TIP OF THE DAY: Shichimi Togarashi

Many Americans like to shake hot sauce on their food. But what about hot spices? In addition to black pepper and chile flakes, there’s shichimi togarashi (she-CHEE-me toe-gah-RAH-she—photo #1). Known simply as shichimi in Japan, it’s a seven-ingredient spice blend (shichi is “seven” in Japanese, togarashi is red pepper). The spice blend dates at least…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Texas Wines

Recently we attended a tasting of Texas wines from 14 wineries, held in New York City. If you’re not familiar with Texas wines, it’s because the residents of Texas buy up much of the production, leaving little to distribute elsewhere (check on Wine.com and other online etailers). Production from this relatively new wine area has…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Make Raclette

[1] Scraping melted raclette cheese onto the plate (photo courtesy Zuercher Cheese | Tumbler). [2] A cheese melter, used in restaurants and in homes of enthusiasts (available at Raclette Corner). [3] A home raclette grill from Swissmar, available on Amazon and elsewhere. [4] Pouring cheese from a Swissmar grill pan (photo courtesy Swissmar). [5] A…
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Citrus, The Fruits Of Winter: Grapefruits, Lemons, Limes, Oranges, & Beyond

[1] Citrus: the jewels of winter fruit (photo © Heather Gill | Wesual | Unsplash). [2] Mixed citrus slices, garnishes for beverages and plated foods (photo © Edgar Castrejon | Unsplash). [3] Citron, one of the three original citrus fruits (along with mandarin orange and pomelo) from which all other citrus was bred (photo courtesy…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Brighten Up Plates With These 20 Colorful Garnishes

Brighten up winter meals with splashes of color. You can do that with sides like beets, red cabbage slaw and winter squash. But you can also employ colorful garnishes and condiments. Green garnishes like parsley and mint have been used for…centuries? millennia? Here are brighter recommendations in orange, red and yellow: Bell pepper (orange, red,…
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