Holiday bites

Over the holidays I had some downtime and opportunities to cook at a less harried pace. I made an arabic breakfast with foule, lebneh and zataar, feta, olives, fennel and orange slices for some friends in solidarity with my Palestinian brethren.

One of my contributions to Christmas dinner was a gratin, with thinly sliced potatoes, fennel, kohlrabi and Vidalia onions, layered with Gruyère cheese and cream that had steeped with garlic and fresh thyme from the garden. I love the layering process and the slightly dangerous mandoline play!

Have you been to Nokoribi, the fabulous Yakitori restaurant within The Veil in Scott’s Addition? It's a not so hidden gem that has created some of my favorite bites in Richmond this year. Skewers of chicken, pork and shrimp, maitake mushroom miso shooters, codfish balls, fried chicken, noodle dishes. It's an ever changing smorgasbord of umami bombs! (Excuse the cross cultural culinary hyperbole).

New Years traditions had me eating cotecchino with lentils for years and I can never let go of black eyed peas and Hoppin John. A last-minute party on New Year's Day, where I was ill prepared to bring a dish, resulted in a new favorite dip. I happened to have some harissa baked cauliflower in the refrigerator and lots of black eyed peas, so they became the basis for a southern take on one my fave Arab staples, hummus.