I waxed poetically about the Norwegian banana cake – more of a banana bread than cake – but I get it… That recipe is perhaps too sweet for some. So, in the name of fair and balanced, here is one for a more conventional banana bread. It’s loosely based on America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe and should take no more than an hour to bake, prep time included.

The bake should come out like this:

You can avoid the banana clusters if you mash the mixture more smoothly, but, really, you don’t want to cheat yourself out of that pungent potassium punch.

Metric has released a new single from their upcoming album, Romanticize The Dive, and it’s a banger.

Meanwhile, Sébastien Tellier’s latest album, Kiss the Beast, is out. You know you’re in for a treat when critics say, “the album feels so haphazard, so bizarre, so deranged that the lack of verbal comprehension becomes the least of your worries.” That’s Tellier at his best for ya.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar

• 1 stick of margarine

• ½ cup whole milk

• 2 tbsp cocoa

• ½ cup peanut butter

• 3 cups one-minute oats

The Steps

1. Bring sugar, margarine, milk, and cocoa to a boil for one minute.

2. Remove from heat, and melt peanut butter into the mixture.

3. Stir in oats and spoon onto wax paper.

Allow the cookies to cool for 30 minutes to an hour, and they should be ready to serve. Cooking time is about fifteen minutes.

On “Modern Cook Book”

This classic take on the no-bake cookie made me pull out our copy of K. Camille Den Dooven’s Modern Cook Book (1939). I had hoped to find a bunch of information about the book online, but, frankly, there isn’t a whole lot there – it’s just a cookbook written by a guy who at some point served as the (presumably German) Kaiser’s chef. (No relations.)

Anyway, the book itself has hundreds of recipes, all easy to follow, so it still has a place, at least if you want to prepare a vintage homemaker-style meal. I’m not sure how many would follow this particular daily menu plan, of course…

A Monday luncheon sounds a bit ambitious these days.

You can get the book from Amazon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you found a copy in your grandparents’ bookshelf.

Bryan Pitts sent us a scolding message to point out that our “Butternut Squash with Cumin“ post omitted a historically significant event:

I CANNOT believe that this week’s newsletter didn’t include a still frame from the famous cumin challenge

which, maybe it was paprika, but would readers really have known

What Bryan is referring to is the challenge where a participant had to swallow a tablespoon of cumin, which, of course, is literally impossible. Yours truly made a valiant attempt in a 2007 episode of the beloved Remi and Stefan Do Spokane podcast, where cumin was substituted with paprika due to logistical issues. The results were mixed.

We apologize for this egregious error.

Here’s a recipe for the most Autumn-y of Autumn dishes, the butternut squash soup. This one is based on Cook’s Illustrated, with modifications to make it spicier, and, if so desired, more protein-rich1. I’ve listed one teaspoon of cumin in the recipe, but a true baller will increase it to two.

The Ingredients

• 2 ½ pounds peeled and seeded butternut squash, cut into 2-inch chunks

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 leek, white and light parts only, thinly sliced

• Salt and pepper

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 2 cups water

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp+ cayenne pepper

• Sour cream for serving

The Steps

1. Place squash in a bowl, cover with a towel, and microwave until soft – a knife should be able to easily glide through the chunks. About 18 minutes.

2. Strain liquids into a bowl for about 5 minutes and set aside. You’ll use the liquids later.

3. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add squash, leek, and a good pinch of salt. Stir occasionally until squash breaks down. About 10 minutes.

4. Add 2 cups of broth and scrape bottom of pot. Add the remaining 2 cups plus the squash liquids, 1 cup water, thyme, bay leaf, and cayenne. Increase heat to high. When it reaches a simmer, reduce to medium, and cook until leeks are tender. About 5 minutes.

5. Remove thyme and bay leaf. In batches, process soup in blender – I prefer a Vitamix™ – until smooth. Return soup to pot and simmer while thinning with water, 2 cups max. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in a dollop of sour cream with each serving for a richer flavor.

The Optional Step

I like to saute some sausage and mushrooms in the Dutch oven before cooking the squash in it, if only for some added protein and potassium. It gives the soup a deeper flavor, too. Remember to remove both before you toss in the squash.

All you need is some vinegar – I prefer apple cider – and sugar. Use berries or fruit for flavoring – in this case, blueberries. A cheesecloth is required for proper straining.

1. Mix 1 lb of blueberries1 with 1 cup of sugar in a jar. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for a day or two.

2. Stir 1 cup of vinegar into the mixture. Refrigerate.

3. After a couple of days, strain the mixture through a double layer of cheesecloth. You want to remove all sediments.

And that’s it. Refrigerate the mixture in a vessel of your choice. Note that this is a base recipe; you can experiment with different types of vinegar and fruit. Replacing half the sugar with half a cup of honey alters the palate, too.

A Quick Drink

A little goes a long way with a shrub – even though the above recipe won’t leave you with a lot, most drinks require just a tablespoon or three of the tonic. My simple go-to:

Over ice, mix three tablespoons of shrub with lime/mint Topo-Chico. Give it a good stir, and that’s all you need. For this, I use a standard sixteen-ounce glass, but playing with the ratios is always worthwhile.

Wikipedia: “Shrub (drink)“ (Last modified: September 21, 2025)

If there is one pastry that is omnipresent in Spokane coffee shops, it’s the No-Bake Cookie1. Thus, whenever we’re in town, we pick one up – you know, in the name of science. You really don’t need to go out of your way to find the cookies, mind you, as no-baking them is simple. To wit…

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter

• 2 cups granulated sugar (update: better stick with one)

• ½ cup whole milk

• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• ½ cup creamy peanut butter

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 cups quick-cook oats

• 1 pinch salt

The Steps

1. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder over high heat.

2. Stir until melted, then bring to a boil for 60 seconds. Don’t stir during boil.

3. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, vanilla extract, oats, and salt.

4. Scoop 2 tbsp spoonfuls onto a plate or baking sheet covered with parchment paper, tinfoil, or a Silpat.

Let the cookies cool for half an hour or so, and that’s it – instant coffee-shop goodness right at home.

A Note on Sugar

I truly don’t think these cookies require two full cups of sugar, though that likely is on par with what you find in most coffee shops. Cut it in half for less of a sweet punch.

I learned about Wet Leg from the excellent New Bands for Old Heads newsletter, and the band’s latest album, Mosturizer, has been on regular rotation over the last week. I’ve seen their music described in a tenfold of ways, with “melodic indie rock” being the most accurate classification. Give “mangetout” a listen. (Explicit lyrics.)

Things evolved, and as hot-dog carts grew in prominence, Long’s invention became omnipresent and iterrated upon – buns substituted the bagel, and sautéd onions became a common topping. Today, only the cream cheese is left from what is now colloquially known as the Seattle Dog.

I’m generally not a huge hot dog fan – pølse med lompe aside – but the Seattle Dog holds its own. The cream cheese is more of a differentiator than you might expect. There isn’t a strict science behind this type of dog, but here’s a quick recipe for the baseline variety.

• Cream cheese, softened

  • Optionally, a ziplock bag – see assembly instructions for more

• Sausage of your choice

• Bun

• Onion, thinly sliced, sautéed (optional-ish)

• Jalapeño slices from a jar (optional – I prefer the canned diced variety)

• Very optional:

  • Sauerkraut

  • Barbecue sauce, Sriracha, any sauce of your choice

  • Mustard

1. Preheat oven to broil.

2. Split hot dogs lengthwise – make sure they don’t fully split apart.

3. Over high heat, sauté onions in a pan until browned.

4. When done, throw the buns in the oven and broil on both sides.

5. Meanwhile, sear the sausages for about 2 minutes per lengthwise side. (Keep an eye on the buns so they don’t char.)

Add the dog to the bun and schmear cream cheese into the split. Top with onions and jalapeños.

For a more highfalutin presentation, you can throw the softened cream cheese into a ziplock bag, cut the bottom corner of it open with scissors, and precision-squeeze the cream cheese over the dog. Frankly, I don’t see any great advantage to this, bragging rights aside.

And that’s it: Seattle’s signature meat-based dish, some would claim, is one that came from a vegetarian cart.

Wikipedia: Seattle Style Hot Dog

If it’s good or bad is entirely subjective, but it sure is fascinating. Here, the English muffin is swapped with whole wheat bread, and the hollandaise with Cheese Whiz. The eggs don’t come poached, but instead scrambled, and while the ham is there, it should be pre-packaged from the grocery store.

An uncanny valley of Eggs Benedict if you so like.

Courtesy of a Montana native, Senior Intern Mari, we got our hands on a recipe for the dish. It’s simple and something you can run through in fifteen minutes if you are good at multitasking. A recipe optimized for efficiency.

Like any artisanal dish, Eggs Montana™ isn’t the product of strict steps. Instead, follow the outline – and the reference photos – below for a general baseline. You need butter, flour, milk, a 12-oz jar of Cheese Wiz, bread slices, sliced ham, and eggs.

In a pan, make a roux out of 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp flour. Mix in 4 cups of milk and 9 oz of Cheese Wiz (¾ of a jar). Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, toast the desired number of bread slices. This should be the bagged, pre-sliced kind. Butter the toast when done.

The ham should be Hormel-equivalent slices, toasted on both sides, while the eggs can be served any which way. The Washington Method (trademark pending) is to fry them into thin squares – see figure three below. Traditionalists will stick to a scramble.

Putting It All Together

The secret to proper Eggs Montana™ lies in the assembly. The first four steps are as one would expect: Layer the buttered toast with a slice or two of ham, eggs, and then the Cheese Whiz sauce:

You may notice there is a lot of sauce, and therein lies the secret fifth step: Lift up the bread ever so gently with a fork to let the sauce seep in from below. That is the differentiator – saucy bread.

What you may or may not think about Eggs Montana™ is a personal preference, but to quote the sage Intern Jon: “It’s a crowd pleaser!”

When Picabu closed in 2018, the owners published a cookbook featuring the bistro’s dishes. I have not been able to track it down, but I was able to find a scan of the “Fire Pasta” recipe. With some modifications1, I found the balance of something close to what I remember from the restaurant.

The recipe consists of three steps:

First, prepare the roux, as described below.

Second, for two servings, boil six ounces of fettuccini and crisp a quarter of a cup of bacon pieces. Set aside.

Finally, cook the sauce and pasta dish according to the steps below. The leftover sauce works great for hot wings.

The Roux

• 1 oz butter by weight

• 1 oz flour by weight

Melt butter in a saucepan and vigorously whisk in flour until it reaches a thick consistency. Pour roux evenly onto a plate and refrigerate to harden.

The Sauce

• ½ c Worcestershire sauce

• 1 c Frank’s RedHot sauce

• 3 c heavy cream

• Roux

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tbsp pepper

1. In a pot – I prefer a Dutch Oven – bring Worcestershire and RedHot to a boil.

2. Add cream, and return to boil.

3. Break up the hardened roux and add it, alongside salt and pepper, to the sauce.

4. Lower heat to medium, whisk to incorporate, and simmer for 10 minutes.

The Pasta: Two Servings

• 1 tbsp oil (or reuse the bacon grease)

• 6 oz chicken cut into 1” pieces

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

• 5 oz sauce (from above)

• 6 oz cooked fettuccini

• 1 oz (or more) grated parmesan

• ¼ c crisp bacon pieces

1. Heat oil in a frying pan and sauté chicken.

2. Add garlic, pepper flakes, and sauce. Cook at medium/low until the sauce is hot.

3. Add fettuccini and simmer until it’s heated through.

And that’s it. Evenly garnish with parmesan and bacon, and relive a restaurant that’s gone but not forgotten.

“Picabu is closed but its cookbook – on sale now for $20 – offers customers all of its recipes.” (2018, December 17). In The Spokesman-Review. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/dec/17/picabu-is-closed-but-its-cookbook-on-sale-now-for-/

I’ve written about the Norwegian Gjetost before – the brown cheese that isn’t technically a cheese. Traditionally, you find it on open-faced sandwiches or waffles, but Brunost can also be a legit muffin filler.

This recipe makes nine to twelve muffins. The flavor profile is semi-sweet, with the brown cheese adding a mild caramelized savor. We found it an everyday breakfast staple during a recent visit to Norway, but frankly, it’s versatile enough to be used for any meal, dessert included.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, cooled

• ½ cup buttermilk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup cubed brunost (about 1⁄3 inch)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C).

2. Melt and cool butter.

3. Line or grease a muffin tin.

4. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla.

6. Gradually and carefully mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

7. Gently fold the brunost into the batter so it’s evenly combined.

8. Separate the batter evenly into the tin until each compartment is about ⅔ full.

9. Bake until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean from a muffin – about 18 minutes.

10. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes in pan, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Of course, it takes conservatively ten seconds to find a decent “recipe” – I use the term loosely – online, and my go-to steps quickly came back to me as the right plug sparked. And so I post this, just in case my brain short-circuits again.

1. Add water and a bunch of ice cubes to a bowl large enough to cover the eggs you’re cooking. Set aside.

2. Add the desired amount of eggs to pot and add enough cold water to cover the eggs by an inch.

3. Heat until the water reaches a rolling boil.

4. Cover pot, turn off heat, and let the pot sit on the burner for about 11 minutes. (Longer if you want them truly hard boiled.)

5. Fish out the eggs and place them in the ice water, letting them sit until they’re thoroughly cold.

6. Peel, or remove the eggs from the water and store them in the fridge.

There are many – many – copycat recipes for “Cheesy Gordita Crunch,” most more scientific than need be. Taco Bell’s soft/crunchy handfeld is simple by design (one would hope) and you can assemble it yourself in minutes.

• Ground meat (we went the alternate route with Beyond)

• Taco seasoning of your liking

• Refried beans (optional)

• Soft flour tortillas, the size of a hard taco shell

• Shredded cheese of your choosing

• Hard taco shells

• Queso (alternatively more cheese)

• Ranch sauce or sour cream

• Iceberg lettuce

• Diced tomatoes (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C).

2. Prepare ground meat in a pan with taco seasoning; warm up refried beans.

3. Add a layer of shredded cheese on the tortilla(s) – bake until cheese is melted.

4. Meanwhile, stuff hard taco shell(s):

   1. Beans

   2. Ground meat

   3. Queso

   4. Ranch or sour cream

5. Wrap a tortilla around the shell and give it a gentle squeeze so it sticks together. Return to oven and bake for a couple of minutes.

6. When ready, top with lettuce and tomatoes.

Really, if you go any more highfalutin than that, you no longer have a proper Cheesy Gordita Crunch. It’s Taco Bell – how fancy should it really be? For something a step above, try these chuck roast tacos.

Further Awesomeness Reading

• The Flamin' Hot Cheetos® Quesadilla

• Fredagstacoen—The Friday Taco

You can be as prescriptivist as you want with a chateaubriand recipe; I prefer to keep it simple. The recipe below takes about an hour, and the end result is of Gran Canarian proportions.

The Steak

• Beef tenderloin (center cut) (size of your liking)

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF and season beef generously with salt and pepper.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

3. When the butter is bubbling, place the meat in the pan and brown for 3 minutes on each side.

4. Transfer the beef to a rack in a roasting pan and roast to desired doneness. (Steak School has a good chart — medium rare clocks in at 130ºF.)

5. Remove from oven, and store in a tented foil for 15 minutes. This is a good point to start the sauce.

The Sauce

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 red onion, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp garlic paste

• Fresh cracked black pepper

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 sprigs thyme

• 2 cups heavy cream

• Peppercorns

• Salt

• ½ lemon — juiced

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onion. Saute until soft.

2. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

3. Add ground pepper and herbs.

4. When you can smell the toasted pepper, add the cream.

5. Add peppercorns, salt, and lemon juice.

6. Simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Optional accouterment: Roasted red peppers and pineapple slices; fries and/or mashed potatoes.

And serve as illustrated above, fully in the spirit of the Norwegian charter holiday dream!

Further Awesomeness Reading

A Brief History of The Norwegian Charter Holiday

Source

The pepper sauce is based on a recipe from Simply Delicious.

Here’s a modified ricotta-semolina cake recipe from Cooks Illustrated. It’s deceivingly simple to bake, but be warned: It will have to cool overnight, so plan accordingly. The cake is perfect for anyone who wants to serve something (seemingly) impressive with a morning coffee.

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, plus butter for pan

• ¾ cup sugar, plus extra for pan

• 4 large eggs

• 12 oz ricotta cheese

• 2 tbsp orange extract

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• ¾ cup semolina flour

• 3 cups whole milk

• 2 tbsp grated lemon zest

• 1 ½ tbsp grated orange zest

• 1 tsp cardamom

• ½ tsp table salt

• Confectioners’ sugar for topping

1. Adjust oven rack to middle and heat to 375º.

2. Grease 9-inch springform pan with butter; dust with granulated sugar.

3. In a large bowl, beat eggs until combined. Add ricotta and orange and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.

4. In a small bowl, mix semolina and sugar. Heat milk, lemon and orange zest, cardamom, salt, and butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture hits 180º. Off heat, slowly pour semolina mixture into milk mixture, whisking constantly until smooth.

5. Return saucepan to heat, stirring constantly until mixture pulls away from side of saucepan—about 5 minutes.

6. Add a third of semolina mixture to ricotta mixture and mix until incorporated. Add the rest in 2 batches, mixing each until incorporated. Mix until smooth with just some small lumps remaining. About 5 minutes.

7. Transfer batter to pan and bake until top is golden brown. The center should be slightly jiggly. Between 50 minutes to 1 hour.

8. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Run knife around edge to loosen. Unlock pan ring, but leave it in place. Let cool completely—1½ to 2 hours.

9. Refasten ring and refrigerate cake until firm and chilled—12 to 24 hours.

10. Remove side of pan and slide a thin metal spatula between cake and pan bottom. Slide cake onto serving platter. Let rest for 30 minutes.

11. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, et voilà: A cake to impress friends, foes, and family with.

I don’t want to get into “libel” territory, but words like “olive oil cartel” and “planted story” come to mind. While surely there are less-than-stellar imported oils, many range from good to excellent. Like Moroccan Olive Grove.

There are variants, but their oils have one thing in common that most of their ilk don’t: They taste like actual olives. Not just a hint, but the type of pungent flavor you get when sinking your teeth into a proper Mediterranean olive. The “Bold & Dynamic” oil, in particular, delivers on its namesake promise. I’d drink it by the glassful if it were socially acceptable.

This type of olive oil deserves to be used in an oil-centric recipe, like the regional Spanish salad from Murcia: Moje. The salad primarily builds around tomatoes, tuna, and eggs, covered in a generous cup of olive oil. It’s also incredibly simple to assemble.

• 12 juicy tomatoes

• A good handful of finely chopped scallions

• A handful of pitted black olives

• 3-4 boiled eggs, coarsely chopped

• A can of tuna, drained

• 1 cup of olive oil

• Salt

Cut the tomatoes into small chunks, and put them (juices and all) in a bowl alongside the scallions and the olives. Add the eggs and tuna, and give it a quick stir. Pour the olive oil over the mixture and stir until the oil thoroughly coats everything. Feel free to toss in a pinch of salt if need be.

The salad tastes even better after resting in the fridge overnight.

Sources & Credits

Alas, I can’t find the Times story with the incriminating evidence—I suspect a cover-up. 🤷

Photo courtesy of La Masía.

Moroccan Olive Oil is available in some stores, as well as from their website.

• 1 ¾ cups water

• 1 cup 2% milk

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni

• 4 ounces shredded American cheese

• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

• Pinch of cayenne

• 3 ½ ounces Gruyère cheese

• 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

The Mac Mix

1. Boil water and milk in a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in macaroni and reduce to medium-low. Stir frequently until pasta is al dente, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Add American cheese, mustard, and cayenne. Stir constantly until cheese is melted, about 1 minute.

3. Off heat, stir in Gruyère and blue cheese. Cover the saucepan and let rest for 5 minutes.

The Panko Mix

1. Combine panko, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper in an 8-inch nonstick skillet until the panko is moist.

2. Stir frequently over medium heat until browned, 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Off heat, sprinkle parmesan over mixture and stir to combine.

4. Transfer panko to a small bowl.

The Mac and Cheesening

Stir macaroni until mixture is smooth. Transfer to a warm serving dish, sprinkle panko mixture over top, and serve immediately.

And that’s it: Serve the dish with a Topo Chico Cup for an extra classy experience.

This recipe is a slightly altered version of one found in the American Test Kitchen app.

On the flip side, they are commonly used to test prospective chefs simply because making outstanding ones is a bit of a forgotten art form. Difficult it is not, but the steps to make a fluffy scramble are, for the lack of a better word, unusual. Give this “recipe” a try—it is inspired by a long-lost Gordon Ramsay video—to elevate your scrambled egg game.

This is hardly a recipe as much as a set of very basic steps. In addition to the eggs, you’ll need butter, salt, pepper, cream, and optionally green onions.

• Crack whatever amount of eggs you want to scramble into a bowl. Don’t stir.

• Warm a pan on high heat and toss in a generous dollop of butter.

• After the butter melts, pour in the eggs and whisk vigorously for fifteen seconds.

• Remove from heat for fifteen seconds and keep stirring.

• Put back on the stove while stirring, and repeat the process until the eggs are just about to turn dry.

• Pour eggs into a bowl and mix in enough cream, salt, and pepper to give the eggs a fluffy texture. Alternatively, you can use crème fraîche or sour cream.

• Optionally, top with chopped green onions.

The Kebab

• 2 chicken breasts

• Olive oil (to taste)

• ½ grated onion

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 tsp cumin

• 1 tbsp coriander

• 2 tsp oregano

• A dash of paprika

• A generous pinch of black pepper

• Iceberg lettuce

• Canned corn, drained (optional)

• Sauces (optional—prepare them according to the steps below)

• Pitas

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Slice chicken breast into thin strips—about an inch in length.

3. In a bowl, coat chicken with olive oil, onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, oregano, paprika, and pepper.

Serve any which way you like: I prefer topping a toasted pita with lettuce, chicken, corn, and sauces. Eat as a handheld or use a knife and fork—there’s no “wrong” way to enjoy a döner.

Garlic Sauce

• 1 cup yoghurt

• 1 lemon, juiced

• 2 tsp dried mint

• 4+ garlic cloves, minced

• Salt and pepper

Mix ingredients together. 🤷‍♂️

Chili Sauce

• 2 tomatoes, chopped

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• ½ grated onion

• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 2 red chilis, chopped

• 1 pinch of sugar

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

• Optionally, water for a thinner consistency

Throw it all in a Vitamix or equivalent blender, and mix until you reach your desired consistency. I like mine to remain somewhat chunky.

During the nineties, the döner kebab was a mainstay in my fast-food arsenal. In Europe, it’s largely equivalent to a street taco or a burrito—you can easily find at least one kebab shop in most urban neighborhoods.

It had been a minute since I enjoyed a kebab, but the flame got reignited during a recent visit to Alaçatı, Turkey. (Further food findings from that city will be posted in a future edition of the Digest.)

Worth mentioning is that while “döner” suggests one particular type of kebab, it really is just a baseline. In other words, a döner is meat covered in a spice mix, cooked on a vertical rotisserie, served on or with a pita, usually with pickled peppers. Customization—which often is the norm—comes down to the cook’s whims.

Web Source

Doner kebab. (2023, August 25). In Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab

Calling it a “recipe” is a bit of a hyperbole, so just follow the four images above. Or, if you want more details:

• Mix ground meat—I used venison—with salt and pepper.

• Flatten the meat onto a tortilla, covering it to its edges. I went with the bog-standard grocery-store flour variety.

• Sear taco in a pan over medium-high, meat-side down, until cooked through. It usually takes two-to-three minutes. (Attempts to use Beyond Meat didn’t work out too well—if you want to give it a shot, try cooking it over a high temperature to give it a proper sear.)

• Flip the tortilla, cover the meat with cheese, and let it melt for a few minutes.

• Remove from the pan and finish the taco with your preferred toppings. I settled for a splash of Yucateco’s habanero sauce.

Presumably, the smash taco became a hit on the socials because it was an unlikely take on a classic dish. From a presentation perspective, preparing the taco lends itself well to the quick jump-cut editing TikTokers use.

Of course, “classic_…”

The smash technique is best used for preparing a grocery-store-style taco-quesadilla hybrid. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there are few reasons to attempt to prepare the smash taco in a refined manner. Gordon Ramsay’s recipe is simple for a reason. And the end result is, by design, incredibly bold. Even a thin layer of meat brings a lot of flavor. A bit too much for my liking.

So, I don’t see myself switching to the smash method as a go-to. If I want the old-school American soft tacos, I’ll stick with the classic style. Or, preferably, go with some cleaner-tasting chuck roast tacos.

PS! The one happy discovery I did make during the process was Lucerne’s ghost pepper cheese slices. I’m a fan of ghost peppers in general—their distinct flavors aren’t overpowered by their heat—and Lucerne’s mild Monterey Jack brings the palate down to a relatively cool baseline. Ideal for quesadillas with a light punch.

For the dressing (based on Cook’s Illustrated):

• 1 shallot, peeled and finely minced

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 lemon juiced

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp pepper

Combine vigorously—I shake it in a mason jar.

For the salad, everything should be chopped very fine. I used a Cuisinart instead of a knife1.

• 4 slices bacon

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup Gorgonzola

• 1 cup garbanzo beans

• ½ red onion

• ¼ cup sunflower seeds

• 3 leaves romaine lettuce

• 6 leaves iceberg lettuce (should be a one-to-one ratio with the romaine)

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

• 1 avocado, sliced

Mix all the ingredients together with about four tablespoons of the dressing. Divide into two, three, or four bowls, top each with avocado slices, and serve.

For storage, keep each ingredient in a separate container and combine when ready.

Oh, and the rest of Purple’s food? It’s very good. My grilled Spanish octopus was light and flavorful, and the French onion soup balanced sweet flavors with Sherry well.

Find Purple at 1225 4th Ave downtown and 14459 Redmond-Woodinville Rd in Woodinville.

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To illustrate, if you saw The Menu, I equate my knife skills to those of Nicholas Hoult.

While the Norwegian Fredagstaco always has a place in my heart, preparing more highfalutin tacos takes very little work. Toss salt and pepper on a chuck roast, let it cook for a few hours, and the result is on par with a respectable taco truck.

With the meat, I like a zesty guacamole to balance out the salt—see recipe below. Serve it on jicama tortillas, and you have a downright tropical palate going.

• 1 boneless chuck roast, 3 lbs

• 3 avocados, chopped and/or mashed

• Juice from 2 limes

• Juice from 1 orange

• ½ white onion, finely chopped

• 1 Anaheim pepper, finely chopped

• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

• 1 tbsp of paprika (I usually go heavier)

• 1 tsp of hot sauce (Though more is better—I like El Yucateco’s habanero sauce)

• Salt and pepper to taste

For the roast:

1. Set oven to 325 degrees.

2. Generously salt and pepper the roast.

3. Add to a covered Dutch oven and bake for one hour per pound. In this case, three hours.

4. The beef is ready when you can easily shred it with two forks. You want to tear it into fairly chunky pieces.

5. Increase heat to 425 degrees.

6. Give the shredded beef a good toss and place the pot back in the oven for 20 minutes, uncovered.

For the guacamole:

Mash the avocados to whatever consistency you desire, and mix in the rest of the ingredients.

And that’s it: Serve the tacos with a Topo Chico Cup for an extra classy experience.