Northern Thai Coconut Curry Adventure

May 31, 2019 by Alyssa D in main course

This was my own fault for raising expectations. “There’s a special noodle dish that we get,” I said as the four of us headed to the Thai restaurant. “Such amazing flavor. It’s messy, though. You practically need a bib.”

Guillaume and I regularly order “khao soy,” a Northern Thai dish with a spicy, tangy coconut curry soup base. The bowl comes piled with veggies and a nest of fried egg noodles on top. But when I inquired about a vegan version for our friends, the waitress said the base contained seafood.

Never had the words “shrimp paste” been so disappointing.

Meat-Free Moussaka Adventure

April 29, 2019 by Alyssa D in baking, main course

The tower of eggplant slices rose ridiculously high. I’d miscalculated the time required to make three full pans of moussaka — two with beef and one vegan — and was rushing around my narrow kitchen in Queens.

Marie, visiting from France, made her miraculous chocolate mousse and tried to keep me calm as I worked on the béchamel and roasted eggplant discs like a madwoman. We prepared enough salad for an army. My Big Fat Greek Dinner Party of early 2009 was living up to its name.

Although everyone seemed to have a fun time and enjoy the food, the one thing that still irked me years later was the vegan moussaka.

DIY Sous Vide Rack of Lamb Adventure

April 14, 2019 by Alyssa D in main course

This is it, I thought. This is how we’re going to die — a fire inside a church on Greek Easter in Astoria.

My parents and I watched in horror as the priest walked down the aisle holding out two giant bundles of lit candles, one in each ham-hock hand. The people in the pews lunged, trying to get their candles lit directly from him. For good luck? Who knows.

Large men in leather jackets jostled. The cologne and perfume were overwhelming. Mom smelled burning hair.

Hand-Forged Doughnuts Adventure

March 27, 2019 by Alyssa D in dessert

“Mention deep-frying anything at home, and many cooks panic. Hot oil requires care, of course, but doughnuts are simpler to make than you might think.”

That’s Mark and Michael Klebeck’s advice from their cookbook “Hand-Forged Doughnuts: Secrets and Recipes for the Home Baker.” Who could imagine I’d ever worry about something in the kitchen? Especially involving hot oil?

Miso Sesame Noodles Adventure

March 10, 2019 by Alyssa D

We’d already punted on lunch by going out to eat. And, well past dinnertime on a weeknight, grocery shopping felt overwhelming. While debating picking up a pizza, we peered into the fridge.

Despite our need for essentials, the fridge looked full. This is ridiculous, I thought, before spotting the sizable tub of white miso paste.

Date Pinwheel Cookie Adventure

February 15, 2019 by Alyssa D in dessert, baking

“Look! Medjool dates!”

I was way more excited about this Manhattan discovery than my good friend Gina. She just chuckled. This was eons ago at the Whole Foods near Columbus Circle, and I remember eagerly forking over my hard-earned money for the plastic lidded container.

Maybe I ate one or two dates as a snack, but the rest went into Yiayia’s date pinwheel cookie recipe. My family isn’t sure where she originally picked it up since the recipe was so different from her Greek pastry repertoire. Wherever she found the inspiration, the smell of these cookies baking always brings me right back to her warm, sunny apartment.

Dad’s Greek Bread Adventure

January 17, 2019 by Alyssa D in baking

During my first spring living in Colorado, I opened a box that my dad had overnighted from Vermont. After opening the flaps, I breathed in the most glorious smell of fresh Greek bread. Dad sent me two of the precious loaves he’d made.

Our family’s recipe for Greek bread makes four loaves or one large braided vasilopita — a special New Year’s version covered in powdered sugar that hides a lucky coin. When my mom typed it up ages ago, the recipe spanned multiple pages. Since then, more notations emerged.

I’d never attempted it. This holiday season, however, I asked Dad to teach me how. This lesson would be his present to me. So, on my birthday, we got to work.

Mastiha Liqueur Adventure

January 10, 2019 by Alyssa D in drinks

Mom texted me from the liquor store in Vermont. They had three bottles of a mastiha liqueur brand that had become impossible to get in Colorado. Did I want one? We’d finished off ours during the “house cooling” party to send off the old apartment.

What is mastiha? After a few minutes of trying to describe the crystalized Mediterranean tree resin that generally comes from the Greek island of Chios, I’d just remove the stopper so guests could smell the unusual ingredient.

To me, the slightly woody and citrusy flavor is synonymous with joy. It reminds me of how the whole house smells after my dad bakes his famous Greek bread. Tasting the liqueur recalls the refreshing cocktail my mom created. Everything about mastiha says, “Slow down. Relax. Let’s just sit here a while.”

Basically the opposite of how I felt in Vermont when finally holding the white bottle that Mom had given us for Christmas and pondering how to get it back to Colorado.

Creamy Pasta and Shrimp Adventure

December 17, 2018 by Alyssa D in main course

Fresh seafood has long been a weakness of mine. For a real treat while I was growing up, my parents would take me to a local seafood restaurant, where the scallops were my favorite dish. So buttery. So perfect. So fortunate that they weren’t from the nearest body of water.

I just can’t resist good seafood, particularly high quality crab cakes. Same with smoked salmon appetizers, toothsome Korean fish cakes, New England lobster rolls, briny raw oysters, spider rolls at sushi restaurants — you get the idea.

So when Martha Stewart Living had a close-up of mafaldine pasta with shrimp and lemon in the magazine, there was no question about making it. What looked incredibly easy, as is often the case with glossy magazine recipes, turned out to be slightly more difficult. Especially a few glasses of wine into the process.

Modern Turkey Potpie Adventure

November 30, 2018 by Alyssa D in main course

Our wacky Thanksgiving tradition emerged out of necessity. We’d attended a fantastic Friendsgiving that quickly morphed from a half dozen people into an enormous crowd.

The original plan was that we’d make turkey thighs simmered in red chile, but the guest list grew too long for that to be realistic. Other folks eagerly volunteered to roast a big turkey. While there was plenty for dinner, the few leftovers were divided between the friends who brought it and our gracious host. We all insisted.

After so many weeks with turkey on the brain, though, Guillaume and I were hankering for some more.