To die for.
definition
1 Harissa
Love It or Hate It
2 African Safari Martini Glass: Love It or Hate It?
recipes
3 Sunday Dinner: Harissa-Crusted Tri-Tip Roast
celebrity chefs
4 Meeting Marcus Samuelsson
News
6 Chocolate Crops to Become Endangered Species?
recipes
7 Sunday Slow Cooker: Moroccan Turkey Stew
Guess Who
8 Guess Who?
Cooking Basics
9 Injera, Berbere, Wat: A Guide to Ethiopian Food
Cooking Basics
10 Marrakech in Mind: A Basic Moroccan Food Primer
Cooking Basics
11 Rainbow Cuisine: A South African Primer
The cuisine that hails from South Africa is just as complex and multicultural as the country itself. Known as "rainbow cuisine," indigenous cookery and food from the many settlers in the country make up the broad spectrum of South African dishes. There are influences from as far as Malaysia to the Netherlands, and all come together to form a rich cuisine that is deeply loved. Generally speaking, Read more
This may come as a surprise, but if we had to eat one cuisine for the rest of our lives, my pick would be Ethiopian. There's something incredibly natural about the act of eating with one's hands, and the spiced, slow-cooked, home style preparations. But to someone who's not familiar with East African cuisine, deciphering an Ethiopian recipe or the menu at an Eritrean restaurant can be sort of Read more
We're halfway through Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. Although it's a time of spiritual reflection, there's also a focus on food and Iftar, the meal that breaks the fast at sundown. This is no exception in the food-centric North African country of Morocco, where nearly 99 percent of the population practices Islam. Moroccan cuisine is distinctive and unique, thanks in part to the Read more
Guess which chef was in Cape Town with Nelson Mandela yesterday? Read more
After a weekend of opulence and seduction, perhaps you're craving a return to the simplicity of Winter basics. For that, turn to a stew that's soothing yet also a refreshing departure from, say, mother's pot roast. This turkey stew, with its cumin, allspice, and dried fruits, is the ideal dinner for a casual Sunday evening. To make this straightforward slow cooker recipe, read more Read more
With the production of African cocoa beans in a serious decline, the future of chocolate is questionable. A crop that's naturally grown in the rainforest, two-thirds of the world's cocoa beans are now harvested in in West Africa. However, the African soil degrades quickly, shortening the lifespan of the plants to 30 years or so. The director of Ghana's Nature Conservation Research Council, John Read more
Last week before interviewing Marcus Samuelsson, I ate his African spiced lamb chops and mango lime couscous. The pairing was delicious: the meat was moist and succulent and the couscous flavorful and exotic. While the ingredients were not grossly insane, the method for eating the dish was out of the ordinary. There were no serving utensils and the chef requested that we eat the lamb while Read more
Last week I was invited to a demonstration hosted by Chef Marcus Samuelsson. An awarding-winning chef and cookbook author, Samuelsson is known for his role as chef and owner of Aquavit, New York City's innovative restaurant devoted to Scandinavian cuisine. Taking inspiration from his Ethiopian roots, the chef recently opened his first African restaurant, Merkato 55. His love for African cuisine Read more
Tri-tip is one of my favorite cuts of beef because it's affordable and feeds a crowd. Besides being lower in cost, tri-tip is also incredibly flavorful with a lower fat content. If you have never experimented with it before, I suggest you do so tonight. This simple recipe coats the steak with a spicy African sauce known as harissa. While the meat cooks, the sauce forms a delicious crust. To see Read more
I was flipping through a catalog and stumbled across these African Safari Martini Glasses ($42 each). Each one is hand crafted in South Africa and would make a great gift for the safari lover in your life. Having said that, I just can't get behind these. I think they're a little on the tacky side, and question how easy it would be to hold them. Especially the rhino, that one looks downright Read more
