This eggplant in oyster sauce recipe is one of JDP’s most popular posts! It’s quick, easy, and packed with umami flavor. This dish one of my go-to dinners during the week.
Eggplant in Oyster Sauce
cilantro
Tangy Asian Dipping Sauce
Here in New York it already feels like the beginning of fall. The mornings are crisp and the evenings are cool. There were a couple days of rain, but overall I’ve really been enjoying the weather. However, despite the cooler temperatures, it is officially still summer. So to celebrate the last few weeks of bright sunny days, I thought I’d share with you a nice refreshing dipping sauce.
The recipe comes from a cookbook called Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson with Lindsey Bareham. Hopkinson is a well known British chef and food writer. In 2005 this book was given the title of “most useful cookbook of all time.” I bought Roast Chicken about a year ago and read it during commutes on the subway. The cookbook is resourceful but also exceptionally entertaining. Throughout the pages, Hopkinson shares little anecdotes and thoughts that allow a greater appreciation for food. The chapters are divided according to ingredient and the beginning of each section is adorned by witty illustrations by Flo Bayley. I have yet to read his follow up book Second Helpings of Roast Chicken but am sure it is just as delightful as the first.
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Crudite and Dips
I love getting fresh local produce at the farmer’s market or local grocery store. The fruits and vegetable are always so beautiful, colorful, and very fragrant. It makes me feel really good that I’m eating healthy and being friendly to the environment. However, I don’t know why, but I don’t like to cook with the fresh produce. I feel guilty, as if I was tainting the pure flavors with my amateur cooking skills. I’m slowly changing my mentality, but I tend to eat a lot of my fruits and vegetables raw. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but sometimes it can get a little boring.
So, for the picnic I decided to bring crudite and dip! It’s a mix between enjoying the fresh flavors of summer and adding a little extra flavor. As usual, since I couldn’t narrow it down to just one, I made two. I made a hummus from a recipe that I had tagged in a Food and Wine magazine and a dip called Peacamole from the popular food blog, Chocolate and Zucchini.
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