One thing I’ve been focusing on in this time of quarantine is cooking. I ordered two dutch ovens (a piece of cooking equipment I’ve long wanted but never pulled the trigger on) and they luckily arrived within two days. With these I was able to try out two new to me recipes that turned out great.
Boy was I late on the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, but I am in love now just like everyone else. I didn’t know at the time but this egg fried rice dish I’ve been making since last year actually came from their sister site, Basically. I cook dinner almost every night and have been cooking for a while now but these videos (along with Kenny Shopsin’s cookbook and the Chef Show on Netflix) really got me to start experimenting again with new dishes and flavors. I’ve made Shopsin’s simplified, quick and easy bolognese and variations (which really was easy and good) so I was a little circumspect on how long this recipe takes. Would it really be worth it? The answer is god damn hell yeah it was worth it. I never cook with wine and reducing that down I think made a huge difference. The bolognese was so rich and wonderful. This blew my mind and the next time I make it I’ll probably double it. Highly, highly recommend.
Ivan Orkin, of Ivan Ramen, is an immediately likable, no bullshit guy who has such an amazing, tragic, heartwarming story. I learned about him in the excellent episode of Chef’s Table that covers his story. His personality shines through in just this short video. This was my first time really making a curry and I did use the exact boxed curry he uses in this video. I only used half a block because I was worried it would be overpowering, but I actually think it was a little lacking with just half, and next time I’ll definitely use the whole thing. I would have probably reduced it a bit more to make it a bit thicker, but my first try still came out really well and I’ll definitely make this again, and continue to tweak and experiment with the plentiful leftovers I have.
Written recipes are linked in the videos if you want finer details and measurements. I’ll post more recipes and successes and failures on here in the weeks to come because what the hell else have I got to do?