Food news to satisfy your curious appetite!

In case you need it, here's a pretty good dim sum primer from an article in the SF Chronicle that also lists some of their choice Bay Area dim sum restaurants. If you don't know your har gau from your gai lan, check it out!
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Also from the SF Chronicle's "Kitchen Essentials" series, a list of Ten Pantry Essentials. The whole series of articles, which have included the "Top Ten Cooking Techniques" and a list of kitchen tools. In the essential pantry item list, I have to admit I might not have thought of using fish sauce in my Caesar dressing if I was out of anchovies. They also offer substitutes for their choices in case the ones the are pimping are hard to find. The whole series is a really great resource, and only reminds me of how pathetic the food section of our PDX paper, The Oregonian, is.
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From my fave cocktail columnist Jason Wilson in the Washington Post, a timely piece on Tiki cocktails, perfect for the warm weather ahead and its accompanying outdoor beverage enjoyment, with several recipes you can expect to see me post about.....soon! You can bet JW's Zombie and Mai Tai are both in my future this summer!!
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Is there no end to the fabulous food inspiration from Mark Bittman's Bitten Blog at the NY Times site? Greek nachos, anyone? Hell yes!
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I'm also dying to make food scientist Harold McGee's yogurt and crème fraiche. Two things you can easily buy at the store, but seem so much better (and interesting) if I make them in my own kitchen.
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Skirts, hangers, flatirons, flanks. In these leaner times it's time for leaner (and less expensive) cuts of cow. This article from the Los Angeles Times has some good tips on how to get your money's worth and cook 'em right so you won't even miss those more expensive New York's and rib eyes. Well, you still might miss them, but your wallet will feel better!

Dammit, what do you mean we're out of miyoga??

Who knew that if I run a little short on burdock down in the root cellar that I could sub in some salsify or asparagus? Or if I couldn't harvest some hijiki then I could run to the Asian market and grab a bunch of arame? Or that I could make some orange extract with a little orange zest and a bottle of vodka? I tell you, that internet has a lotta shit flying around on that information superhighway thing. I came across these pearls of culinary wisdom when I was looking for a substitute for some hard to find thai bird chilies here in PDX. I googled "thai bird chili substitution" and came across this very cool cooking reference site called The Cooks Thesaurus. It's broken down into categories like vegetables, fruits, herbs, meats, etc. and ingredients are alphabetized within each category, making searching a snap. Plus they give you suggestions on where to find certain products, and recipes of things like the orange extract above that you can make yourself. I have a feeling it's going to be a great guide for future cooking adventures when I get a little lost on the recipe path. Check it out yourself next time you find yourself without that all important bag of hazelnut flour. You can thank me later!

picture of miyoga off The Cooks Thesaurus website

Getting Steamy over Crab & Fuji Apple Salad!

Don't give me that "it's too cold outside to grill" whine. In 25* degree weather in Portland, the perfect antidote to a midwinter chill is throwing some fatty rib eyes on the grill, getting a nice, crusty char on them, and digging in to some serious meaty goodness while dreaming of summer 'ques to come! What's that? Yeah, yeah, I know that isn't a new recipe, and this month is all about making only new dishes at home. Do you really think I'd forget??

That's why, to precede these hunks 'o flesh, I made an awesome new salad I picked up from my blogging pal Jaden's fabulous food site, Steamy Kitchen. If you've been paying attention, you feel my love of all things crabby when we're in the height of Dungeness crab season here in the NW. There was the silly good holiday crab pasta, the killer crab cakes, and now another new favorite thing to add to the repertoire. Jaden adapted this insanely fresh and delicious (and a snap to throw together) Fuji apple and crab salad from Crab: Buying, Cooking, Cracking by Andrea Froncillo and Jennifer Jeffrey. I grabbed a couple of live crabs on the way home from work from ABC Seafood to throw in the crab pot. After they succumbed to a bubbly demise, w and my sis were kind enough to shell them while I got the other edibles ready. This mix of fresh crab and Fuji apples was off the hook, and the Thai dressing was the perfectly piquant set off to the crab/apple/baby greens mix. It could be a main course all by itself with some crusty bread and a good bottle of Sancerre, but it rocked pretty hard as a warm-up to our steakage. You've gotta give this a taste while the crabbing is good. Thanks, J!!
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Crab/Fuji Apple Salad with Thai Dressing
adapted from Crab cookbook by Jennifer Jeffrey and Andrea Froncillo
serves 4-6 as first course

ingredients:
8 ounces fresh crabmeat (I used snow crab)
1 large Fuji apple, cored, julienned and tossed with a squeeze of fresh lime juice
4-6 cups mixed baby greens
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbl julienned fresh mint

Thai-Style Salad Dressing
3 tbl rice vinegar
2 tbl fish sauce
1 tbl sugar
1/4 tsp finely minced chili (leave seeds in if you like it hot)
juice of 1/2 lime

method:
Prepare the dressing by combining ingredients and whisking. In a small bowl, combine crabmeat and apple and toss lightly with just a sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Assemble plates by layering baby greens, a mound of crab/apple mixture. Top with fresh mint and freshly ground black pepper. Use a teaspoon to drizzle salad dressing onto the salad. Be careful not to use too much - you should have some dressing left over.