Nowadays, I spend 10 times the amount of time I spent in the kitchen one year ago, as living on my own has compelled me to cook at least once a day. I make a myriad of dishes - mostly savory and try to keep it as healthy as possible. We eat out so much and there is such a variety of dessert to be had in NYC, that I have *almost* stopped making my own. However, once in a while I make things that remind me of home. Take for instance these chocolate balls - I use crushed graham crackers (any kind of digestive biscuit will do, really), a half can of condensed milk, a dollop of butter, a few tablespoons of chocolate powder and mixed it all up. Voila, childhood!
We have been planning to go to South America but being lazy as we are, have not managed to plan a trip. So the next time I made the chocolate balls, I took it up a notch - a bit of the vanilla pod, a teeny pinch of chilli powder and sea salt, a sprinkling of cinnamon and dulce de leche instead of condensed milk. Who needs to go to South America when you have it's flavors (at least that's how we console ourselves!)?!
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To Read: Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain is a page turner - honest, vicious and funny! He writes about life after Kitchen Confidential as well as well-known restaurants and chefs.
I also loved reading The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones. Its fiction about a young chef cooking traditional Chinese in modern China but interweaves a lot of food history, a few cooking techniques and knowledge of flavors and textures in Chinese food. I had to watch Eat Drink Man Woman all over again after reading this!
To Buy: Definitely, definitely get a subscription to Oyster, the Netflix of books!
Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate Mocha - drink it hot or cold.
To Watch: The movie Chef: Jon Favreau is a delight!
This video about separating eggs.
