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. […]

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 […]

Yes, if you are a food buff you probably already know that tebasaki chicken wings are a particularly common dish found in and around Nagoya, Japan. If you know any Japanese you probably know that tebasaki, (or debesaki) 手羽先, translates specifically to ‘chicken wings.’ With this in mind, I understand if you find my use […]

It’s the rosemary that really makes this blend stand out, but don’t go thinking it will make everything taste like stuffing! Using Hungarian paprika, a mild and sweeter paprika, combined with hot cayenne, the blend of rosemary and oregano round everything out with a perfect harmony between green and red. As for the garlic, I […]

This recipe was originally created as a mistake during a recent duel between Andrew and I. It wasn’t at all the right plan for a burger topping, but it was instead an incredibly delicious finger food! There is a lot of flexibility in the recipe to make these treats as spicy or not as desired. […]

“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 […]

This punny recipe came about with my desire to learn new uses for African and Asian yams. When I say yam, you probably think of those dark orange sweet potatoes they sell in most every US market. They are, in fact, exactly that, sweet potatoes. I know, this is where you say, “No, no, no! Sweet […]

This recipe takes its roots from Ghana. The southern states in particular lean heavily on cassava and plantain as major staples, but the common culture throughout the country is to serve a meal centered around the starch of choice with a soup or stew, most often tomato based, and added protein, very often fish. Like […]

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 […]

First off, always give credit where credit is due. Although there are some subtle changes that make this recipe my own, I definitely used Anthony Bourdain’s recipe as a major leaping off point. As soon as I read that he uses a two day technique with a partial fry and a freeze in the middle, […]