In This Week’s Edition:

Try Something New 🤯 — Kalbi Short Ribs (LA Style)

Throwback Time 🍳 — Chimichurri Framework

The Leftover Shelf 🥡 — Enchiladas Suizas w/ Leftovers

Extra Helpings 🤤 — Ice Cream Fruit Rolls Ups? + Dairy, Gluten-Free Strategies, & More

Shopping List ✅ — Ingredients sorted into categories for easy shopping!

Try Something New 🤯

The best meal I made this week.

Kalbi Short Ribs (LA Style)

Just as flavorful as braised short ribs, but cook in minutes instead of hours (these are thin, cross-cut short ribs). If you can’t find them on the shelves, ask your butcher for flanken-cut beef short ribs.

Think Ahead: You’ll need to marinate these ahead of time for tenderness — prep a day in advance and you’ll have an easy weeknight protein ready to go.

Marinade Components

• 1 cup (240 ml) soy sauce

• 1 cup (~200 g) diced alliums: try a mix of onion, scallion, or garlic

• 1 cup (~200 g) tenderizing fruit: try apple, Asian pear, or kiwi

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) rice wine vinegar

• 1/4 cup (~50 g) sugar

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) toasted sesame oil

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water, mirin, orange juice, or pineapple juice (for sweetness)

Grilling Components

• 2-4 lbs (1-2 kilos) crosscut (flanken) beef short ribs, marinated

• Neutral cooking oil

Serving Suggestions

• Kimchi

• Cooked white rice

• Macaroni Salad

• Scallions and sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

1. Marinate: Blend all marinade components until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed (see note below). Pour over the short ribs in a freezer bag or bowl and massage into the meat. Seal or cover and marinade for a few hours or up to 2 days in advance.

2. Cook: Heat a pan or grill over high heat. Wipe off excess marinade, then sear short ribs until charred on each side and mostly cooked through.

3. Serve: Eat these warm. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions, and serve with a side of choice.

Pro Tip - The marinade is a starting point. No need for hard measurements — adjust amounts based on what you have or like. It should taste really strong in every area (saltiness, sourness, sweetness, etc) to impart flavor to the meat.

Throwback Time 🍳

If you’re ready for the summer, making chimichurri will transport you there. There’s no better dressing for grilled chicken, a steak dinner, or even pasta salad.

Check out the recipe for a standard version, or watch the video to understand the framework behind balancing this sauce.

We’ll admit, leftover chimichurri is a rare occurrence. But here’s a different way to take advantage of its flavor and almost instantly transform it into an enchilada sauce:

The Leftover Shelf 🥡

Leftovers are back in style…if you know how to use them.

This week’s move:

Leftover Chimichurri → Enchilada “Suiza” Sauce

Chimichurri + sour cream makes for an instant sauce that’s in the realm of enchiladas suizas. It’s tangy, fresh, and ready to be poured over rolled tortillas.

Sauce Components

• 1 part leftover chimichurri*

• 1 part sour cream or Mexican table crema

• Water or lime juice, and salt to taste

Enchilada Components

• Corn or flour tortillas

• Neutral cooking oil

• Filling of choice: leftover cooked protein, cheese and onions, cooked potatoes, or a mix

• Optional: additional cheese for garnish

*if you don’t have enough sauce for the amount of enchiladas you’re making, you can blend additional cilantro, onion, garlic, jalapeos, avocados, or tomatillos into your sauce to increase the volume. Taste as you go to keep flavors in balance.

To assemble:

Blend together Sauce Components until smooth. Adjust the consistency with water if needed, and the taste with salt and lime juice. It should be thick enough to coat the enchiladas but loose enough to pour.

Soften each tortilla by passing it through a layer of hot oil in a pan for around 15 seconds on each side. Add a line of filling and roll to close, then set seam side down in a pan. Repeat until you’ve filled all your enchiladas, and cover with a layer of sauce and a sprinkling of cheese, if using. Bake in a 400F oven for 10 minutes or until warmed through.

Serve with more sauce, cheese, avocado, or cilantro.

Extra Helpings 🤤

🚀 Viral Eats

Food trends explained.

Q: What’s up with eating ice cream wrapped in a fruit roll up? Isn’t that just sugar on sugar?

A: The allure of this ultra-sweet snack lies not only in the flavor but in the unexpected texture. The temperature of the ice cream transforms the once flexible gummy wrap into a crunchy casing. But as you chew, the hardened fruit rollup warms back up to its original chewier, stretchier form.

Additionally, the sourness of the fruit roll-up provides contrast to the creaminess of ice cream. At this point, it seems every flavor combination has been tried, including subbing out gelato and sorbet for the ice cream.

It reminds us of a crunchier mochi. Will the trend stick beyond spring and summer? Let us know your thoughts.

🧠 Reader Q&A

Q: Any suggestions for finding savory recipes that can be both gluten-free and dairy-free? I can’t eat either. Thanks! Dwight G.

A: Look to cultures that already incorporate ingredients within your dietary needs.

For instance, Mesoamericans didn’t have access to flour and gluten for centuries, so they relied on corn, masa, rice, and legumes instead. Similarly, many South American countries use potatoes extensively in their starchy dishes.

• By exploring Latin cuisines, you can find gluten-free recipes to start with, eliminating the need to constantly adapt or adjust ingredients.

When it comes to dairy-free recipes, many Asian cuisines don’t incorporate dairy or focus on creaminess in the same way European and American dishes do.

• In fact, it’s rare to find Eastern recipes that use dairy at all. Additionally, many Asian dishes already call for non-gluten starch thickeners or use rice products as the main starch.

TLDR: Find recipes within cuisines that don't often use dairy or gluten in the first place.

🏆 Dinner Winner! Reader Photo Submission of the Week

This week’s dinner winner is Stephen D., who made moules frites: white wine mussels with garlic parmesan French fries. Beautifully done.

Reply with a picture of the best meal you made this week for a chance to be featured in a future email.

🍽 More Yummy Content

A Read: Is Food Content the New Hollywood?​

In a Minute or Less: Chips in a PB&J?​

What We’re Watching: Home Bar Tool Essentials​

Food Science: Perfect Scrambled Eggs​

Upgrade Your Feeds: Connect with Ethan everywhere​

Ready to shop? 🛒

​✅ Shopping List 4/23