monkeymom  Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter

What's in a name? A whole lot in the case monkeymom, a San Francisco Bay Area scientist whose ability to monkey about her kitchen (with her kids, no less) is truly awe-inspiring. With numerous contest wins under her toque, monkeymom rises to the challenge of any theme we dream up. Dumplings? No problem -- she's got Scallop Potstickers up her sleeve. Dinner rolls? Even better -- her Heavenly Oatmeal Molasses Rolls take the win.

Monkeymom has been an active presence on food52 for as long as we can remember (check out the shots of her in a slideshow from the first ever food52 potluck in the Bay Area -- more please!). A rare and fabulous quality of her cooking (for her children especially) is that everything, and we mean everything, looks flat-out delicious -- from pizza to panna cotta to pozole

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Try out her Caramelized Pork Bành Mì and Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter and you'll see: monkeymom has a way of taking traditional comfort foods and tweaking them with a special technique or creative twist that heightens them to the apotheosis of what they should be. And yet, she knows there's always room for a subtle but sophisticated finish to a meal, like her Holiday Sables, little chocolate cookies iced with ganache and sprinkled with peppermint. Perfect.

Read monkeymom's profile Q&A below:

  • What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
    Sea cucumber...yuck. Weird taste and texture.
  •  
  • What do you cook when home alone?
    Salad with bacon and an over easy egg on top.
  •  
  • Your most treasured kitchen possession:
    My big red Le Creuset pot.
  •  
  • Your ideal meal:
    A home cooked meal from great cooks with all the family around.
  •  
  • Something you'd like a chance to eat or cook:
    So many choices, so little time...the French Laundry maybe?
  •  
  • The number of bottles of wine you own:
    I can never really keep track.
  •  
  • The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
    Around here 8 adults usually come attached with 8 kids so I guess that means 16!
  •  
  • Kitchen pet peeve:
    Inefficient dishwasher loading irks me.
  •  
  • Your favorite cookbook:
    I am obsessed with Tartine Bread. I also love Pei Mei's Chinese Cook book and Keller's Ad Hoc.

 

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

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    Fairmount_market
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monkeymom

Written by: monkeymom

My favorite distraction is to cook. Though science and cooking/baking have a lot in common, I'm finding that each allows me to enjoy very different parts of my life. Cooking connects me with my heritage, my family, friends, and community. I'm really enjoying learning from the food52 community, who expose me to different ingredients and new ways to cook.

30 Comments

Fairmount_market May 4, 2011
Congratulations monkeymom. Your Banh Mi recipe is what first led me to food52. Thanks!
 
Daphne May 3, 2011
So much fun to see your smiling face looking out at me, monkeymom. Love your food and your fun personality. Happy Spring, thinking we may be having a pot luck soon! : )
 
Sagegreen May 3, 2011
So nice to see you featured. Admire your recipes!
 
Kitchen B. May 3, 2011
Great to see you featured monkeymom, I love your recipes! So many still unmade though....
 
TiggyBee May 3, 2011
monkeymom, congrats!! I love your recipes!!
 
Waverly May 3, 2011
So nice to see you in the spotlight! I am a fan - especially love your rolls!
 
fiveandspice May 3, 2011
Wooohoo monkeymom!!!! What a great spotlight! Your recipes have been so inspirational to me and taught me so much. Thank you, and keep it up!!!
 
lapadia May 3, 2011
How wonderful to see you shining in the spotlight, monkeymom! Congratulations...
 
monkeymom May 3, 2011
Thanks again to all of you wonderful friends for commenting on this post! It really made my week!
 
mcs3000 May 3, 2011
so awesome to see @monkeymom featured! bombing recipes. btw: ditto on the tartine bread (once had someone offer me $20 for a tartine loaf on muni. nope, didn't sell it.).
 
monkeymom May 3, 2011
A loaf of that bread is like gold. good call!
 
TasteFood May 2, 2011
Yay, monkeymom! Miss you - let's plan another get together this spring!
 
monkeymom May 2, 2011
Thanks food52! I'm so very happy to be among the great crowd of fantastic cooks here. I have learned so much from each of you guys and cooked so many of your recipes too. Finding food52 has really made a huge impact in my life. Such an inspiring and fun place to hang out!
 
betteirene May 2, 2011
It takes one to know one!
 
phyllis May 2, 2011
Congratulations!! Well deserved spotlight!!
 
melissav May 2, 2011
Well deserved. Monkeymom - I love your recipes. So many are now part of our weekly rotation!
 
mrslarkin May 2, 2011
Yippeeee, monkeymom! So nice to see you in the spotlight!
 
nannydeb May 2, 2011
Congratulations monkeymon! Great to see you in the spotlight!
 
Burnt O. May 2, 2011
Congrats! I made your chicken this past weekend - always a hit.
 
thirschfeld May 2, 2011
monkeymom is the bomb, and as if exhibit A wasn't enough how about exhibit B http://www.food52.com/recipes/8298_heavenly_oatmealmolasses_rolls
 
hardlikearmour May 2, 2011
nice rhyming, thirschfeld!
 
hardlikearmour May 2, 2011
Yay, monkeymom! So great to see you in the spotlight. I ? your recipes!
 
aargersi May 2, 2011
Hurrah for MonkeyMom! I have made a bunch of your recipes and they are delicious every time, without fail!
 
Midge May 2, 2011
Such a well-deserved spotlight. Love your pozole and your bành mì marinade is now a standard in my house.
 
Lizthechef May 2, 2011
Nice to see you featured - I miss you!
 
Panfusine May 2, 2011
congratulations!!
 
gingerroot May 2, 2011
Hurray, monkeymom! It is wonderful to see you in the spotlight, where you belong. Your recipes are always an inspiration and gorgeous to boot. Congratulations!
 
boulangere May 2, 2011
I always look forward to your recipes popping up. How wonderful to know some more about you - and I've long wondered where your name came from. Great to know!
 
drbabs May 2, 2011
Congratulations, monkeymom--so nice to see you in the spotlight!
 
healthierkitchen May 2, 2011
Yay monkeymom - love so many of your recipes!