Balsamic Sauce
July 14, 2010 · 1 comment
That glistening, dark river of sauce on the ice cream is made with balsamic vinegar. Not just any balsamic, of course, but a Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar from Benessere, an oil and vinegar store in downtown Portland. Coffee and chocolate are an excellent pairing, so I also used some Espresso Sugar from The Spice and [...]
Categories: chocolate, condiments, dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, pantry, sauce
Tagged: chocolate, condiments, dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, pantry, sauce
Apple-Bacon Granita
July 1, 2010 · 2 comments
Let’s be clear about one thing right from the start: store-bought bacon is not going to be satisfactory. You have to make your own. And don’t waste time with any apples called “Delicious” because they aren’t. Use Pink Lady, Fuji, Gravenstein, Braeburn, Jazz, or some other varietal with real flavor and texture, and be sure [...]
Categories: dairy-free, dessert, fruit, gluten-free
Tagged: dairy-free, dessert, fruit, gluten-free
Cherry Ketchup
March 27, 2010 · 3 comments
Opening day of the Portland Farmers Market was a beautiful, warm Spring day. When I came across the Cherry Country booth I thought about how nice it would be to have venison or some other game, then remembered that I have a dinner class coming up where I’ll be serving lamb. Cherries are a classic sauce base for wild game, [...]
Categories: condiments, fruit, gluten-free, sauce, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, fruit, gluten-free, preserving, vegan, vegetarian
Strawberry Macarons
March 23, 2010 · 16 comments
Over the past year I’ve seen a lot of posts about macarons filled with spectacular and stylish photographs and gushy praise for the cookies. I assumed that any cookie with stores dedicated to it and books written about it must be at least as special as the chocolate chip cookie, so I decided I, too, would take [...]
Categories: baking, dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, rant, technique, vegetarian
Tagged: baking, cookies, dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, mother recipe, rant, technique, vegetarian
Spleen Qi Xu Rice Pudding
February 26, 2010 · 3 comments
One of the more interesting Chinese cuisines is medicinal foods, foods that are designed specifically to aid in the correction of health problems while providing a nutritious and tasty meal. If you’d like an excellent introduction, I suggest Henry C. Lu, Chinese System Of Food Cures: Prevention & Remedies. Unlike the dietary “cures” often touted [...]
Categories: dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, infusing, technique, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, technique, vegan, vegetarian
Chipotle Ketchup
February 17, 2010 · 9 comments
I want to make meatloaf, and for me a meatloaf has a bacon wrapping and a ketchup glaze. I could buy the bacon and ketchup, I suppose, but really, where’s the fun in that? Chipotle Ketchup 1 onion, chopped 1½ tablespoons oil from garlic confit or extra-virgin olive oil Put the onion and oil into [...]
Categories: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian
Marinara Sauce
February 13, 2010 · 3 comments
Sitting under all that cheese is a simple marinara sauce. By itself it’s an excellent sauce for pasta, polenta, and that Italian-American standby Chicken Parmigiana (or it’s vegetarian/vegan version, Eggplant Parmigiana). It makes a great pizza sauce. I even used some as part of a seafood stew whipped up in just a few minutes. As [...]
Categories: gluten-free, mother recipe, pantry, preserving, sauce, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, mother recipe, pantry, preserving, sauce, vegan, vegetarian
Haricots Vert Sautéed in Garlic
January 4, 2010 · 8 comments
Haricots vert sautéed in garlic. Sounds easy, and it is: easy to do well; even easier to do poorly. Some simple alterations will make this dish dairy-free, vegetarian, or vegan. First you have to decide whether or not to remove the tails. As you can see, I chose not to remove them. If you don’t [...]
Categories: dairy-free, gluten-free, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Sweet Pickle Chips
January 1, 2010 · 1 comment
Whether you’re serving a nice pâté or are putting together a charcuterie platter, want some crunch in your sandwich or just need a quick burst of flavor, a sweet pickle chip is just right! Michael Ruhlman published a recipe for a delightfully simple, wonderfully flavored sweet pickle chip in Charcuterie, a book I highly recommend [...]
Categories: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Blood Orange and Red Onion Salad
December 28, 2009 · 6 comments
This is a wonderful winter salad that makes an excellent palate cleanser. It needs a little time for the flavors to meld, so you’ll want to be sure to put it together while you’re waiting for the rest of your meal to finish cooking. Start by thinly slicing a red onion. If you want to mellow [...]
Categories: dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, salad, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, salad, vegan, vegetarian

My name is Gareth Mark, and I live in Portland, Oregon. I've been a line cook a few times and worked several years as a pastry chef.



