Full Gastronomic Tilt

My search terms this week indicated a distinct pattern…
When buzz of a new restaurant hits Asheville, people want to know about it.
In the last five days, eight people ended up at this site after searching for some combo of Chai Pani and Asheville.
Chai Pani, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, will be an Indian restaurant [...]

I don’t like eating watermelon by the slice, but I love watermelon juice! The watermelon in the photo above was $.50/lb at the North Asheville Farmer’s Market…all of $2.25. 4.5 pounds of watermelon will yield approximately one quart of juice. Drink it over ice, mix it with simple syrup and lime juice or add a [...]

I love this late-summer/early-fall dish. Tarragon can be so dramatic and ill-placed, but it works great in this tomato sauce, plus eggplant and chèvre pair incredibly well together. I like this dish to feel a little more rustic, so I don’t peel the eggplant, preferring the chewy contrast the skin gives the dish. I also [...]

Sometimes I do things the hard way. My friends and family will attest to this. A great example: it took me 45 minutes and 6 dirty dishes to make a half-cup of pesto. Normally, this is a 5 or 10 minute job AND you end up with about a cup of pesto. But no. I [...]

Yes, superlative.
It peeves me when I see recipes labeled THE BEST because invariably I try them and…they aren’t THE BEST. Superlative sounds a little snooty, but I find it an easier descriptor to swallow than THE BEST. Damn good, mighty fine, scrumptious or amazing would also be acceptable. Anything but THE BEST.
So. Sometimes chocolate [...]

At first, back when I thought it was going to be a 10-day hiatus or so, I resolved not to mention my absence from the blogosphere. Then it stretched into a month, then two. Now it’s August. Right.
I’m here. It has been ungodly hot and I’ve been living off of raw vegetables, stone fruits, [...]