Mysterious Origins I never understood where it came from. My maternal grandfather was Croatian, from Sinj, on the Dalmatian coast. I’ve written plenty about him, recently in the Inquisitive Eater here. He was, at least on many levels, not typically American, even though he came …
On Raglan Road On Raglan Road, in DECEMBER…I sat on the soft, blue upholstered seats of the Ballsbridge bus from central Dublin. I picked it up across the street from the Trinity College wall facing, Westmoreland Street? The one that connected the main way of …
Empire Comforts What I love about Turkish comfort food is that it is usually deceptively simple with its ingredients and method. Yet, Turkish food history is a complex one. Coming from Central Asia, and running at times concurrently with the Western Roman Empire, Turkish food …
Rush Hour As I slam my car door shut, I look down the hilly street towards the waters off Bay Ridge, which I can only just see if I arch my head over from the balcony. Just as when I lived in Red Hook, the …
A History (or lack of) I have a confession to make. My mother never made a Burek in her life. I never ate Burek growing up, even though our family prepped, cooked, baked, and consumed all manner of Croatian feasts. In 1982, after our summer …
This Burger Au Poivre takes the sumptuous and creamy brandy peppercorn sauce found in a traditional Steak Au Poivre and marries it with the juicy texture of a cast iron cooked sirloin burger. The sauce comes together in less than 30 minutes using freshly ground …
Quiche or Tart The more I cook, and bake, and look for variations and histories of dishes, sweets, and meals, I keep coming back to certain themes, or more like certain presentations. I am in the midst of creating a line of bureks, which I …
This Croatian Stuffed Peppers recipe is an authentic, family-style approach to bell peppers stuffed with ground meat, onion, garlic, and rice mix, topped with a light tomato sauce. Stuffed Peppers & Kingdoms I have been eating Stuffed Peppers, Croatian-American style, since childhood. My mother was …
A classic Turkish egg breakfast of onions, hot peppers, tomatoes, a dash of paprika and sumac spice, feta, and a little mozzarella for some extra creaminess. Eggs are dropped in, then swirled around in a figure 8 shape, making for a Turkish breakfast mosaic like …
A History of Lasagna Growing up in Westchester, my Queens-Croatian mother made lasagna on the regular. It was delicious, and most fondly remembered in the 1980’s. Ronzoni lasagna sheets that she draped over the sides of the tall pasta pot to dry out after cooking, …