Semiserious Chefs

Pickling has been a crucial part of the Norse lifestyle for pretty much ‘forever.’ It’s either that or salting, and freezing when the weather is right, but there is no bad weather for pickling. They pickle vegetables, fruits, meats… you name it. Today we are making a quick pickle of red onions. These sweet and […]

In the Norse cooking of Sweden, Norway, and Finland, potatoes usually accompany a main dish that may have a sauce and fresh herbs already included, so often they just serve the potatoes boiled and skinned to be added to the main plate and mashed with either butter or the main sauce. Here we have roasted […]

This fűszer, or ‘spice,’ plays off some of the common flavors found in Hungarian cuisine, as well as many of the surrounding countries of Central and Eastern Europe. One of the only countries to really grasp onto chilies within Europe, the Hungarian herdsman rather preferred a milder strain for their meat stew, or goulash. But […]

Pulling together this blend was a bit of a kick in the pants. Saying you have the recipe for berbere (pronounced bur-bur-EE) is about the same as saying you have the recipe for barbecue sauce, or the ras el hanout blend. Every family, mother, grandmother, cousin, region, restaurant, and spice shop has their own concoction. […]

Shichimi Togarashi – 七味唐辛子 – means ‘seven spice blend,’ but it’s funny that if you break down those syllables a little you end up with Shi chi mi togarashi -しちみ とがらし – ‘scrubbing.’ Perhaps this tingly, spicy blend helps to scrub your innards? I don’t think so. I just found it an interesting aspect of […]

We’ve all met him. That guy at the end of the bar who just gets wiser and wiser with each drink, until he is convinced that everyone else is convinced he has a PHD. Recipes are a funny thing. They can be very sophisticated, very simple, very reminiscent, even very strange. We serve certain foods […]

It took a little while to come up with a good Greek seasoning blend, but I am very happy with this one! The sumac was the secret to getting a little bit of tartness, but not an overwhelming amount of lemon. When mixed with sour cream, yogurt, and a little feta cheese it makes a […]

Peanut butter is one of the most common foods you can find in many people’s kitchens. However, it might not always be fresh peanut butter. So stick with me (pun intended) and I’ll explain what I mean by that. Peanut butter is loved by children and adults alike. It goes well in a variety of […]

In trying to create a fantastic burger combination, I first came up with a very peppery creamy peppercorn sauce. As much as I loved it, it was agreed that perhaps something a little more ‘gentle’ would be a better crowd pleaser.

The name here pretty much says it all, Creamy. Peppercorns. Sauce. When you get your first taste of this speckled white masterpiece you will, unmistakably, have a mouth full of peppercorns. But not just black pepper. For this sauce a large percentage of pink peppercorns have been chosen. This is not by mistake. Black, white, […]