Semiserious Chefs

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. […]

“I can’t stop thinking about the flavor of that achiote sauce you made! If I bring some pork chops over, do you think we could do something ‘achiote’ with them?” …1 hour and 20 pork chops later… It’s interesting how many ways there are to go about an achiote meat dish. I have both the […]

By technicality bistec asado means ‘grilled steak,’ but to be totally honest this recipe is just a marinade so you can cook your steak however you’d like. In fact, I pan fried this big ‘ole fatty. There is also the fact that Mexican Bistek Paste is ‘steak seasoning,’ yet I’ve seen it used with chicken […]

I recently created a marinade for steak featuring ground annatto, but as a liquid I felt the options might be limiting. This dry rub version can just as easily be used for any kind of meat last minute, but is also great for grilled or steamed vegetables. Additionally, and very specifically, because there is no […]

I say, “A plantain a day, keeps the Cartel at bay.” …assuming The Little Guy is getting fair trade. Colombians have had a love hate relationship with bananas. They love to eat them and have a huge sense of national pride over dishes such as Cayeye, but there has also been trouble, involving the banana, […]

Taken from the Arabic for an onomatopoeia-like word sounding meaning ‘all mixed up,’ this North African dish is beloved both by Muslims and Jews, as their cultures have been intermingled again and again throughout history. Often eaten at breakfast, shakshouka is also not uncommon to have for dinner. The ingredients are simple, and it only […]

White Chili. It’s the title of this dish but also the key ingredient. When I created this recipe I had two things in mind. Chili needs meat, (but I also like beans in mine), and chili should taste like chilies. Keeping things white, the protein of choice, chicken, was easy, but how to have a […]

In our American world of mish-mashing cultures, it is really wonderful whenever I stumble upon a truly authentic l dish. Not too long ago, in my never ending quest to expand my herb and spice collection, I purchased a pinch bag of annatto seeds and began researching the hows and wheres of their common use, […]

A little while ago I came up with a recipe for grilled salsa. It involved all the fantastic chilies and tomatillos I had been using for pozole verde, but I grilled them gently before dicing or blending. It became VERY apparent that this salsa could be used in a TON of recipes! I’ve used the […]

It is so amazing what a difference in flavor you get between fresh chilies and dried. Pozole verde is made using fresh chilies while pozole rojo is made with the same types of chilies after they have been dried. It’s interesting how everyone has their own personal likes between the two. For example, I absolutely […]