David Chang of Momofuku is perhaps responsible for making these famous in the United States. Here in San Francisco, The Chairman and American Bao Bar churn these out for the hungry masses. One makes a great snack, and two to three make for a full meal. Their fillings are highly customizeable. I like them with spicy pork and kimchee, Chinese meatballs and cabbage, crispy tofu and peanut sauce, or even leftover grilled chicken and pickled radishes. Usually, I'll serve them as a bar: I'll set out a basket of the freshly-steamed buns, a couple of protein choices (usually one meat, one vegetarian), an array of sauces (hoisin, peanut, sweet chili) and toppings (cilantro, mint, basil, kimchee, sliced jalapeños, daikon, shredded carrots, bean sprouts--whatever I have around), and then let people fill their own steambuns, taco bar style. 

You can buy the buns pre-made in the freezer section, but like anything else, they're better when you make them at home. Also, like almost anything else, they can be made from my favorite kitchen staple, pizza dough. It's super-easy to make the dough yourself, but it's also totally fine to cheat and use storebought dough (usually $2 or so at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods). Just let it come to room temperature before using. 

It's a thing of beauty, isn't it?

Speaking of dough, I'm very excited to tell you that my second book, Pizza Dough, 100 Delicious, Unexpected Recipes will be out next month and is available for pre-order! I can honestly say that I have never been so proud of anything. It's absolutely beautiful, and features design by the amazing Gretchen Scoble, photos by the endlessly talented Frankie Frankeny and food styling by the inimitable Fanny Pan. I feel so lucky to have had such incredible people working on it. Here's the final cover, which offers just a taste of what's inside.

 

I literally can't wait for you to have it in your hot little hands. Stay tuned for info about events and signings. Until then, make these easy steambuns for someone you love!

Don't use expensive balsamic vinegar for this one. Since you're cooking it down, the nuances that make the pricey kind worth it will cook away, so there's really no point.

The really beautiful thing about this recipe (besides how inexpensive it is, how few ingredients it requires and how breathtakingly gorgeous it looks when you plate it with a little kale salad and some fresh strawberries) is how impressed people are by it when you put it in front of them. You get to use fancy words like "reduction" and "macerated" when you describe how you made it, leaving your dining companion to ooh and ahh and think sexy thoughts about you (unless, of course, you don't want them to, in which case they'll just think about how smart and competent you are). 

A few pointers: Firstly, this is a great way to use up strawberries that are a day or two away from being too mushy to eat. Just slice 'em up and let them cook down into sweet, syrupy deliciousness. And speaking of which, if you want to skip adding the sugar when you make the sauce, that's just fine. The sauce will be a little bit more tart, but the sweetness from the balsamic and the strawberries will still keep it in the right ballpark. 

Secondly, don't use expensive balsamic vinegar for this one. Since you're cooking it down, the nuances that make the pricey kind worth it will cook away, so there's really no point.

Finally, if you want use chicken breasts instead of thighs, go right ahead. Personally, I prefer the deeper flavor, higher level of juiciness and lower price of the leg-thigh cut.

Avocados are packed with healthy fats and antioxidants. Their rich, luscious texture and creamy mouth feel help to satisfy you and keep you feeling fuller longer (so you are better able to resist that cronut craving after lunch), and they go with just about everything. Still, it's somehow not really socially acceptable to eat a whole bowlful of guacamole. Not acceptable, that is, until now. Because I found loophole.

If you coarsely chop your avocado and gently toss it with tomatoes, onions, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and olive oil, then what you've made is a salad, not guacamole. Except, it's a salad that tastes just like guacamole. And it's totally acceptable to eat a whole bowl of it. Like I said, it's a salad. 

How can I turn down tomatoes when they look at me like this? Don't refrigerate them! It ruins their flavor.

This salad is a wonderful barbecue side dish or a base for grilled chicken, shrimp or steak. Sometimes I even gild the lily and top it with Greek yogurt.

Completely unnecessary, but so, so delicious. The salad is also great spooned into in a corn tortilla with scrambled eggs (for a quick breakfast taco), served in place of guacamole and/or salsa with enchiladas, burritos and tacos, or just with tortilla chips.

Make it soon, while summer tomatoes are still available.

I like to top it with tons of fresh cilantro, fresh minced garlic and sometimes mint and basil.

I kind of have a lot going on these days.

Between prepping for a fast-approaching cookbook release, spending my days at my awesome full-time job and the completely zany, absolutey crazy, I-can-hardly-believe-my-life-these-days news that the sitcom pilot I developed called Young and Hungry freaking got the green light from ABC Family on Friday, I have been doing a lot of running around, not unlike a popular poultry variety with its head cut off. 

And you know what I don't have time for right now? This cold.

It's a nasty one and there's really only one way to fight it: pho. Preferably one that doesn't take very long to make, and doubles as a great opportunity to clean out my vegetable bin.

I like to top it with tons of fresh cilantro, fresh minced garlic and sometimes mint and basil. A few slurpfuls of this one, and you'll be feeling like a whole new girl. Or, at least, a slightly healthier one. 

 

While you're happy to return to your city and your apartment and your cat, you really miss the island, and all the ways it made you feel.

There are few things that force you to relax more than physically being on a tropical island. Things move more slowly. You slow down your breathing, your movement, and eventually--if you're lucky--your thoughts. Palm trees sway in the gentle breeze, the sunsets make your heart ache with their splendor and just by being in the moment, you are transported.

 

You tuck flowers behind your ear.

 

You frolic on sandy beaches.

You might even make a new friend.

But then you have to come home. And, while you're happy to return to your city and your apartment and your cat, you really miss the island, and all the ways it made you feel.

So, if you're like me, you channel those feelings of longing into a barbecue. You invite your friends over, you grill chicken and pineapple, you mix mai tais, and you make this cold pea salad, featuring fresh mango, mac nuts (as they call them on Hawaii) and lime juice--the flavors of your vacation.

Then, you take a deep breath, sip your mai tai, and admire the fog-obscured San Francisco sunset.