Âme En Place
Methods, Recipes and Commentary On Food that Sustains Our Souls.
- How to Survive the Apocalypse in Style with SPAM.When the apocalypse comes, I know what I’m going out to grab first—hell-raising is optional. While the rest of you fight zombies for guns and axes, I’m going for a pallet of spam. I’ll pick up med-kits and ammunition along the way, but only because, by then, I’ll have something worth protecting. I grew up… Read more: How to Survive the Apocalypse in Style with SPAM.
- Succulent Stew and the Flavors of Pakistan – Authentic NihariI run into the same problem whenever I start making southeast asian food and some middle-eastern dishes—the stuff we get in the U.S. is not the same as the stuff they have there. Amazon will deliver all kinds of fresh spices, which takes planning, but it’s not worth the effort if I have to start… Read more: Succulent Stew and the Flavors of Pakistan – Authentic Nihari
- The Wonderful Uses for Fresh Crispy Corn TortillasThere’s magic when you bite into a perfectly fried corn tortilla—the crunch, and then it dissolves in your mouth. Throw on some salt and you could be done right there. I’m covering my favorite three—nachos, tostada and chilaquiles, and I’m going to try to convince you of three things. First, that they’re all the same… Read more: The Wonderful Uses for Fresh Crispy Corn Tortillas
- Why Not Give Your Sausage Some More Love?Sausages aren’t regarded as part of the fine dining experience—if anything, it’s a minor player in soup or pasta. That’s a shame because they’re an uncomplicated way to deliver flavor. You might wonder where the hate comes from. They are made with cheap cuts and the meat that didn’t sell at yesterday’s market. But I… Read more: Why Not Give Your Sausage Some More Love?
- How to Develop a Unique Szechuan Hot Pot Base—And Reasons to Run the Other WaySzechuan hot pot—At first, it sounds like a good idea. Later, when your bowels feel like white-hot fire you begin to wonder if Szechuan chilis were bred for state-sponsored torture. Eventually the pain subsides and the fun of dipping things into a pot with your friends outweighs self-preservation, so you return for more. Business-wise, there… Read more: How to Develop a Unique Szechuan Hot Pot Base—And Reasons to Run the Other Way
- Get Sloshed Last Year?—The Solution is Irish Lamb StewSt. Patrick’s Day approaches. If you can’t make the trip to Dublin, then it’s off to the next closest thing—there to drink yourself into a stupor. Traditional folk music will be the last thing you hear as you slip off the bar stool and out into the alley to lay in your own sick. Fitful… Read more: Get Sloshed Last Year?—The Solution is Irish Lamb Stew
- Save the Mississippi River Ecosystem—One Amazing Meal at a TimeThe Mississippi River System has a big problem with invasive carp. Figuring out where they came from is a question for scientists to study and an opportunity for politicians to blame another thing on Asia. The local catfish may not have that kind of time to waste, so it’ll have to be up to the… Read more: Save the Mississippi River Ecosystem—One Amazing Meal at a Time
- Ethiopian Spicy Sauce—Appreciate Respectfully and Smother On EverythingD.C. is unique in the world for its international street-food and you can smother it with any number of tasty sauces. Despite the distractions, this alone makes it a great place—where fusion isn’t always a carefully planned, trendy-new-dining-experience, but something that can happen on the street, every time a customer walks up. Berbere is a… Read more: Ethiopian Spicy Sauce—Appreciate Respectfully and Smother On Everything
- Lion’s Milk — The Anise Flavor ChallengeActs of bravery, like approaching a nursing lioness, can say as much about your intelligence as your strength of character. Tearing the cubs away to take her milk suggest you lack sanity. All three traits are useful when you open a bottle of Raki. Start with a fearless whiff and a straight taste just to… Read more: Lion’s Milk — The Anise Flavor Challenge
- British Comfort Food — Holiday Approved for Showing OffI started doing these during the pandemic for entertainment. At this point I make them just to prove I can, and to show off. Everybody loves to watch these things grow. It’s like Mary Poppins magic, but turn out to be real food too. Despite the name, their texture is like a croissant without layers.… Read more: British Comfort Food — Holiday Approved for Showing Off