Marinated mushrooms: those tasty fungi at the end of grocery-store olive bars that pretty much everyone ignores. I must have passed by the garlicky little suckers a dozen times before I even registered their presence. Once I tried them, though, I knew they’d be delicious in a wide variety of dishes … not to mention [...]
When I was kid, the very concept of fish in tins was appalling. Then I got older and realized that a can is no different than a tin and that many delicious tuna sandwiches had gone from a metal container — albeit round, not rectangular — to my plate. I always loved my mom’s Caesar [...]
Continue reading about Welcoming a New Ingredient into the Kitchen: Sardines!
Nothing proclaims “SUMMER!” like a simple tomato and herb pasta. Basil is a perennial favorite herb to use, of course, along with thyme and oregano. Dill is another. This year, though, I decided to plant a new herb in my garden: lemon verbena. As its name suggests, it’s quite lemony! Its softly fragrant leaves are [...]
Good bacon goes with everything — I have a sneaking suspicion that bacon ice cream would be a hit. (Especially if you paired the bacon with pecans.) When I say “good” bacon, I’m referring to bacon from pastured hogs that snort and snuffle about on an actual farm. You can find this kind of bacon [...]
Crunchy lettuce is great…but so is wilted lettuce! Lettuces with a faint bitterness/pepperiness to them — arugula, watercress, frisée — are especially good complements to savory dishes. Plus, because they wilt so quickly, they’re a snap to toss into a sautée or stir-fry at the last minute. Just the heat coming from the pan and [...]
The arugula piles up sometimes, doesn’t it? (Especially now that we’re getting into lettuce-growing season.) Even if you don’t have a lettuce garden, I bet you’ve stared down a half-full container of baby greens and wondered what to do with it. Salads are great, but no dish can tickle your gastronomic fancy 100% of the [...]
When it comes to produce, I’m a big fan of the “two-fer” deals: you buy beets with the greens attached and you get two veggies for the price of one, you buy one papaya and get fruit + edible garnishing seeds for the price of one. Rapini (or broccoli rabe, as it’s often called) is [...]
Although we’ve become accustomed to the taste and style of European-made chocolates (most American chocolatiers stick to Continental methods when it comes to cocoa), the great chocolate traditions originally came from Mexico — specifically, the Aztec civilization. They drank their chocolate unsweetened, accenting their frothing cups with chilies, cinnamon, and vanilla rather than sugar. Not [...]
Continue reading about How to Apply Aztec Traditions to a Pot of Stew
A whimsical name for a whimsical dish: pasta tossed with guacamole. I got the idea when I wanted to make guacamole but was out of corn chips. What to do? Use corn in a different form, I decided. I did. I also deepened the flavors of the dish by sautéeing the garlic and onion before [...]
Who says pumpkin is only for pies? It’s a squash, after all, and we use every other kind of squash — acorn, butternut, spaghetti — in savory dishes. It’s a shame that zucchinis are the only squashes that have managed to make the jump from savory (in countless Mediterranean dishes) to sweet (quickbreads and fritters). [...]
