Crepes

Who doesn’t love crepes? Last year when I was living in my other condo, I told some friends that every Sunday morning I ate crepes for breakfast. It was kinda funny because at first, no one believed me. Then all of a sudden, one Sunday there was a knock on the door. Allison, Kat, Ryan [...]

Roasted tomato marinara sauce

Pasta has to be one of my great comfort dishes, as it’s versatility as a food stuff is almost unrivaled. Pasta comes in many different shapes and sizes and allows you to make a variety of different sauces to accompany these varying shapes.

Marinara is one of my favorite pasta sauces to both make [...]

Braised Short Ribs Persillade with Mashed Potatoes

The art of braising is one that requires plenty of patience, a good heavy pot and an oven or stove top. Once you have assembled these 3 components, you can begin the creative processes necessary to make this dish and to become an expert braiser.

Short ribs come in 2 different cuts, flanken (long [...]

Farmhouse Cheddar (Raw milk)

As most chefs are, I am a big lover of cheese. This obsession, I would guess started with those little plastic wrapped Kraft cheese slices that I used to eat as a child, blindly thinking that it was actually cheese.

Then came the culinary education and the lightbulb went off, that all we see [...]

Beef Bourguignon or Beef Stew w/ Red Wine

Beef Bourguignon is a great dish, exemplifying the refined nature of French cooking, while at the same time reaching out to the hearts of those of us that simply love a good stew. This time of year, when the weather takes a turn for the worst I am always looking for a dish that [...]

Mi Gan Bo, or beef tendon soup

So I am back from Kauai and was in serious need of one of my favorite Vietnamese soups, Mi Gan Bo. Mi, or thin wheat noodles are one of my favorite noodles. Tender yet firm, these wheat noodles beat their rice cousins (in my mind) hands down. To find my favorite version of this soup [...]

Saimin on Kauai

I have been on the island of Kauai for the better part of 4 days now, some well deserved rest in between my usually hectic schedule. I spend the day yesterday with my sister wandering around some old heiau’s, photographing some waterfalls and eating in downtown Kapaa.

Kapaa is a great little town on the [...]

My Go-To Books