Rich Fudgy Brownies with (or without) Pecans

These rich, chewy, chocolaty brownies are topped with a delicious two-ingredient icing. Recipe below.

THE OTHER DAY, OUR NEIGHBOR ROSA INVITED US TO A COOKOUT in her backyard in honor of her sister Lorena’s birthday. We love her cookouts—there’s always great food and great conversation and her yard is an elegant, shady oasis—even on the hottest days, she somehow conjures cooling breezes. And we love Lorena, so celebrating her birthday? in Rosa’s yard? sounded like a perfect evening. Continue reading “Rich Fudgy Brownies with (or without) Pecans” →

Red Currant Chutney

Red currants, apple, shallots and lots of spices create a deliciously acid/sweet/spice chutney to serve with various meats or tofu or… Recipe below.

I LOVE RED CURRANTS. When I was a kid, my father always had currant bushes, and to this day I always make room for one red currant bush, even in our very small yard. Continue reading “Red Currant Chutney” →

Baked Polenta with Roasted Mushrooms

Roasted mushrooms combine with polenta and Parmesan to create a creamy, earthy, cheesy vegetarian meal. Recipe below.

THE OTHER DAY, SOCIAL MEDIA OFFERED ME A VIDEO of someone making what he called Mushroom Polenta Bake. It was one of those super short, super telegraphic videos, the sort of airy thing that breezes past the nonsense side of cooking—measurements, timing, a lot of the ingredients—in favor of a quick, charming impression. But, as with so many of these sort-of-cooking videos, the information may have been ridiculous, but the visuals were alluring—so very alluring. Continue reading “Baked Polenta with Roasted Mushrooms” →

Gołąbki in casserole form—unrolling cabbage rolls

This layered cabbage roll casserole delivers the comforting flavor of gołąbki (cabbage rolls) without all the effort of making the rolls. Recipe below.

IF, LIKE ME, YOU GREW UP WITH A MOM WHO WOULD MAKE GOŁĄBKI—the comforting, homey classic that not-Polish people call cabbage rolls—then you sometimes just get a hankering. And it’s an itch that is not easy to scratch. Gołąbki (pronounced go-UMPki), frankly, is a colossal nuisance. It is complicated. It is time consuming. It demands a particular appearance, and it is very easy to ruin. Continue reading “Gołąbki in casserole form—unrolling cabbage rolls” →

Easy-to-make “College Fudge,” a women’s colleges legacy

Four simple ingredients and minimal effort create rich, delicious fudge. Recipe and multiple variations below.

I WAS TODAY YEARS OLD WHEN I FOUND OUT HOW EASY IT IS TO MAKE FUDGE. Really, I had no idea. I thought it was an ornate process requiring marble slabs, special molds and spatulas, numerous ingredients and long hours. Turns out, none of that is the case. Continue reading “Easy-to-make “College Fudge,” a women’s colleges legacy” →

French Apple Cake

A few extra simple steps create a delightful fruit-filled cake you’ll be happy to share—or keep for yourself. Recipe below.

WE’VE BEEN IN THE MOOD TO BAKE LATELY. So when a wintry cold snap aligned with a new-to-us apple find, we were ready to warm up the kitchen and try a new-to-us apple cake recipe. Continue reading “French Apple Cake” →

Quick Tomato Rice Cheese Casserole

Adapt this weeknight-quick, satisfying casserole based on what’s in your fridge—or what you’re hankering for. recipe below.

AT MY WORKPLACE, WE ARE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT ROI—RETURN ON INVESTMENT—AND THE ROI FOR THIS RECIPE IS IMMENSE. This is one of those classic recipes that is weeknight fast and super flexible. The key ingredients are tomatoes, rice and cheese. What else you add depends on what you have in your fridge and what you’re in the mood for. For this batch, we included kielbasa and green bell pepper.
Continue reading “Quick Tomato Rice Cheese Casserole” →

Inspired by Indian curries, Charred Leek Gulai Sayur

Often described as Indonesian curry, gulais are rich, spicy stews. This plant-based one features leeks as the key ingredient. Recipe below.

LIBRARIES ARE ONE OF THE GREAT INSTITUTIONS OF MODERN SOCIETY, and we love them. Early in the pandemic, when we were able to get our first vaccinations, the first public place we went was not a bar or a restaurant, but the Harold Washington Library—the gem that is Chicago’s central library. That’s where we recently came across a gem of a cookbook, A Splash of Soy: Everyday Food from Asia—Charred Leek Gulai Sayur is the second recipe we’ve cooked from it. Continue reading “Inspired by Indian curries, Charred Leek Gulai Sayur” →

Spicy Tofu Stir Fry

This quick, simple dish with sweet/tangy/spicy Asian flavors can be an exciting vegetarian side or a main course. Recipe below.

TOFU IS A WONDERFUL BLANK CANVAS, ready to take on all kinds of flavors and textures, depending on the tofu you choose and how you cook it. It’s also a chameleon, used in many cuisines in many countries. It’s often used as a vegetarian source of protein, but then again, many Asian dishes combine it with animal protein. Spicy Tofu Stir Fry is a vegetarian dish, but it can be served as a side or as a main course. See what we mean? Continue reading “Spicy Tofu Stir Fry” →

Nantucket Pie (or cake or cobbler or…)

A traditional dessert from Massachusetts, Nantucket Pie combines cranberries, nuts and lots of butter to create a rich, tart, sweet, festive treat. Recipe below.

NANTUCKET PIE IS A VENN DIAGRAM KIND OF DESSERT, occupying the overlap among tart, cobbler and cake. It’s sweet, tart and festive looking. It’s incredibly fast and simple to put together—really, it’s the perfect thing for a beginning baker—and when it comes out of the oven, it smells delightful. What it is not is pie, but that’s fine. Continue reading “Nantucket Pie (or cake or cobbler or…)” →