Classic Mexican cut of meat meets French technique: Braised Costillos de Puerco

Mexican pork short ribs are given a classic French comfort food treatment, oven braised with aromatics, herbs and wine. Recipe below.

Our neighborhood is rich with little Mexican groceries, each with a small produce section and dairy case (that shuns anything low fat), aisles of canned goods and imported candy, and—no matter how tiny the store—each with its own fresh meat counter, presided over by a living, breathing butcher.

The other night, during one of the rare breaks in the snowfall, I was walking around looking at stuff in the neighborhood and remembered we were out of, well, everything fresh. So I clomped across Diversey to the store we now like the best (it is “the one that is kind of across the street”—our immediate ambit also includes “the one around the corner,” “the creepy one by the El,” and “no, five blocks west is too far”). Continue reading “Classic Mexican cut of meat meets French technique: Braised Costillos de Puerco” →

Homey, healthy Braised Red Cabbage

Red cabbage is quickly sautéed in butter and oil with onion, apple, pear and bay leaf, then braised with red wine, vinegar, cloves and sugar for a delicious, healthy side. Recipe below.

RED CABBAGE WAS ONE OF THE REGULAR CULINARY PARTS OF MY CHILDHOOD—I loved it and I still do. I am not saying that red cabbage is my madeleine, but when I am assembling this recipe, and when we dish it up, it never fails to give me a cozy sense of the comforts of home. Especially in winter, when the nights have drawn in, I love to have a pot simmering on the stove, on its way to being served alongside something simple and true like a roasted chicken or as a beautiful part of a vegetarian meal, alongside a savory socca pancake and steamed green beans, or a portobello sandwich. Continue reading “Homey, healthy Braised Red Cabbage” →

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Two Ways

Whoopie pies go seasonal, with pumpkin cookies and two different cream cheese fillings—lemon and maple nutmeg. Recipes below.

WHEN I TOLD MY FRIENDS THAT FOR THIS WEEK’S POST I would be making whoopie pies, no one said, “Making what?”

Pretty much everybody in the United States these days knows what a whoopie pie is. A cookie sandwich with an icing filling, it’s simpler than cake, a happy intermediate between a cupcake and a sweet bread. Whoopie pies emanated from the American Northeast—Maine (where it is the “official state treat”), Pennsylvania and Boston all vow they invented it. Wikipedia reports that the world’s largest whoopie pie was made in South Portland, Maine in 2011. It weighed 1,062 pounds. This is a real thing, that happened. Continue reading “Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Two Ways” →

Seattle and mushrooms, part 3: Halibut with Lobster Mushrooms

Sautéed halibut fillets are served on a bed of lobster mushrooms, corn, shallots and cherry tomatoes—and topped with whole coriander seeds. Recipe below.

As I said on Facebook the other day, if we lived in Seattle, I would be eating all the time. I mean it—all the time. And I would be fine with that. Super-fresh, super-local, super-delicious food is so readily accessible that I would not give one good god damn about my arteries or my cholesterol or my waddling or any of that.

For the last couple of weeks, Terry has been talking about the vast amount of amazing food we had on our recent trip to Seattle. I don’t think we had anything less than amazing. And the most special evening was the one we spent at Sitka & Spruce, which was a surprise to us in many ways. Continue reading “Seattle and mushrooms, part 3: Halibut with Lobster Mushrooms” →

Pure summertime: Blueberry Cake with Buttermilk, Thyme and Lemon Zest

Blueberries, buttermilk, thyme and lemon zest combine to create a delicious cake—and memories of childhood summers in Michigan. Recipe below.

Most of this summer, the blueberries have been terrible—tiny, sour and disgruntled. But suddenly, they have become gorgeous—Michigan blueberries big as marbles, sweet, full of flavor and the most beautiful dusty blue. We’ve been having them on cereal, tossing them in salads (making a vinaigrette using the very pretty blueberry vinegar from Canter-Berry Farms in Washington state) and just plain eating them out of hand.

Ordinarily, I don’t bake in the summer. Even this year, which here in the Midwest has been mild and delightful, I just don’t hold with turning on the oven in July and August. But yesterday—which, natch, was the first really miserably hot day in quite a while—I got the craving. Blueberry cake—we had to have it. Continue reading “Pure summertime: Blueberry Cake with Buttermilk, Thyme and Lemon Zest” →

Simple, savory and versatile: Korean Kimchi Pancake with Chicken

Savory, crunchy and often spicy, pickled kimchi is the Korean national dish. It’s also the delicious heart of this weeknight-quick pancake. Recipe below.

Kimchi is a living thing—beautiful, colorful, naturally fermented cabbage, rich with garlic, red pepper, fiber and vitamins. When I opened the jar of kimchi to make this pancake, it began bubbling around the edges of the liquid in a very satisfying way.

We first thought of making this pancake a few weeks ago, when we were passing through Rochester, New York and had dinner at Young’s Korean Restaurant. And if you ever happen to be in that part of the world, get your GPS to take you there (and you’ll need it). Young’s is cozy and welcoming, but it is located kind of beyond a dreadful strip mall hell, in the confusing middle of an office park, in what looks like a warehouse on: Mushroom Boulevard. It is just wonderful. Everything we had that night was delicious, the banchan were crunchy and fresh and the humblest dish of all was this simple pancake. It was so unassuming, and yet so flavorful, that I just had to give it a try. Continue reading “Simple, savory and versatile: Korean Kimchi Pancake with Chicken” →

Meat and potatoes, well done: Beef Pot Roast and Potato Hash

Leftover pot roast (or whatever meat you may have on hand) combines with potatoes (and not a lot else) to make a hash that shows why meat and potatoes rock. Recipe below.

SOME FOODS ARE JUST MADE FOR EACH OTHER. A grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup; black beans and rice; pizza and beer; apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

And, of course, beef and potatoes.

These days we are not eating meat as often as we once did, trying to be more mindful of the way we live on the planet. But when we do, we still love it. And we don’t waste any of it. Continue reading “Meat and potatoes, well done: Beef Pot Roast and Potato Hash” →

Tea and cookies, pre-assembled: Chocolate-dipped Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

Japanese matcha green tea and bittersweet chocolate make these buttery shortbread cookies deliciously decadent, with coffee or tea. Recipe below.

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN when people are streaming in and out of our house, and we are streaming in and out of lots of other houses too. To help with all the festive to-ing and fro-ing, we like to have some lovely treats on hand. This year, for the first time, we’ve added green tea shortbread cookies to our arsenal.

Shortbread cookies are so wonderful—buttery, delicate, crumbly goodness. Adding matcha (Japanese powdered green tea) gives them a faintly herbal, haunting note—still delicate, but with a slightly sophisticated edge. Continue reading “Tea and cookies, pre-assembled: Chocolate-dipped Green Tea Shortbread Cookies” →

Chengdu meets Paris: Pork Chestnut Kale Stir Fry with Fried Soba Noodles

Ginger, garlic and chili paste flavor pork stir-fried with chestnuts and kale and served over gently fried soba noodles. Recipe below.

We’ve often talked about our love for Chinese food, which for us is the ultimate in comfort food. In the last year or so, our adventures have led us away from our friendly old favorites in the kitchen, but some recent enjoyable dinners in Chinatown, and a memory of past pleasures, put it front and center for us again. Continue reading “Chengdu meets Paris: Pork Chestnut Kale Stir Fry with Fried Soba Noodles” →

Tastes like… victory: Quick, delicious Potato and Cherry Tomato Salad

Fingerling potatoes and cherry tomatoes tossed with a lively mustard vinaigrette—something this easy shouldn’t taste this good. Recipe below.

Summer is drawing to a close—we have a real blanket on the bed, we are wearing sweaters in the evening, and we are casting around for ways to use the bits and bobs that we harvest here from our apartment garden. The nation’s corn crop may have gone to hell this year, but our tomato crop is record-breaking. Outside, we have just a tiny scrap of ground under cultivation, but it is giving us a quart of cherry tomatoes every day, on bad days—and that is to ignore the big tomatoes, which are coming in with a vengeance. Continue reading “Tastes like… victory: Quick, delicious Potato and Cherry Tomato Salad” →