A tortilla trick courtesy of Jack

While I used to warm flour tortillas in the microwave, yielding gummy tortillas that fell apart when I added fillings, I've since learned a new trick from Jack, who is full of tricks. Heating flour tortillas directly on the gas stove toasts the tortilla so that it is warm, slightly burnt, and delicious. Today I heated a flour tortilla using this method and ate it with hummus and some carrots on the side for lunch. Note that this technique doesn't work as well for corn tortillas, and that it is important to turn the tortilla over for even heating. I recommend using tongs to avoid toasted fingers.

From the Archives: 8/23/02

Since I have come across the archives of The Gourmet Gazette, back when it was an emailed newletter and before it became a blog, I will occasionally re-post archived editions. Below is the inaugural Gourmet Gazette.

The Gourmet Gazette Friday, August 23, 2002

Note from Editor:
This is the first issue of a weekly newsletter about food. I love cooking and eating, and I wanted to share some of my recipes with you. I’ll try to focus on quick, easy recipes that are healthy and use easy-to-find ingredients, and add occasional interviews or restaurant reviews. Tell me what you think about this premier issue at [old email address], and send me your recipes, comments, or suggestions.
Regards,
Christine T. Nguyen
***
Food of the Week
Honeydew melon is a perfect fruit for late summer. The cool, sweet, tangy fruit satisfies the hunger and thirst of late August afternoons, with its buttery and moist texture. Perfect with piquant goat cheese or prosciutto for a snack, or toss it with purple grapes, a chopped apple, a chopped orange, and lime juice for a refreshing fruit salad.
***
Recipes

Tomato Garlic Angel Hair
Boil a pot of water, then add desired amount of angel hair pasta. When cooked, add 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 clove of finely chopped garlic, two finely chopped small-to-medium tomatoes, a handful of finely chopped spinach, and 2 tbsp dried or 4 tbsp fresh parsley to pot. Toss well, salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer a more mellow garlic flavor, cook on stove for 5 more minutes on medium heat. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Spicy Basmati Rice
Sauté cumin seeds with 1 tbsp olive oil in pot until lightly toasted, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup basmati rice (brown or white), sauté for 2 more minutes, then add ½ red bell pepper, chopped, and enough water so that ½ inch of water lies over the rice. Bring to a boil, then simmer and cover for twenty minutes or until cooked. Add more water if necessary. Toss, season with salt and dash of cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp light margarine if desired. Variation: Add frozen peas instead of bell pepper.

Fast Chicken (or Tofu) Salad
Wash desired amount romaine or butter lettuce, tear pieces and drain well. Add 2 chopped Roma tomatoes and ½ chopped bell pepper. Toss with small amount of oil-vinegar or Ranch dressing. Top with sliced pre-grilled chicken (available in most supermarkets in the frozen section) or sliced marinated or Age tofu. Throw desired amount of crunchy croutons on top, or serve with toasted baguette or wheat toast.

A quick note

Although I had planned to write a series on the "best burger in LA", I haven't been eating burgers lately, but instead have opted for truly excellent green mango salad and duck curry from Thai Boom in Culver City. Thus the burger post may come eventually, should I run across an appropriately delicious burger. I will also write about cha gio at a future moment, when all my thoughts about cha gio have been collected and I throw out vitriolic comments about non-rice paper wrappers. In the meantime, I write about strawberries in the springtime, below, and about other enjoyable morsels that come my way...

Spring strawberries

If I had to pick a favorite fruit, it would have to be strawberries. I love their sweetness, fragrance, the beautiful red color, and the tiny, crunchy seeds. My mother used to slice strawberries, making sure to carefully remove the stem at the top, place a little sugar over them, and stir, creating a sweet and juicy mix of strawberries that she would place in a bowl with flowers along the edge. Now that it's spring again, I'm starting to see strawberries in the produce section of markets, and have an inkling to drive up to a fruit stand I saw a few months ago in Calabasas, right up the ridge from the ocean in Malibu, or go to the Santa Monica Sunday Farmer's Market. According to this link, strawberries fall under "What's Fresh", along with tangerines, asparagus, artichokes, cherries, fava beans, blueberries, green garlic, avocados, fresh herbs, radishes, and cherimoyas. Such are the sweet rewards of California in the springtime.

On a side note: hot dogs

Although I promised to discuss burgers, I have been sidetracked by a hot dog. Specifically, the chili cheese dog at Pink's, which I succumbed to last night under mild peer pressure. While I questioned whether the Pink's hot dog would live up to the hype, knowing that other hot dogs that people rave about (eg, Top Dog) fail to please me, once I had that juicy sausage in a soft bun, topped by a mound of meaty chili (no beans=a plus), onions, mustard and cheese, there was no more questioning. My companion remarked that she could live without the onions, and I agreed. This morning I heated up the other half of the hot dog for breakfast, for a surprisingly good, if indulgent meal (I had some green tea and a banana for balance.) The Pink's chili cheese dog certainly rivals the best I've had--a chili hot dog in a diner of unknown name in Schenectady, New York.
Pink's Chili Cheese Dog: 8/10 (Rating scale for hot dogs: 1=vegi dog and generic bun, unheated 5=your standard, $1, NYC dog from a stand with boiled hot dog, steamed bun, red relish and saurkraut 10=hypothetical best hot dog ever, with grilled bun, grilled sausage, and toppings galore.)

Bean burritos on the quick

1. Heat a flour tortilla over a gas flame until the brown spots become more pronounced.
2. Drain a can of whole beans, place half inside the burrito and fold.
3. Microwave for two minutes
4. Place burrito in foil to allow eating by hand.
5. Enjoy with hot sauce of choice.

Notes: This type of burrito tastes best without cheese, which makes this insides a liquid mess.

Non-fat Greek Yogurt--a Satisfying Snack

Take half a cup of non-fat Greek-style yogurt, chop half a banana over it, and drizzle 1 teaspoon of honey over this concoction.

Musings on being critical and the truly excellent burger

I have adopted a more critical attitude towards food in the last few years. I can think of numerous instances where I sat down at a restaurant, replete with white tablecloth and sparkling cutlery, only to be disappointed with the food placed before me as well as the bill. I can also recall other instances when I approached a famous "dive", but left with food that didn't meet the hype. There have been too many simple items made poorly: over-dressed and wilted mixed salads, dry scrambled eggs, and soggy quesadillas.
I now seek to find a truly excellent burger, which satisfies the following criteria: rare (red and raw) on the inside, seasoned (so that I don't have to add salt, ketchup, or hot sauce), served with accompaniments that add rather than obscure the taste of the meat, and a bun that does not fall apart, nor taste like cardboard.
Next in this series: Burgers that do not fit this criteria.

Mid/late-winter meal

Roasted chicken with roasted brussel sprouts, carrots, potatoes and enoki mushrooms.

I left out the roasted parsnips, which unfortunately didn't taste as good as the rest of this.

Fish sauce: the all-purpose condiment

Fish sauce doesn't have to be limited to seasoning Southeast Asian cuisine. A couple of weeks ago, I added fish sauce to marinara sauce on a whim. Although some might think the combination of fish and marinara sauce might taste repugnant, the result turned out delicious, as the fish sauce deepened the flavor of the tomatoes, making me resolve to use fish sauce everytime I make spaghetti. The next day, I didn't have spaghetti, but I did have a Caesar salad, to which I added fish sauce instead of anchovies. That tasted pretty good, as well. And, you might inquire, as to the following day? I think I went out for dinner. Regardless, fish sauce can season more than your pho and fried rice--it's proving to be a very versatile condiment.