Category Archives: General

October is underway. The leaves have started falling, boots are making their way out of the closet and pumpkin spice is reappearing. While pumpkin spiced lattes or “PSLs” are certainly popular, they have become a bit ubiquitous. That’s why COOK is here to give you a few pumpkin flavored options that will perhaps make you cross over to the pumpkin spice side! Read on to see what these select Philly restaurants and shops are pump-king out.

Imagine waking up every morning to the crow of a rooster and a lady singing about your soon-to-be breakfast. That was reality for Chef/Owner Ange Branca of Saté Kampar, who we welcomed back to COOK last week. The singing lady in question was known as the Nasi Lemak Lady. She would make her rounds during sunrise, carting around her basket of goods which included the national dish of Malaysia: nasi lemak. Ange brought the food from her childhood into our kitchen and showed our guests how to make the delicious coconut rice bundle wrapped in banana leaves. Assuming you don’t have a “Nasi Lemak Lady” delivering home cooked meals to your door, read on to learn how to make the beloved dish for yourself!

Seasonal, summer cooking is simply the best! With summer officially being underway, we welcomed Jared Cannon of Simply Good Jars to COOK for a “Simply Good Summer” dinner. While Jared turns out delicious meals in jars, at COOK he showed off his cooking skills with some fantastic warm weather dishes. However, he did show guests how sweet meals-to-go can be with his final dish – cheesecake in a jar! Read on for a sweet and savory summer appetizer on the grill and get the details on Jared’s “no bake” cheesecake.

Doug Allen, Chef De Cuisine at Lacroix, presented a Japanese feast for COOK guests while Kyoko Noguchi, General Manager at Serpico, provided the libations for not just a great evening, but also a celebratory Father’s Day.  Doug’s menu was inspired by the food that Kyoko grew up eating, served to COOK guests with some modern touches. Read on to see what this husband and wife team served up, and learn more about Japanese cuisine.