German potato salad is extraordinarily nostalgic for me. Growing up, my Oma and Opa would always have german potato salad at Christmas Eve dinner, along with German weiners, bratwurst, and herring salad. When I moved away to DC, I, of course, needed to take the recipe with me. This salad is sweet, vinegary, and finger-licking good. NomNomNom
Karaage is by far one of my all time favorite foods. While I was living in Japan, I stopped at Lawson everyday to get a stick of Karaage to satisfy my never-ending craving for this Japanese-style fried chicken.
This dish was inspired by Greek Pastitsio, but I imagine it doesn’t even really resemble the authentic dish (which I have never had the privileged of eating)
Kabocha nimono is a staple for any Japanese diet. It’s one of those dishes that goes well with everything and is just as good when reheated. Usually when I make this dish, I just Google it. This particular time I used the recipe from Kanako’s Kitchen, which came out really well. Although to be honest, recipes don’t really vary much.
Gnocchi has been a favorite dish of mine since I first had the gnocchi in vodka sauce at Maggiano’s, the Italian restaurant chain. The texture, the subtle flavor, it all entangled me in a love affair that has spanned nearly a decade. The only problem with gnocchi, is most gnocchi is made with cheese mixed in. As a result, I had to learn to make it myself.
Garlic Bread is one of those things that just baffle me. As a young girl, I, as every other average American, enjoyed Texas Toast and the garlic bread loaves you can buy relatively cheaply in any grocery store. Tasty, buttery, garlicky goodness that all u have to do is throw it in the oven. I thought this was genius and the best I could get short of going to a really good Italian restaurant.
So I know I entitled this article “Review”, but it’s not exactly a review. Why, you ask? Well, I have to be honest, my lemon bars didn’t come out as good as I expected, but I can’t blame that on Smitten Kitchen (who is a major cooking inspiration and a favorite recipe-provider of mine). You see, I may have not so accidentally, not exactly read the recipe…
So this particular recipe is really more like half recipe, half review. I do not, and unfortunately never have, made Japanese Curry from scratch. It’s just far too easy to use the curry starter you can purchase in any grocery, and I put a lot of trust into Japanese products (their food regulations are VERY strict). There are many curry brands to choose from, but my favorite has always been Golden Curry. I rarely use anything other than this brand, and I recommend you use it for this recipe too.
I don’t always make fresh pasta dough, but there is a difference. Homemade pasta is nuttier in flavor and has the most delightful, doughy texture to it. If it didn’t take an hour for me to make and didn’t make me fat, I would home make pasta dough 3-4 times a week.
Unlike many of my dishes, this one really doesn’t have much of a story. One day, I was craving Chinese food, but I had recently moved and didn’t know the local restaurants. So what is a poor college student to do? Dig through the fridge and find a recipe that suited both the contents of the kitchen and the craving. The original recipe can be found here.
MY UMAI 