Spice It Up: Standing in my kitchen the other day I had a craving, specifically for sesame or peanut noodles, for something I eat when I do take out or go out to eat. Because with such flavors we think we can't do it, like a good curry or Middle Eastern food or Mexican flavors—or those Chinese restaurant-style noodles.
The topic is how to spice it up in our home cooking, with guidance from some of the latest cookbooks to help us do so, or to gift to others who might need a flavor nudge.
Alexandra Stafford of the Alexandra's Kitchen website, alexandracooks.com, and author of the wonderful cookbook “Bread, Toast, Crumbs” is here to help me—help us—get a little confidence about using spices to cook some of our favorite take-out flavors at home. We've been digging into the latest crop of cookbooks together for inspiration.And we’ll have a double book giveaway: Over on Ali’s website, enter to win a copy of “Maangchi's Big Book of Korean Cooking.” On Margaret’s awaytogarden.com, “Mastering Spice” by Lior Lev Sercarz is up for grabs.
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