Chicken Satay Tea Sandwiches (for a rather large picnic)

This weekend, I answered the question, "What do you get when you have four pounds of white bread, two kinds of meat, and a propensity for non-traditional picnic food?" Easy. Thai chicken satay and Vietnamese pork banh mi tea sandwiches.

Mango Frozen Yogurt (and a discussion on theory vs. practice)

A week or so ago, I bought a pint of thick, full-fat Greek-style plain yogurt. I planned on making the most mouthwatering, yet-undiscovered frozen yogurt flavor, but had no idea what it would be. A week of contemplation went by. What about a fresh, spicy ginger flavor with brown sugar? Maybe those sour cherries can be cooked down to a syrup and swirled in. What if I threw blueberry cobbler pieces into it with mascarpone cheese?

Steamed Five-Spice Calamari & Water Spinach Salad

Water, water, everywhere! To worship the wettest Wednesday we've seen in New York, I decided to whip up this watery dish for the weekend. [Signal applause for alliteration.] In all seriousness, though, we had one whale of a washout!

Not Fannie Farmer’s Four-Cheese Macaroni

I digress... I don't really think of myself as an all-American girl, being a New Jersey-bred half-breed who grew up mostly on stir-fry. It was a long time until I had a meal that was all baked in one casserole dish, and wasn't dessert. I didn't like many of these American classics at first, encountered at friends' houses or potlucks. And whose crazy idea was it, anyway, to cook a whole dish in the oven in one pan? A genius of convenient cookery, that's who.

The Craziest of Kitchen Gadgets Go to Task: Blogging Event Round-Up

Oh, to the joys of toys. And to learning something new every day. Let me back up a moment. When I purchased an antique Chinese cookie mold in a curiosity store a month or so back, I thought that the thing itself was so beautiful and ornate that it would engender the most incredible spawn in the form of cookies fit for an emperor. Well, it didn't turn out to be quite the easy process, but in the end (and with some cheating), the apples didn't fall too far from the tree.

Manhattan Corn Chowder

Not really, silly. The word "Manhattan" here, of course, simply stands in for "tomato-based," and though there may be who-knows-how-many similar vegetable soups enjoyed on the island of Manhattan, mine has never graced its turf. Yet while I may be slightly offish about Manhattan, I am not adverse to clams; my boyfriend is. Like relationships, it's funny how some recipes begin: I had a craving for something soupy this week. (Most people I know avoid hot soups like the plague in the summer, slurping instead on gazpacho and vicchyssoise and chilly concoctions crackling with cucumbers and swimming in raw juices. But I don't mind them.) I had all these lovely vegetables and herbs and was sick of salads. And corn was up for a turn on the chopping block.