midweek gems #2

Vietnam typhoon relief efforts, moon cakes, mai tais 2 ways, kosmatik, Southern Food symposium

Whoah, we had an amazing cooking class on Sunday. The menu was ambitious — two types of steamed rice rolls, 4 fillings plus fried shallots and nuoc cham. We went into over time and everyone hung in there!

Thank you and extra 🙏 to those who cooked along and shared your beauties during class and afterwards on Instagram. (Look at all those books in @commontablebc’s kitchen!) The video playback was sent to all registrants.

The top right is by @commontablebc; bottom right is by @yu.can.cook

💎 Community: Typhoon Yagi Relief Efforts

Northern Southeast Asia — Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, were recently hit hard by typhoon Yagi, the worst storm of the year thus far in the region. Fierce winds and severe flooding devastated north-eastern Vietnam, including Hanoi. But other areas were hit hard too, such as Hai Phong (a major port city), Nam Dinh (the area where pho noodle soup may have originated) and Cao Banh (the source of incredible spices such as the buffalo ginger and purple garlic sold by Burlap and Barrel).

Government and NGOs are helping with relief efforts. I’ve been blessed with a good life and pondered how to help out.

⚡️ Moving forward, 25% of the 2024 cooking class ticket sales will be donated to storm recovery relief efforts in Vietnam. When you register for the 9/29 Wontons and Siu Mai class, know that you’ll be mastering dumplings and helping out a good cause too. If you are a PTFS paid subscriber, use your discount code.

✨ To further assist Vietnam, consider initiatives led by UNICEF, Blue Dragon, and Vina Capital Foundation. To keep up with Yagi and other news in Vietnam, subscribe to the Vietnam Weekly newsletter by

Michael Tatarski

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💎 Season: Moon Cakes

Did you see the supermoon on Tuesday, September 17? It marked the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (Tết Trung Thu) celebrated in many East Asian communities. The holiday is about gazing at the bodacious full moon, celebrating family and community, and nibbling on moon cakes and sipping on tea. My mom and I make moon cakes but we also enjoy ones gifted to us.

Stacey Liu, a restaurateur in Santa Cruz, dropped off a gorgeous embroidered box of moon cakes; the one I’m holding is lava salted egg yolk, which is salty-sweet-rich. Yes, cut the cake into small pieces because they are intense and intricate.

This moon cake gifting occasion is our annual check in and catch up. Stacey shared that she and her family will be opening a new Chinese restaurant this fall in Santa Cruz. They’re good cooks and good people. I’ll keep local folks posted.

Where to buy moon cakes? Asian markets like 99 Ranch have a lot of moon cakes right now. The holiday lasts for weeks because moon cakes last for weeks, too. You’ll see them go on sale so try a moon cake, if you have not. My favorite is the mixed nuts and sweet meats filling, called bánh trung thu thập cẩm in Vietnamese. Luxe ones have a salted egg yolk in the center for a savory sweet treat.

💎 Recipe: Mai Tais 2 Ways

To celebrate my Covid-19 recovery, I made one of my favorite cocktails, the Mai Tai. So easy and incredibly delicious, now that I have proper orgeat almond syrup in my fridge. You can get by without it but it won’t be super duper, just super.

Mai Tai -- Royal Hawaiian and Trader Vic's

While polishing my recipe, I learned that there are two version of the classic cocktail. The Trader Vic’s rendition is bright, for hardcore classic cocktail fans whereas the Royal Hawaiian is more relaxed, fruity, and more for the island bound. Make either Mai Tai recipe (or both of them!) and float away to tropical paradise.

💎 Events: Southern Foodways Symposium

Are you interested in American food culture, restaurants, good eats and drink? Hard to say no to that! The Southern Foodways Alliance, a non-profit organization, is holding its annual symposium in Raleigh, NC on Sunday and Monday, October 27 and 28. I’m the advisory board president. You read that right. The South informs much of what and how we eat nationally, and I’ve been involved with SFA for nearly 15 years.

We’re expecting lots of compelling conversations about the role of restaurants in our communities— all fueled by amazing food and drink. One of my favorite chefs, Cheetie Kumar, is overseeing one of the meals. She’s a former rock musician too.

If you’ve never been to SFA, this is a good year to go. It’s also my last year as board president. Tickets are on sale and SFA has a particularly good deal for industry folks. Details on the schedule, lodgings, and ticket are here.

💎 Tools: Kösmatik Q&A with Özlem Warren

To fuel our vegetable charring conversation, Amy A. introduced me to Özlem Warren, the Turkish chef and multiple cookbook author. Milk Street Kitchen gifted me a Kösmatik but I have never been able to directly ask a Turkish chef about it. What a treat!

The pie dish-shaped grill with gills is handy but seems kind of flimsy, too. Is it the real deal?

Özlem’s insights:

Is the Közmatik widely used by cooks in Turkey? 
Yes,  especially in big cities like Istanbul. In rural areas, folks (including my grandmother) would use an old tin as a base where a local blacksmith would place a few wholes for smoking veg).

How long has the Közmatik been around? What does the name mean? 
For many years, really, as I explained above, folks in rural areas have been using a primitive form of it for years. It sort of means “a gadget to smoke/char”.

What is the life expectancy of a Közmatik?
I have been using mine for nearly 10 years. I would hand wash mine and don't scratch the surface when cleaning.

My Közmatik warps when it gets too hot. It flattens out during cooling. Is that normal?
I haven't experienced this with mine to be honest but I presume a little warping can be expected, if used frequently.

Özlem is on book tour to promote her latest triumph, Sebze, a vegetarian cookbook. Learn more about her and Turkish cuisine at her website.

Stay tuned for my evaluation of the Közmatik and other options for vegetable charring. I’m waiting for something to arrive . . .

Coming on Sunday, I need you to weigh in on something key for our future communications.