Weren’t twice-baked potatoes the highlight of any circa 1990s wedding banquet? I used to think so, going to countless family weddings as a child. I remember watching the cloche lift from my dinner and thinking Sheeeeeeeeeesh is this fancy. Whimsically piped, flecked with chives, the twice-baked potato was a…

Carrots are nature’s long-legged root vixens. Just look at those lurid photos of wanton carrots on those “weird produce” sites (don’t pretend you haven’t seen them!). I’d welcome more carrots into my life but I’m surrounded by two camps of people. The “I hate cooked carrots” clan and the “I hate raw carrots” faction.…

Imagine if you ordered fried chicken at a restaurant, were so excited and confident you had ordered the right thing, could almost taste its deliciousness, and when the dish arrived it was poached scrod. And you had no one to blame but yourself. This great disappointment is akin to my recent experience of trying to…

I make really great fried rice. Before you silently judge me for this arrogance, know this: Behind this hubris lies the wisdom of my Chinese in-laws. When first dating my now-husband, I would fly to Seattle to visit his parents, and our family time would be spent with me taking copious notes on an iPad while they…

Japanese Western-influenced cuisine known as “yoshoku” reimagines popular Western ingredients with Japanese staples. A particularly popular dish called omurice—a contraction of ‘omelet’ and ‘rice’—is a perfect example. A stalwart of children’s menus, omurice is also a popular dish amongst Japanese home cooks and in…

Umami Issues is The Takeout’s exploration of cooking food with the rich, savory, mysterious taste sensation known as umami. 

The Monday following Easter is the only day each year when a person can justify a complaint about “too much ham.” (The other 364 days, there exists no such thing.) After you’ve gorged yourself on honey-baked, spiral-glazed slices all weekend, it seems there’s still a formidable stack in the fridge. Sandwiches are the…

Mountains of boiled potatoes have rolled blandly across my dinner plate throughout my life. I was never thrilled by their presence, tolerating them but never truly enjoying them. It wasn’t until later in life when I began studying the food of my Irish heritage that I began to realize their worth. I treat them with…