In the Kitchen Now

Cynthia Raub

In The Kitchen Now: Korean Stewed Tofu with Green Onion Salad and Crisp Bacon by Cynthia Raub

Subtle is rarely a word used to Korean food and this dish is no exception. I'm in a tofu phase right now and I want to eat it in every way possible: in soups, fried in squares with soy sauce, and baked and tossed in salads. Although I love tofu in all of the various preparations, this one is my favorite. I went back and forth between calling this a Korean style mapo tofu, but I decided against it. It's similar in that the tofu is stewed in a fermented chili sauce, but this version does not include the distinct Sichuan peppercorn. While the chili sauce makes the tofu piquant, pungent and dare I say, peppery- the green onions makes the dish... pervasive. In case it wasn't robust enough, the addition of bacon lardons for a crisp chew rounds out the texture and adds a deliciously fatty depth in every bite. 


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Korean Stewed Tofu with Green Onion Salad and Crisp Bacon
 

In The Kitchen Now: Roasted Eggplant and Pickled Beet Sandwich by Cynthia Raub

roasted eggplant and pickled beet sandwich

Eggplant. Does that word entice you or does it make you shudder and gag? What about pickled beets? Is that sexy-talk or nightmare city? Eggplant doesn't regularly show up in my shopping basket at the market, but when I saw this recipe on my Facebook feed, my interest was piqued and I began to crave it. I picked up a few small, taut and shiny aubergines and headed home to my multiple jars of pickled beets. Yes, multiple (very large) jars of pickled beets- courtesy of Costco and my BUY ALL THE PICKLES! tic that acts up for every shopping trip. This sandwich is complex in flavor but not in preparation or cooking. The roasted eggplant is deeply luscious and sweet; the beets and herbs are bright and merry, and the sherry-garlic mayonnaise is a punchy creamy spread that deliciously pools in the crannies of the bread. This messy and loose vegetable sandwich delivers so much flavor despite it's very humble ingredients.

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Roasted Eggplant and Pickled Beet Sandwich

In the Kitchen Now - Salmon Cakes by Cynthia Raub

For Easter dinner, my husband Michael cooked a delicious and ginormous (11+ pounds) salt-crusted Atlantic salmon for our extended family. Needless to say, everyone was sent home with leftovers and we were eating salmon for days. The past week we have enjoyed: salmon with Israeli cous cous and roasted vegetables, salmon flaked on top of a bagel with whipped cream cheese, salmon on grilled toast with a fried egg... you get the picture. Once we whittled the container down to the last 1/2 pound, I checked in with my girl and (unbeknownst to her) mentor Ina Garten and she (and Google) recommended I make her Salmon Cakes. These beautifully browned, tender and flavorful cakes can be enjoyed as an appetizer, for brunch (with poached eggs, duh), or served with a salad for a meal. 

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Salmon Cakes