Vietnamese Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches with Sriracha Mayo

Every time I make this sandwich, my husband starts talking business plans. He wants to know how much the food costs for such a sandwich would run and how many he thinks I could make on a Sunday morning.  Talk then gets into whether a food truck or a food cart would be a better long-term investment.

Minced LemongrassGreen Onions, Garlic, and Minced Jalapeno

“We need to think about these things,” he tells me.  ”After all, we wouldn’t do this full-time.  Nope, we would just have our little banh mi cart (or truck) on Sundays for Panthers home games.  But” and he pauses here for emphasis, “we would make a killing.  How could people resist this sandwich? They’d have to buy it.”

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Halibut a la Provencal

Earlier this summer, I was excited to be featured in an article about Davidson College alumni making careers in the food industry for my school’s alumni magazine: the Davidson Journal.   As part of the article, titled “Main Courses,” they asked me to share a recipe that I thought alumni might enjoy.

I wanted to pick a recipe that was approachable, but also taught a technique that could easily be applied to other meals.  My two most frequent requests from clients seeking private cooking lessons is that they want to learn how  to cook fish and that they want to cook healthy, yet still delicious, food.  This recipe for Halibut a la Provencal is perfect on both counts.

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Panna Cotta with Summer Berries

Panna Cotta with Summer Berries

When it comes to dinner parties, I tend to overdo it.   A week before the event, my list includes plans to bake my own bread, churn my own butter, and kill my own chicken (I exaggerate, but you get my point).   In my defense, it’s the cooking part that I love best.  To me, nothing is better than getting ready for a big meal.  I love planning what I’m going to make and then working to make sure that each aspect is perfect.  From the obsessively rolled sushi upon everyone’s arrival to the painstakingly baked tuile bowls that will cradle a scoop of homemade ice cream for dessert, I want to make sure that everything is exceptional. Unfortunately this slightly delusional behavior means that when the doorbell announces the arrival of my first guests, I often find myself stifling a yawn as I battle the urge to crawl in bed with a good book.

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Grilled Flank Steak with Watermelon Salsa

When it’s this hot, easy and refreshing are my two qualifications when it comes to preparing dinner. This recipe qualifies on both counts.  It also uses one of my favorite cuts of meat: the flank steak.  Lean and flavorful flank steak is an economical alternative to the prime cuts yet still a step up from the humble skirt steak.  Yes, some might say that flank steak has a reputation for being tough, but I promise that cooking it to medium-rare and slicing it against the grain will eliminate any gnashing of the teeth around your dinner table.

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Cooking with Kids: Back to School Breakfast Parfaits


Where have I been?  It’s August and my last post was back at the beginning of June.  Since I last posted, I’ve taught over 30 cooking classes.  The bulk of these classes were Kids Classes that I taught at Cooking Uptown here in Charlotte.  In June, we offered four week-long courses for 9-13 year olds and then in July, we offered three week-long courses for 14-17 year olds.  The courses were a great success  (check out the press on WSOC-TV,  WCNC, and in Southpark Magazine) and I have a new-found respect for parents everywhere.  I have a better understanding of how you do it, but I still am in awe over how you do anything else!

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Cooking Tip: No Tears

A good friend of mine recently requested that I email him a cooking tip a week.  My clever husband suggested that instead of just emailing that one friend  that I send everyone who subscribes to Minced a cooking tip a week.  He thought it would be nice if I shared the love and I agree!

To kick things off I thought I would take on the one thing that brings everyone to tears in the kitchen:  the onion.   In theory chopping an onion seems simple, but when your eyes are watering and your vision is blurry it’s downright unpleasant not to mention difficult.  Unfortunately I can’t make you stop crying (although I have included some suggestions that others have shared with me at the end of this post), but if you follow these steps you’ll make quick work of the onion and hopefully stave off the tears.

How to chop an onion:

Step 1:  Get the onion. 
The onion will appear harmless.  We know better.  Please note that the onion has a root end (on the left) and a stem end (on the right). Continue reading

ON TV: Shrimp Ceviche

I posted my recipe for shrimp ceviche over a year ago, but I couldn’t resist pulling it out one more time for a demonstration on WCNC’s Charlotte Today Show yesterday.  After all it’s the perfect hot weather recipe and in Charlotte we have plenty of “hot.”  Refreshing, colorful, and easily made ahead, this is the appetizer that you’ll want to serve to friends at your next BBQ.

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Lamb and Feta Sliders

For those of you who have followed Minced for a while now, you know about my obsession with lamb.  Perhaps you spent an afternoon on my recipe for lamb ragu, found comfort in a bowl of North African lamb stew, or pulled out all the stops with herb-roasted rack of lamb.   If you haven’t succumbed to lamb yet (such resistance!) then I offer up this recipe as a bit of enticement.

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Soupe au Pistou

Raise your right hand.  Now repeat after me.  ”I do solemnly swear…that if I…decide to make this soup…I promise to make it…with the pesto.”  Do we have an understanding?  Good.  We can move on.

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Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Tart

I’m of the belief that recipes should be shared.  I never omit an ingredient in a requested recipe or leave out a critical step so that the final product isn’t quite right.   I need all the good karma I can get and consequently tend to share all of my cooking secrets.  With that being said, my moral philosophy on recipe sharing has been severely tested with this tart.  To put it mildly, I’ve been a bit selfish.  It’s understandable though.   While you’ll never hear me claim that a particular recipe is my favorite (there are far too many wonderful dishes for that), if I had to list my top five this one would be at the top of the list.

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