Looking through my collection of photos, it strikes me that most of my food comes out in some variation of the color brown. This is probably due to my love of “brown” cooking techniques such as roasting, pan-searing, braising, and deep-frying. Even beer is brown. Nothing wrong with that.

One of my favorite things to do is take an otherwise perfectly healthy vegetable and deep fry it, trading any possibility of healthful eating for delicious battered flavor instead. This recipe, adapted from some various fritter recipes I had found, uses feta cheese and shallots for a very nice balance of flavors along with the zucchini.

Making your own potato chips is easy once you get the technique down. It comes down to a few simple steps: soak, drain, fry, and season.

I had never made a soufflé until yesterday, and I have only ever eaten them on a few occasions.  My last soufflé experience was a delicious chocolate one at the Four Seasons in Hawaii.  They apologized as they brought it out; it had collapsed.  If the Four Seasons couldn’t pull off perfection, I was sure as hell going to screw this up. But I tried anyway.

I first encountered these crisp, toasted little gems at a culinary class in downtown DC. They were served as a light snack before the class began, with some Alsatian white wine, which is exactly how I think they are best enjoyed. The cheese flavor is fairly intense and, in my opinion, it’s best to mellow it out with a little something alcoholic. That may just be an excuse on my part to drink more wine.  Provided that, these are an incredible little snack.  We transform just one ingredient into something tasty.

It’s fall, and I’m so excited to get good fall produce again.  I’ve made butternut squash soup for the past few years and tried a few variations each fall.  This is the one I like best.  It’s simple and pure, letting the natural flavor of the squash be the star.  Because the recipe is so basic, be sure to get a good quality squash with excellent flavor.  Find one that is a solid beige color and has no brown spots or ridges.  September and October is the time to get the best quality.

The best food is often the simplest, and it doesn’t get much simpler than this.  Tender garlic confit and fresh tomato over toasted french bread.  I used a tomato right out of the garden.  They are so easy to grow and full of flavor compared to supermarket tomatoes.