LOS ANGELES -- Food never happened in a vacuum for Karla Tatiana Vasquez. Stories always followed.

Whenever her grandmother or mother cooked, Vasquez knew something special was coming. Their food unlocked memories, especially about El Salvador — the homeland they'd fled in the late 1980s during the country's civil war.

Vasquez was born in ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Call them the vegetable whisperers. Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer are the two produce-obsessed chefs behind Kismet restaurant in Los Feliz, the growing chainlet of Kismet Rotisserie takeout shops (there are three across L.A. now, where the tahini roasted cauliflower is as popular as the chicken) and a new vegetable-forward ...Read more

Tofu is a wonderfully versatile ingredient. It's great pan-fried, grilled, scrambled and whizzed into spreads and sauces. But I like it best pan roasted until it becomes meltingly golden and crisp. For this, you need a really good tofu, and the fresher the better.

Minnesota-made tofu is tastier than the tofu from California. MinnTofu, found in ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The morning after Joan Nathan's 80th birthday party last year — a long-table Palm Springs gathering on the grounds of a hacienda-style compound where Samuel Goldwyn, Lucille Ball and Judy Garland are said to have lived at various times — guests from the nighttime celebration were invited to brunch at the midcentury showcase ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Earlier this month Josh Scherer cooked a corned beef sandwich and a few gelatin-encased shrimp in a nod to foods that have been to space. Earlier this year he served Gordon Ramsay a beef Wellington, a deep-fried Mars bar, an In-N-Out burger and everything else the chef decreed would be his ideal last meal on Earth. He's re-created...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- José Andrés spends much of his time contemplating the unifying nature of food, both in and out of the world's most dangerous conflict and disaster zones.

Days before an Israeli airstrike killed seven members of his aid organization working to feed Palestinians in Gaza, Andrés spoke to The Times about his recently published ...Read more

Chicken Scarpariello is a beloved classic Italian-American dish, and I'd never heard of it.

I came across this delicious sounding sweet-and-sour chicken, with sausages and fresh and pickled peppers, in the process of researching another recipe. It sounded so good that, like a dog chasing a squirrel, I forgot all about my original project and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- With a rainbow knitted kippah affixed to the crown of his head, Michael Twitty is paced and intentional as he moves through the test kitchen at the L.A. Times. He's here to make one of his classic Passover dishes, matzoh ball gumbo, which combines two recipes from his food memoir "Koshersoul."

The crimson stew adds buoyant, ...Read more

Protein bowls are appealing for many reasons, the biggest of which is they're incredibly versatile.

Whether you top them with a lean meat like roasted chicken or a fatty, good-for-you fish like salmon — or opt for a vegetarian source of protein such as tofu or canned chickpeas — bowls can fill you up with countless combinations, while also ...Read more

I am now at the age when I am convinced that the world is going to Hades in a handbasket.

And I have proof.

Obviously, this is not a new or unique idea. People of a certain age — my certain age — have been making the Hades-handbasket connection from time immemorial. Even Pollyanna, in her later years, was saying, “They just don’t make ...Read more

My son recently brought this cookie home from college. “You have to try it,” he told me, “It’s so good.”

He was certainly right.

The salt and the caramel are not afterthoughts but rather almost what you taste before the buttery cookie part. Somehow, the edges taste like you just scraped a little caramel off a cookie sheet. One ...Read more

This salad features all the classic niçoise ingredients and flavors, with a bright and fresh lemony dressing, and uses fresh seared tuna in place of canned. The tuna will be rare in the center. Add an additional 2 to 3 minutes per side for more doneness.

Tuna Niçoise Salad

Serves 4

Active Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

10 ounces ...Read more

“Sauerkraut” is simply the German word for sour cabbage.

The folklore

Although sauerkraut is considered to be a national dish of Germany, and has been a staple of the German diet since the 1600s, it didn’t originate in Germany. It is believed to have originated in China and was then brought to Europe. Originally, ...Read more

Sometimes I need to shake things up in the kitchen. Meatballs with tomato sauce and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese is a favorite of mine. Recently, I decided to improvise on that recipe and add spicy sweet gochujang to the basic meatball mixture along with shredded carrots for juiciness and sesame oil and ginger — a wonderful medley ...Read more

While wandering the aisles of our local grocery store without a plan, we happened upon a display of thinly sliced, tenderized beef. What to make? Tacos? Sandwiches? Stir-fry ultimately won out.

Quickly cooked beef, with an abundance of vegetables tucked in a wrapper, moo shu style, ranks among the family’s favorite take-out dinners. Easy ...Read more

If you’re a savory breakfast person like me, a Scotch egg is a perfect food. The U.K. dish consists of a boiled egg that’s been peeled, covered in breakfast sausage, then breaded and deep-fried. It’s the perfect high-protein breakfast or snack.

The homeandleisure/recipes/varietymenu/s-3196757">Read more

Years ago, when I was just beginning to cook for myself, I felt intimidated by shrimp. Like other crustaceans from the deep, they seemed mysterious, expensive and exotic. But then I learned that shrimp are incredibly easy to cook.

One of my favorite walk-in-the...Read more

To our educated palate, Tate's makes the best mass-produced chocolate chip cookies on the market — and believe us, we've tried them all.

Could they repeat the magic with snickerdoodles? In a word, yes.

In their version, the traditional cinnamon-vanilla flavor leans a little toward vanilla, and the cookies have the brand's signature ...Read more

Hot pepper and honey make this a sweet and spicy, quick chicken dinner. Sweet potatoes cooked with fresh red bell peppers make an unusual and surprisingly quick side dish.

The dish cooks in only 5 minutes in a microwave oven.

Helpful Hints:

Crushed red pepper, sometimes called hot pepper flakes, can be found in the spice section of the ...Read more

TOKYO — There’s a little bar in Tokyo where a Philadelphian would feel right at home. It’s a 12-seat tavern plastered with familiar mementos: a SEPTA Regional Rail map, a Phillies pennant, Dallas Sucks beer koozies, and stuffed animal representations of four Philadelphia team mascots. There’s Eagles-branded whiskey and vodka on the menu,...Read more