So, this comic makes Niles look a little more manic than he really is, but every single one of these mac & cheese recipes was something he actually dreamed up. I’m pretty sure the Reverse Mac & Cheese would end up being just awful to eat, but it’s still an exciting idea. I’m also pretty sure he got the idea from some dishes we ate at iNG when I did a live drawing night there a few weeks ago. The dessert had a silky sweet sauce made from brioche, and it was amazing.
(PS: at those live drawing nights at iNG, I made little paintings of ladies with food fascinators on their heads, and I’ve put some of the leftover ones for sale here!)
The Poutine mac sounds a little obscene, but I’d love that Buffalo on Steroids one, or the Basque one. The mac that Niles ended up making wasn’t any one of these, but it was amazingly delicious. Tune in next Monday for the recipe!
Guys, Niles knows not to shake babies, I promise. He just really likes saying things that will shock me.
He’s also pretty good at making salad dressings, and I definitely recommend this one. It’s light and savory and really delicious without being overwhelming.
My brother was watching me draw this thing, and he asked which bao was the best bao. I have, unfortunately, not had the opportunity to try all of the delicious buns on this page, but I immediately pointed at the bánh bao anyway. In Chicago, you can get them at Ba Le and at Nhu Lan, and they are a delicious pocket of awesomeness, packed with a filling of ground pork and vegetables and spices, slices of Chinese honey sausage, and a hard boiled quail egg. It’s a soft warm spicy hug that you can eat.
If the honey sausage and quail egg are too weird for you (and they’re not for everyone), Chicago’s Chiu Quon bakery makes some incredibly delicious Chinese baozi, with a bunch of different fillings to choose from.
When Niles and I were in Japan a few years ago, I was intensely jealous that you could get fresh piping hot nikuman at every convenience store. Even the ones at the 7-11 were delicious!
Anyway, that’s enough of bao for now. I promise next week I’ll have something else to write about.
In the meantime, did you know that there are new League of Courteous Cyclist shirts and hoodies in my store? Also there’s a new Twin Peaksy print, which is damn fine.
Hey everyone! Happy New Year! Guess what one of my new year’s resolutions is? It’s to post a comic here ONCE A WEEK AT LEAST.
So I’m back. Hi! And with a history lesson to boot. I never would have thought I’d find myself researching military uniforms in 3rd century China as a part of this comic. Zhuge Liang is a pretty interesting character, with a number of innovations to his name. I think we can be fairly certain he didn’t actually singlehandedly invent steamed buns, but I suppose it’s possible, and it’s a great story nonetheless. Plus, baos are one of my favorite things, with their soft pillowy dough and their delicious savory insides, so I’m happy to write about them regardless.
I’m still as insanely busy as before, juggling 800 projects at a time… but I really missed Sauceome, and I missed having a regular outlet to talk about food and things. So check back here on Mondays, I’ll be back to a regular schedule this time, I swear.
In the meantime, here’s a taste of what I’ve been up to lately:
– I’ll be doing live drawing on Tuesday, January 7th and Thursday, January 9th at iNG restaurant as part of their artist-in-residence series for their Salvador Dali menu. It’s a pretty incredible sounding menu, and I’m going to try my very hardest to make sure that everyone who eats there Tuesday and Thursday will get to take home an original piece of art. This is the kind of thing I’ll be doing, so come and get yours:
– I illustrated and designed these kickass hot sauce labels for Fat Rice, one of my favorite Chicago restaurants. This project was a hell of a lot of fun, and I’m super happy with the results. Plus, I designed a bunch of shirts for them too, so you should 1) go eat there and 2) buy some shirts and hot sauces from them, because they are awesome.
– I’m still working hard on my story Luna de Cuernos for 5th House Ensemble, and I wrote a blog entry here about the process so far.