Lime Juice Is the New Salt (and 5 Other Tricks to Learn from ABC Kitchen's Dan Kluger)

I know.  I've been bad.  I haven't been posting much for a very good reason . . . I'm not cooking much.  I'm trying to break out of my diabetic plateau with an almost totally high-protien diet, at least during the week.  I eat chicken, fish, a little cheese, eggbeaters and nuts.  Thats. It.  Boring, but if my blood sugar and my weight go down, it'll be worth the struggle. And it's not permanent.  So I haven't really been thinking food.

But then I saw this on Bon Apetite:


Lime Juice Is the New Salt

I LOVE lime juice!

When ABC Kitchen chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Dan Kluger look at vegetables, they don't see side dishes--they see stars. Last year, when Vongerichten opened the restaurant in New York City's ABC Carpet & Home, part of the draw was the farmers' market at nearby Union Square. But the food at ABC Kitchen is more than veggies on a plate with a drizzle of olive oil. The dishes explode with flavor, electrified with deft touches: a splash of artisanal vinegar, fresh chiles, just-chopped mint.

It's what Kluger, the executive chef, calls "creating peaks and valleys," a terrain that engages the taste buds. And it's achieved with simple techniques that don't call for much more than a sharp knife and a Microplane zester. Once you get the hang of it, it will change how you cook--especially at this time of year. "In the summer, we maximize the flavor and minimize the ingredients," says Vongerichten. Oui, chef!

Find Kluger's tips for amped-up flavor--and the recipes to prove it--click here.