
We all have those days when life takes over and the time to cook dinner evaporates before our very eyes. But it’s those very days when a fresh home-cooked meal is just we need. This week at PBS, I show you a simple pantry pasta that comes together in under thirty minutes. The trick is in having a pantry stocked with a few basic items. Read more and get the recipe over at Fresh Tastes.

This Beef Rendang was one of the dishes I learned how to cook one rainy afternoon at Russel Wong’s home (yes, the Russel Wong from Bourdain’s Singapore espisode). His wife Judy can cook about as well as Russel can shoot a portrait, after an afternoon sweating over a wok, we were sitting down with friends to an eight course feast in Russel’s photo studio. While it was tough picking a favorite dish from that night, I found myself going back to the Rendang more than any other dish.

The flavors of Beef Rendang unfold in layers, like a stick of Willy Wonka’s three-course-dinner chewing gum. First there’s the zingy flavors of lemongrass and ginger, then comes the savory beef along with a torrent of chili, finally, as you continue to chew you start tasting the creamy coconut milk towards the back of your tongue. continue →