Food Friday: Japan 4/30

Carly Yuenger



On today's show, Sarah Marx Feldner gave us a peek into the many private Japanese kitchens that she talked her way into during her four month's of travel in the country. And she came bearing gifts--sesame cookies! I could tell you how yummy they are, but I think the best way to say it is with the recipe from her book, A Cook's Journey to Japan: Fish Tales and Rice Paddies, 100 Recipes from Japanese Kitchens.

Toasted Sesame Cookies (Goma Kukki)
(Makes 10 dozen)

2/3 cup toasted white sesame seeds

1/3 cup toasted black sesame seeds

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 egg white

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks positioned in upper and lower thirds.

In medium bowl, add each ingredient, one at a time, stirring to combine after each addition. Let mixture rest 15 minutes at room temperature to allow butter to cool and batter to solidify.

Using a ½-teaspoon measure, drop batter onto 2 parchment-line baking sheets, leaving 3 inches between each cookie. Batter will spread a lot during baking.

Bake two sheets of cookies at a time in preheated oven, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until deep golden brown, rotating pans and switching their position halfway through baking. Slide parchment paper and cookies onto a rack to cool and repeat with remaining batter. Make sure you use a completely cool pan before dropping any new batter.

Store in airtight container.

Note: Excess batter will keep in freezer for up to one month. Thaw in refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using.

Toasting Sesame Seeds:

Place sesame seeds in a small dry skillet. Heat over medium heat. Shake pan or stir seeds often - they are quick to burn. As soon as seeds become aromatic and turn a light golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes, remove them from skillet and set aside to cool. (This is important to do as the pan's carryover heat may burn the perfectly toasted seeds.)

Note: Black and white seeds may be toasted together.

How do you eat when you eat solo? 9/18

Carly Yuenger

On today's show we discuss the intimacies of eating with ourselves, all alone. Late night snack? Housemates out of town? Night after a break up? Just living alone? What does eating alone look, and feel like, for you?

Award-winning cookbook author, Deborah Madison, began her book project, What We Eat When We Eat Alone: Stories and 100 Recipes, with her husband and a set of interviews with friends and strangers based around the question, "What do you eat when you eat alone?"

Help us collect a list of tips, recipes, and confessions about eating alone by adding a comment below about your rituals and habits of solo-eating.

The Gastronomy of Marriage 9/11

Carly Yuenger

On today's show, author Michelle Maisto shares her story about the changing but central role food and cooking played in the courtship, engagement, and finally marriage between her and her husband.

How do to foodies fall--and stay--in love? Is cooking a point of contention or harmony in your partnership? Has the role of food been important in your love life? Have you found that its role has changed over time or over the course of a relationship? Share your thoughts and stories by adding a comment below.