In the chaotic kitchen of a recipe developer, you get a food blog called FoodMayhem.
I'm Jessica, an Asian-American, born and raised in NYC, and that's Lon, my Jewish, white husband. While professionally trained as a French culinary- and pastry chef, many of FoodMayhem recipes are my attempt to preserve and share authentic Chinese and Taiwanese recipes learned from my mom. We don't eat Chinese food every day, so you'll get a little bit of anything we find delicious enough to share: from our Eastern European side; recipes and techniques learned from my restaurant days; restaurant reviews, food travel tips; and a few other juicy bits along the way. Welcome to FoodMayhem!
When you’re introduced to new people, do you start chattering immediately, or does it take you time to warm-up and get comfortable? It always surprises me when Lon starts talking to random people outside, a guy waiting on line in front of us, the check-out clerk at Bed Bath & Beyond, or the couple standing in front of the restaurant we just walked out of. Though my friends and family can’t shut me up, I’m cautious around strangers. I just need to melt the ice a little.
A long time ago I worked in south Brooklyn (Sheepshead Bay) in the back of a charity, in a small room that barely fit me and Theresa, a hardcore Italian-American. She was a great person, but had a harsh (typical Brooklyn) personality; she had a raspy voice and didn’t take BS from anyone; especially about “gravy” vs. “sauce”. If you’re thinking “gravy” is something brown you pour over steak, move on, you’re not ready for this.
Theresa explained that a tomato-based sauce without meat in it (like marinara), is “sauce.” If it contains meat, then it is not a “sauce” it’s “gravy.” So what is the premier gravy? Ragu. (p.s. I do not agree with her assessment, this is sauce). Also, this is another checkpoint, if you think I might be referring to the bottled sauce, you are on the wrong web site.
This Weekend Shout-out is to Gwendolyn at Patent and the Pantry for her post on Penne alla Vodka (and because I love her header photo.) You’d think, what an elementary sauce? But this one caught my eye because the vodka is not cooked in the sauce. No, you don’t just drink it while you cook. It does go in the pasta dish. But since you don’t cook it, I had to wonder, would it taste particularly strong? It was just right, but Lon said he did kind of feel it. haha
Oxtails in Chinese Tomato Sauce was a regular part of growing up. My brother and I loved this dish; we’re practically made of this stuff. So when I opened my fridge and stared at the oxtails, I knew I had to make it for Lon so I called me mom for instructions. It turns out, it’s ridiculously easy, so if you have kids, this will end up being a regular in your house. I didn’t have a single cousin (in my large family) that could resist this stuff.
I love beef oxtails and try to use it in any beef recipe I can (see my Oxtail and Linguine recipe). It works especially well for soups and stews because the bones give off so much flavor to the liquid. My latest oxtail conquest is Goulash, a Hungarian stew, which Lon grew up with. This is an easy dish that doesn’t require too much work, but it does require inactive time. As I sat, waiting for it to finish cooking, I started getting nervous wondering if my Oxtail Goulash would pass the test for Lon (of Hungarian descent) and it did, with flying colors!
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