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Also check out this website. http://savorybooks.com/about-us/ Our CEO, Jonathan Aspatore, built one of the five largest business book-publishing houses in only a 10-year period as founder and CEO of Aspatore Books. After selling Aspatore Books, he decided to follow his passion for food and start Savory Books to help top chefs and leading restaurant owners share their special talents with the world. The over 50 writers, editors, designers, publicists, marketers and distribution specialists that work at Savory Books literally live for food.

Today I am going to take on Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup that takes many hours to cook. Perfect project for Saturday. I always looked at beautifully glistening pieces of beef shank in H mart and briefly wanted to know what to do with them. Never looked it up. Turns out one of the uses is in this soup that Internet claims to be national dish of Taiwan. Off to H mart to shop now.

No silver or gold. Plain white. It is all about food, not plates.

I warm up plates in microwave all the time, even when it is only for two people. Not using towels. So far have not lost a single plate. About 45 seconds per plate on high, sometimes need to add extra time. I use a lot of Villeroy and Boch plates and also Fortessa brand plates.

I found it on Serious Eats. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/07/taiwanese-meat-sauce-recipe.html You fry shallots first and later cook them for a long time with ground pork (I chopped pork for better texture). Shallots give the dish flavor similar to french onion soup which you would not expect in asian dish. Leftovers were perfect for lunch today.

My son's meals. No GI issues so far. I guess being born in Russia gives him a little extra protection against third world problems.

Taiwanese pork sauce with rice. This dish alone is worth my son's traveling. Sorry, baby cakes. I miss you and all but this dish is delicious.

I made watercress puree from Chefsteps. It was super bright green and tasted very much of watercress. Served it as a backdrop for scallops and used in risotto the next day. Wish I took pictures... May be Chefsteps deserves its own thread.

This is what my son is eating. "I have no idea what I am eating. It is 7:30AM, and this was $1.00. Later I am told it is basically rice with cheap, small cuts of meat. I ate at the place where hourly workers getting off the night shift grab a cheap breakfast."

Researching Taiwan restaurants found these. Please be aware that links may be not suitable for young children. http://www.foodbeast.com/2014/04/16/taiwans-sex-themed-restaurant/ http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/en/about.asp

Check out chefsteps.com for free modernist recipes. "We are Chris Young, Grant Crilly, and Ryan Matthew Smith—all alumni of the creative team that produced Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking."

I agree with Soba. Julia Child also had a dream...

My son is traveling around the world. Again! First time he was exploring different countries for two months after graduating from college. This time he is going to be traveling for four months prior to starting B school and visiting 12 countries. So I decided to explore cuisine of the countries that he will be going to. Currently he is in Taiwan. I do not claim to cook authentic Taiwanese food (or any other authentic food for that matter). Just trying to make an overseas connection with my only child (who happens to be fully grown 6'3" man). Here is ginger kabocha squash Chao Nan Gua as mentioned in Saveur. I changed the recipe a little by substituting mirin for sugar and soy sauce for salt. Does anyone ever try to connect with their loved ones via food? May be I should also cook his favorite dishes intermixed with ethnic dishes?

TJ in Clarendon few days ago. Should have bought a lot since lime juice can be frozen very nicely in ice cube trays. Oh well, will prepare myself for scurvy now.

You know lime prices are bad when they start serving lemon wedges at you local Pho joint. And H mart has them at 79 cents a piece. Trader Joe is still holding strong with 2.49 for a bag of 8. I am in Washington DC area BTW.

I have my eyes on duck press at Sur la Table for years. 2K price tag is ridiculous though.

Thank you, ladies who lunch. The spread was unbelievable. It was quite a disappointment to come home to leaking fridge (guess who did not close the door completely). It took a wonderful cocktail with Kerry's bitters to calm me down

Saturday bread made as a present for neighbors who invited us over for dinner.

Russian comfort food in snow laden Washington DC. So called herring under fur. Herring on the bottom, layered with carrots, onions, potatoes, beets with healthy dose of mayo. Vodka shots optional but highly recommended.

nickrey, thank you for the info. Halloumi is on my list of things to cook now. Terrible weather again in Washington DC area. Posole seems to be the perfect dish for tonight.

How do you make sous vide Halloumi? I normally just cut in planks and sear with a little bit of wondra flour. I can imagine that sous vide should work great on thicker cuts.

Made overnight whole wheat bread. Except I made it "overday" on Friday. Did not read the instructions carefully. Apparently it needed to rise at room temperature for 5 hours, shaped and refrigerated after that. Due to having to go to work (bummer) I had to adjust the schedule. Mixed in the morning, put in refrigerator for about 10 hours, took out after work, let it rise at room temperature for couple of hours. Somewhat dense but still very tasty. I will have to make it the right way for comparison.

Oh ah

LOL, push the wrong button. Been there, done that. Also turned on wrong burner on the electric cooktop...

Cooked fingerling potatoes at bake steam 400 degrees 40 minutes. Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. Zero attention while cooking. Lamb leg cooked sous vide at 140 degrees.