Semi-sweet chocolate and brown sugar add a delicious twist to challah, a traditional Jewish braided bread, creating an almost dessertlike loaf.
THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVERLAPPING AGAIN. This year, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 22, just two days before Christmas Eve. Lucky for you, this chocolate-filled challah is a delicious, impressive, dessertlike bread you can make to celebrate everyone. You’ll find the recipe—and variations on a theme—right here.
Layers of kasha, mushroom-Parmesan sauce, spinach and cheeses bake into a delectable vegetarian main course for Thanksgiving—or for any wintry night. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e always seem to have at least one vegetarian at our Thanksgiving table. So we’re always looking for a delicious main course dish that doesn’t leave the vegetarians in our life feeling second best. And more specifically, that isn’t tofurkey. Continue reading “Step aside, tofurkey: Kasha Mushroom Cheese Casserole has vegetarian guests covered”
Texas sheet cake, a Lone Star State tradition, is big and generous and easy to make. Here, we dress it up with pistachios and Himalayan pink salt. Recipe—and substitutions—below.
SO IT TURNS OUT TEXAS SHEET CAKE IS A THING. Over the weekend, I was rumbling around on the intertubes, looking for something to bake but not anything complicated, like a Napoleon, or annoying, like (grinding teeth) cookies. And this is when I stumbled over a thing millions—literally millions—of Americans already know: Texas sheet cake. Continue reading “Hospitality baked in a hotel pan: Texas Sheet Cake with Pistachios”
Pasta alla Norma, a beloved traditional dish, gets its name from a Bellini opera—and an update with Japanese eggplant. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e’ve been doing a lot of harvesting and prepping of crops from our modest city yard. Last weekend, Terry brought in all the remaining basil and put up a bunch of pesto. I froze a flock of shishito peppers. We are drying herbs, and I am pondering whether to dry some tomatoes or just continue my usual policy of eating and eating and eating them out of hand while standing next to the tomato plants. Continue reading “The classic Sicilian dish named for an opera: Pasta alla Norma”
Rye whiskey, Aperol and orange bitters combine with a simple rhubarb purée to create a tart, refreshing summer cocktail. Recipes below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]O[/su_dropcap]ur most recent road trip took us up through Wisconsin and Minnesota and up to the northern shore of Lake Superior. This was the first time we’d visited many of these places, and we loved it. Continue reading “A travel-inspired cocktail: Rhubarb and Rye”
Make this flavorful, spicy vegetarian main dish in your slow cooker—you can start it in the morning, then return home to a heavenly fragrance and meal. Recipe below.
OUR WONDERFUL FRIEND ANUPY SINGLA IS A POWERHOUSE. Prolific blogger (over at Indian as Apple Pie), author of numerous cookbooks that make Indian food accessible for the American kitchen and entrepreneur with a bustling company offering delicious Indian ingredients to make the whole thing even easier. Continue reading “Authentic Indian cooking deliciously decoded: Dal Makhani (Buttery Black Lentils)”
A winter root vegetable—celeriac—and a winter-hoarded fruit, pears—create a fresh, springlike, creamy soup. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]C[/su_dropcap]eleriac is one of those leap-of-faith vegetables. It’s not very well known—even goes by various aliases, including celery root. It’s round, it’s ugly, you dig it out of the ground, for Chrissake. For a really long time, it never even occurred to me to give it a try. That door was shut tight. Continue reading “A springlike soup from the depths of the winter root cellar: Celeriac Pear Soup”
A handful of Asian pantry/fridge staples turns chicken thighs into a delicious, weeknight-quick dinner. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]H[/su_dropcap]ere is a very simple, very tasty weeknight dish. So simple, in fact, that we thought it was only going to be dinner, not a post. But as it baked in the oven, the aroma filling the kitchen told us we should photograph it, just in case. Continue reading “Liven up your staples and your dinner: “Old Godmother” Oven-braised Chicken”
Kielbasa, pork roast, chicken, sauerkraut and cabbage anchor bigos, a hearty stew and Poland’s national dish. Recipe below.
TECHNICALLY, MARCH 1 IS THE END OF METEOROLOGICAL WINTER. So why is the weather still so wildly cold? In fact, just before sitting down to write this, I saw that this coming weekend we will be in a bubble of frigid air that will be the coldest on the planet. How can we face it? The answer, of course, is bigos. Continue reading “Meat, sauerkraut and warm, delicious traditions: Bigos, Polish Hunter’s Stew”
In the Instant Pot, dried black beans and a handful of ingredients turn into a luxuriously delicious side or main course in 45 minutes, no presoaking, no sautéing, no fuss. Recipe below.
THE FIRST TIME I EVER HAD BLACK BEANS was in a tiny restaurant somewhere in upstate New York, in the form of black bean soup. I was ever so young and ever so inexperienced. I don’t remember anything about the restaurant except that it was small and friendly, and the windows looked out on hemlock trees, and our waiter, a tall, calm woman, was also the sole front of house person and likely the owner and possibly one of the cooks. Continue reading “A quick-cooking, show-stealing dish: Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans”