Profile

okupin

Assistant professor of English at the University of Nevada, Reno. Learned to cook by watching PBS in the mid-1990's (Jacques Pepin, Martin Yan, Martha Stewart, Jeff Smith...). Good cook, bad baker.

  • Location: Reno, NV
  • Favorite foods: olives, peaches, cherries, fish and shellfish, any combination of butter, sugar, and nuts, preferably caramelized, croissants. Also pizza.
  • Last bite on earth: baklava

Cook the Book: 'The New Persian Kitchen'

Pomegranate molasses is the not-so-secret ingredient in nearly all the things I cook that come out well. It's the perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and savory. I use it in sauces, marinades, salad dressings, breakfast parfaits, desserts, drinks....

5 French Style Sweets We Love in Santa Fe

Glad you found the French Pastry Shop. They've been there in the La Fonda forever. I love going in winter and sitting near a frosted window or the snug hearth with the copper pots gleaming overhead and a steaming crock of their venerable French onion soup--followed by a napoleon for dessert, of course.

12 of Our Favorite Food Movies

Iron Monkey, the stir fry scene. Doesn't matter how full I am when I watch it, it always makes me hungry.

The Food Lab: How To Make Carne Adovada (Chili-Braised Pork)

@2thsumagogo: "Xenophobes," eh? I beg to differ. We New Mexicans love our visitors, even the ones who can't tell our state from Arizona :)

The Food Lab: How To Make Carne Adovada (Chili-Braised Pork)

I have no doubt whatsoever that what you made here is delicious and that everyone who makes the recipe will be happy, as always with Food Lab recipes. But I would not call this dish New Mexican carne adovada, which is traditionally made more or less the way @soozm32 describes (there's a longstanding dispute among NM families over whether or not to put oregano). I can see the raisins to make up for the fact you can't get decent NM chile pods, and I guess if you want the smokiness you'd get from braising it all day on a BBQ cobbled together from a salvaged washing-machine drum and a piece of sheet metal like we used to in Belen, the chipotles make some sense. But fish sauce and orange concentrate? The uniqueness of New Mexican food lies in the fact that it has been cooked in a setting of extreme beauty and scarcity for hundreds of years (thousands, for some dishes). The food memorializes that history. You can and should always be able to taste in good New Mexican food the stone, sky, water, bone, wood, and blood that made it. That memorial is why I make it, and it's what you lose if you change the recipe to cater to a globalized palate. There's something to be said for letting a dish teach you about where it came from.

What We're Eating: Lard Bread

There's a related recipe for casatiello (brioche studded with provolone and salami) in Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice. I think it's closest to Mazzola's.

Cook the Book: 'Eat with Your Hands'

Hands down (ha ha) it's black pepper crab from Kim Son in Houston.

The Food Lab: How to Make Tonkotsu Ramen Broth at Home

@JKLA
Sorry about the bonehead o/a typo. I think I'll try the all pork/ chicken version--that's meaty enough for my tastes.... Can't wait for the noodle recipe. Thanks a ton for this series.

The Food Lab: How to Make Tonkotsu Ramen Broth at Home

OK don't be mad...I'm going to ask the inevitable Lucky Peach question. Chang advocates beef shank and oxtail for his tonkatsu; do you think that this is because he loves sul lung tang? Would you need stronger-tasting garnishes to stand up to his darker version of the broth?

Cook the Book: 'Poulet'

Ina Garten's lemon chicken with croutons.

French in a Flash: Spaghetti with Pistachio Pistou

I read this recipe and immediate got up and made it. I just pounded some raw pistachios in a mortar and pestle b/c I was just making one serving and that's what I had on hand, but it turned out great even with the crunchy bits. Also, I subbed a little bit of rosemary for the basil and left the butter out b/c had some great Arbequina oil. Yee-um. I will definitely make this again.

Cook the Book: 'The Splendid Table's How to Eat Weekends'

The roast lemon chicken with croutons from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris, with an arugula salad, a bottle of crisp pinot noir rose, and butterscotch pudding for dessert!

Cakespy: Rainbow Layer Cake

I came up with an idea like this when I was a kid, and my mom executed it with some combination of Duncan Hines mixes (lemon, cherry, orange--I think she had to just doctor white cake mix to get the other colors). I LOVED it, and I think we ate rainbow-colored cake scraps from the remaining half layers out of the freezer for MONTHS (trifle, anyone?). Aww. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

Got a Question for The Food Lab? Kenji Will Answer Everything

This is kinda like an AskANinja Omnibus....

I live at altitude and notice that when I sautee, everything browns/burns much faster than recipes predict--probably 30% faster: onions, spices, etc. Is it just because the air is also a lot dryer up here (and therefore I should add a little bit of water to the pan to counterbalance), or is it something about altitude/boiling point (in which case, what do I do?)

Thanks, Kenji!

Is Anyone Reading Lucky Peach?

I'm partway through Issue #1, and so far I've learned a little about ramen and a whole lot about David Chang. And I just don't care about David Chang that much, no offense. He seems very dedicated to his craft, and so I'm sure he's a much better cook than my one visit to Momofuku Milk Bar (Brooklyn) indicated. I'll keep reading, for sure, though if it doesn't get a little more food-centric and a bit less Chang-centric soon, I doubt I'll spring for the hefty subscription rate.

Green Tea You Should Know: Gyokuro

That's so funny--I just had gyokuro for the first time ever on Sunday at Midori's Floating World in MSP. It was fantastic--salty, green, and strong but not bitter--and I'm pretty sure the brewing instructions above were violated in several ways. I guess that flexibility is good news for those of us who are thinking of investing in a few ounces, which I'm definitely planning to after tasting it and reading this article. Thanks!

Scooped: Kaffir Lime and Gin Ice Cream

Looks great, will definitely try. Semantic note: Duguid and Alford have recommended calling this lime "wild lime" instead due to the racial overtones of the word "kaffir/kefir" in South Africa (see Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet p. 324).

The Food Lab: How To (Sort Of) Make Naan at Home

@darklighter, franko: Winter naan is actually easier, IMHO. I think I got this technique from Neelam Batra's 1,000 Indian Recipes: you simulate a tandoor using your oven and a pizza stone. You put your pizza stone in a cold oven about 5 inches or so below the broiler and then heat the oven up (using the bottom element, not the broiler yet) to as hot as it will go for a good 45 minutes or so. Then, you turn on the broiler on high for 5-10 minutes until it's good and hot. (Don't be tempted to skip the pre-heat step or you will crack your pizza stone down the middle.) When the broiler's roaring away, you carefully slide out the rack w/ the hot pizza stone far enough to throw your naan on the stone, and you slide it back under the broiler. When it's done on top, it's done underneath, too! (Usually takes about 2 minutes, but that depends on a lot of things; basically, you have to watch it like a hawk.) I find that for me it comes out more tender this way than on the grill, though I do it that way in the summer to avoid heating up the house.

Calling all food nerds! Technique question about carbonation

Thanks, AnnieNT and Lorenzo--very helpful!

Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

YESSSS! Finally the perfect answer to my breakfast dilemma of "I love cinnamon rolls" vs. "I am too procrastinate-y to remember to start the yeast dough the night before."

A Sandwich a Day: Po' Boy from Mandina's in New Orleans

Yay Mandinas!

Coming to Terms with Scotch Whisky-Based Cocktails

My husband had something called Smoke on the Water at the View bar in the Marriott in SFO: nice vodka like Tito's, an island single malt (I think Lagavulin), and a splash of dry vermouth. He's replicated it a couple times at home, and it's super good. Has to be a smoky island single malt, though, like Lagavulin or Talisker, or it doesn't work.

Cook the Book: 'Cooking in the Moment'

I think it was one late summer when we lived on an acre and a third with mature fruit trees, and I had planted a good garden: I remember sitting down to a salad of tomatoes, eggplant, basil, and feta and having fig jam on bread for dessert and realizing that I had made or grown everything I had just eaten. It was a great feeling, one I haven't had many chances to repeat now that we've moved and are busier with our careers. But I think about it a lot.

Where to Eat in London

I had a really nice time at the Acorn House up in Islington (69 Swinton St. near Gray's Inn); fantastic pork cappellacci and lemon posset for dessert. The best Indian food of my *life* was at Moti Mahal (45 Great Queen St. near the Holborn tube stop).

Drink The Book Giveaway: "Food & Wine Cocktails 2011"

St. James Infirmary in Reno, NV. They were going for the trendy "speakeasy" thing, too, but they've kind of backed off it of late and are now just a comfortable, fun place to hang out with an awesome jukebox and also one of the (weirdly) few bars in Reno that have a deck so you can enjoy the incredible views and weather almost year-round. My favorite drinks there are the St. James Gin Sling (really a Euphoria-style cocktail with St. Germain and muddled grape) and a fine Sazerac.

Calling all food nerds! Technique question about carbonation

I have a seltzer maker, and the company says to carbonate chilled water. I was thinking warmer (like tap temperature) water might accommodate more CO2, resulting in bubblier water, but then when it chills in the frig, would the CO2 be forced out of solution, making it flatter? For that reason, am I better off carbonating already-chilled water because the carbonation will be more stable? Or does it not matter either way because water at X temperature will hold Y amount of gas, end of story? I should have paid better attention in high school chemistry....

Help: curry leaves substitution

Hi all--I'm making Potato Salad with Yoghurt for dinner from Neelam Batra's 1,000 Indian Recipes, and I don't have any curry leaves. I have lemon basil and thai basil: would either be an acceptable substitute? I know I'm going to have to break down and mail-order some curry leaves, but since they won't get here by dinner time...any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

A brief history of the one-word restaurant name

Anyone know when/where/why the trend of single-word restaurant names started? I don't mean names necessarily, but food or food-related words--you know, like Porchetta, Jar, Crush, Tilth, Toast, Lark, Dovetail, Pear, Crave, Pastis, Picholine, Aquavit, Chestnut, Alchemy, Applewood, Meze, Olea. I'd especially like to hear your theories as to *why*--what food philosophy or cultural movement or advertising scheme is this trend capitalizing on?
Bonus question: Same thing for two-word compounds such as Sitka & Spruce, Flour & Water....

The definitive beignet: Pate a choux or yeast dough?

Happy Sunday, all. In your opinion, what's the definitive beignet dough/batter--a risen yeast dough or a pate a choux? I just made the pate a choux version out of the 1997 Joy of Cooking, and I thought they were too light and eggy compared to my memories of eating them in New Orleans at Cafe Du Monde (those seemed more rich and cakey to me). But the Internet was no help: I found both kinds of recipes in equal representation. A little help from any NOLA folks out there would be much appreciated.