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.
We’re still touring through California, but for those of you hungry for a recipe, here’s a treat we did just before leaving…
One of my favorite lunch foods (when I’m not strictly following lunch.foodmayhem.com) is street meat. I’m talking about lamb shawarma from a cart. One of my favorites in Manhattan is the guy in front of Food Emporium on 14th Street, near Park Ave South. However, he’s always gone when I get home! So I had to take matters into my own hands and make my own–a difficult task when you don’t own a spit.
When I was asked to review Diabetes Cooking For Everyone, by Carol Gelles, I couldn’t decide on which recipes to test. So, I left it up to you to vote for 3 out of 9 recipes. Here are the results:
Before I get to reviewing the recipes where I will do my best to be objective, you should know that I cannot be completely objective about Carol. She is my friend and mentor. One day I will write a post all about her when I can gather up all the words I need to express my admiration, gratitude, and love. For this book, all you need to know is that she is an award winning (IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award and James Beard Award) cookbook author , professionally trained nutritionist, and a type 2 diabetic.
*Recipes are shown here with Carol’s permission.
Inspired by a recipe for Wine-Braised Lamb Shanks on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (prepared at Giusti’s Place), I created this recipe for lamb shanks. A little bit of spice and acid go a long way in my version. Their idea to serve the lamb with sauced, wet polenta inspired me to serve with a grilled polenta cake.
We got these little lamb loin chops that are so cute. They look like mini T-bone steaks, only a few forkfuls each, making them a perfect little appetizer course. I decided to do something very simple and this is a recipe any beginner can make.
We had some lamb leftover in the fridge and Jessica suggested experimenting. Since we also had some pita in the fridge, I went with a Turkish theme. Online I had seen a suggesting to interlace piece of bacon in lamb to get a similar effect to shwarma, seemed like a good enough idea. Well this worked out wonderfully!
Fresh Direct had lamb top round for sale and I was happy to see that it came in a 1 1/2 pound size, which is manageable. I decided on a simple preparation that would help me utilize the butternut squash and parsnip, I just got from the farmer’s market. What stands out for me is that this cut of lamb is so lean. The ingredients give the feel of fall, yet it’s very light and perfect for this very warm fall we’re having.
