If you are seeing a picture of tom kha gai then it is safe to assume that I feel like crap. 

Sometimes you just don't need a recipe to know what your body craves. This is one of those days, because I have a bad cold. One of those I don't want to do anything at all kind of colds.

I have been battling it for 5 days. It started typically enough with a scratchy throat. By the next day I had a stuffy nose, but no fever. In fact if it weren't for the stuffy nose I would have said I felt just fine. I had just about convinced myself that it was not a cold at all, just a mild allergy flair up.

But, alas sometime in the night these sniffles moved into my chest and sat down with a great heavy thud! My chest is so congested that it actually feels as if a great big bear is sitting on it while sticking a long feather down my throat. Tickling away for his own amusement. The tickle leads to a cough, the cough leads to hack and the hack brings up some of the nastiest stuff you'd ever want to see.

I used to think that the only thing for a cold was hot tea and toast. But I have learned there is another sort of relief and I have come to swear by it. If you live in Los Angeles long enough, you find that you shed your old skin and develop all sorts of new habits. The simple, comforting and spicy Thai soup known as Tom kha gai or Tom kha kai is one of those skins you develop. One of those adopted experiences that become completely your own. So now whenever I have a cold, it's this soup and this soup alone that makes me feel better.

God Bless the thriving Thai community in Los Angeles.

"It's Awards Season. The Super Bowl is coming. And you know you have to catch up with Don Draper at a Mad Men Marathon before the new season starts. So get off the couch and into the spirit. Turn on the tube, throw a party, and invite some friends– because The Table Set wants you and your guests to tune in and turn up your TV party's volume."

It was my turn to write the show notes for this week's episode of The Table Set and that's how I chose to introduce it. I hope it adequately describes what a particularly fun episode this was for us to record. Because you have to agree when must-see TV shows roll around it's just way more fun to tune in with friends.

The Super Bowl is probably the biggest of all the televised events when it comes to food. People go all out with their Super Bowl spreads. In fact I read somewhere that The Super Bowl was the second largest "Food Holiday" in the U.S. Second only to (yep you guessed it) Thanksgiving.

But I'll be honest. I don't care for football. I don't care for most televised sporting events. Same goes for award shows. I have trouble relating what's happening on the screen to all the crazy stuff in my life. Still, that's never stopped me from attending some of these events IRL (in real life). In fact in the episode I talk a little bit about what it is like to actually attend the Academy Awards and even walk the red carpet. I'll let you in on a little secret, the show is hardly the best part of the evening.

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I have some funny sounding words to throw at you for today's Market Matters from the Hollywood Farmers Market. Crudo & Kumquat.

You probably know what kumquats are. But do you love them? I bet you do, or at least would if you knew what to do with them. They are one of the lesser known and most misunderstood members of the large and diverse citrus family. The  funny thing about a kumquat is it's most prized for it's sweet skin. They are mostly enjoyed by simply popping one into your mouth and eating it whole. When you do this you will experience a rush of flavor. They are that intense. Like little flavor bombs. I see kumquats as the "bon-bon" of the citrus world.

I decided these "flavor bombs" deserved some special attention. Especially this time of year in Southern California when kumquats are at their peak. In Googling around for kumquats, I came across the word sitting next to another funny word. Crudo. Which, like sashimi is simply raw fish. Crudo may not be the prettiest sounding name to English speaking ears, but crudo has been music to the tastebuds of Italians for generations. Especially in regions like Puglia and Marche. There, thin slices of raw fish are flavored with whatever ingredients at hand– often in combinations far bolder than you might find at the best sushi bars.

I have a not-so-classic Asiago Mac and Cheese Pie with Truffled Potato Crust for you today that could pass for a geography lesson, or maybe even a life lesson. It may seem like a simple but comforting baked pasta, but unique ingredients and an international pedigree make it something more too.

This "pie" is dense with penne pasta, creamy Wisconsin Asiago cheese and Tuscan kale. I have given it an Idaho potato crust that is scented with truffle oil. I call it a non-traditional pie, but it's really a variation on timballo di maccheroni, a traditional drum-shaped baked pasta dish from Naples and the surrounding Campania region of Italy. Some few years ago, in a movie called "Big Night," the preparation of a timballo di maccheroni was featured in a big way. It made a big impression on audiences. Me included. Recipes for timballi proliferated and suddenly the dish came to the attention of Americans. Since then I have made some variation many, many times. But the more I make it the more it becomes (at least in my mind) another great take on good ole Mac & Cheese. Another example of cross-cultural culinary calisthenics.

I am pretty proud of today's Farro & Sun-Dried Tomato Fritters though I admit they don't really look like much. That's one of the problems facing food bloggers these days. If you want to reach a wide audience (and who doesn't) your food has to look extra special scrumptious, be super colorful, get wrapped in bacon, or at least have a peanut butter swirl. These foods may look pretty (especially when they are tied up in a bow), but they don't always ignite the imaginations of the more mature palates amongst us. It is kind of a Catch 22. Because the very sites (FoodGawker, TasteSpotting and more and more Pinterest) that have brought food bloggers together as a powerful community have also played a part in limiting what defines good food on the web. Leaving really delicious or super sophisticated food cast aside as un-loved and un-clicked.

That's why I feel so sad for these fritters. Sure they look like hard brown hockey pucks. But they're not, I promise you. Farro is delicious. It's got a nutty taste and a terrific texture. Farro contains a starch similar to that found in Arborio rice. It releases a creamy, binding liquid when cooked. But it retains its tender, distinct bite, much better than rice. Making it a perfect choice for fritters. But I have a feeling none of that matters. In fact I may as well have titled this recipe Ferret Fritters, at least I'd get the friends of ferrets society up in arms. Hmmm... just how big an audience are ferret lovers any way? GREG