Semiserious Chefs

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 recipe has been a win in my book for over twenty years. It’s super easy and can be whipped together in literally 5 minutes. Notice I said super easy. You can simply throw it in the oven, set a timer, and walk away to deal with any other chores you might have. This is […]

Despite prevailing wisdom, grenadine is not a cherry-flavored syrup. It never has been. Grenadine is actually made from pomegranate juice and sugar. And it’s surprisingly simple to make at home. Real grenadine should be a deep magenta color; not some sort of bright neon red or pink shade like you see with many of the […]

The world culture history in the name of this recipe is just outstanding! ‘Fufu’ comes from West Africa. It is the name for a sticky dough that has been made from a boiled and mashed starch, typically African yam, cassave/yuca, or plantain. In this instance it’s mashed Plantain Fufu, though not quite the same texture […]

Citrus Junos, known as Yuzu (ユズ) in Japanese, and yuju (유자) in Korean, is the name of a particular type of rather small, very seedy, citrus fruit. Although it is commonly used fresh, and to make ponzu in particular, you will very often find it in a fermented form combined with chilis and salt, as […]

This sauce (pronounced greh-no-blue-os) originates comes from the French town of Grenoble. Very tangy by itself it pairs well with mild fish, and is perfectly rounded off with a topping of fresh parsley. Although most commonly cooked with fish or seafood it can, however, be served over a huge variety of dish choices, (see below) […]

Gremolata is a very easy to make condiment that compliments meats, pasta, and vegetables incredibly well. It is perhaps most know for it’s use with ossobuco. Although made simply of parsley, garlic, and lemon, these three ingredients certainly add up to more than the sum of their parts. Upon first tasting you may find it […]

As Ćwikła in Poland or tsvikli (цвіклі) in Ukraine this relish, a combination of beets and horseradish, is very commonly used as a spread on sliced bread, and is in-fact so popular that it is sometimes referred to as Ukrainian Kimchi. In Russian, hron (Хрoн) means simply horseradish, but also usually refers to this relish with both […]

While the Htipiti, made with roasted red peppers, is bold and sweet, this recipe for Kopanisti uses pepperoncinis, lemon juice, and mint, for a tangy and fresh flavor. Perfect with over crunchy bread and along side olives this dip is a wonderful addition to any Mezze platter.

One day I happened upon some pita bread in the discount bin. Yup! That is very often where my inspiration comes from: discounted produce, discounted bread, discounted meat… This evening it was a double whammy when I also found prepackaged ultra thin sliced beef on discount. As it is a pretty safe assumption that I […]