Dried tart cherries are plumped in bourbon, then baked into easy-to-make, not-too-sweet scones. Recipe below.
SCONES ARE THE PERFECT BAKED DESSERT for someone who doesn’t bake much and prefers baked goods that aren’t too overly sweet. In other words, me. Continue reading “Autumnal, rustic and offhandedly impressive: Walnut and Boozy Cherry Scones”
Duck legs are braised in a mix of sauerkraut, apples and shallots for a rustic, satisfying, cold weather meal. Recipe below.
THE FRANCOPHILE IS AT IT AGAIN. This recipe is not authentically French or even French-inspired, but built from French longing. It started when my colleague Brian brought some chocolate confections back from Paris. Continue reading “Not French, but sort of French: Braised Duck Legs with Sauerkraut and Apple”
The traditional bowl of red turns green and lightens up, as tomatillos replace tomatoes and chicken and turkey stand in for beef. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]C[/su_dropcap]hili. For many, it’s over-the-top flavor pyrotechnics. Or “I dare you” fiery hot. To us, chili is comfort food. Like a good stew or soup. Subtle complexity rather than giant flavors, heartily satisfying. You know, comforting. This tomatillo-based turkey/chicken chili checks all those boxes and then some. Continue reading “Big on comfort, easy on the heat: Tomatillo Chicken/Turkey Chili”
Two woman-owned companies are making reusable, compostable beeswax-infused fabric food wraps to replace plastic wrap.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]L[/su_dropcap]ike many people, we’re trying to reduce our use of single-use plastics. We’re shopping with reusable bags, carrying refillable water bottles and avoiding straws when possible, for instance. So when we heard (belatedly, perhaps) about beeswax fabric food wraps, we were excited. Continue reading “Reducing plastic usage in the kitchen with fabric beeswax food wraps”
Lemon juice and zest, and toasted hazelnuts make these flaky scones a delicious, not-too-sweet treat for dessert or with tea or your morning coffee—or anytime. Recipe below.
FOR ME, SCONES HIT THAT SWEET SPOT OF NOT BEING TOO SWEET. In coffee shops, I find myself looking for these substantial, only-slightly-sweet treats instead the usual sugary, fluffy suspects. So as weather started cooling off here in Chicago, I thought about baking some scones. I’m still thinking about it. In the meantime, here are some lemony, nutty, not-too-sweet scones from our archives. We hope you enjoy them.
PESTO IS A NOBLE USE OF FRESH BASIL, NO ARGUMENT HERE. But there are lots of other things basil does well. Here are seven recipes to use up the last of this season’s bounty in your garden. Continue reading “Seven recipes show basil does more than pesto”
The classic margarita gets a smoky, spicy makeover, swapping mezcal for tequila, muddling in some jalapeño and firing up the traditional salt rim with chile powder and cayenne pepper. Recipe below.
NO BIG ORIGIN STORY FOR THIS COCKTAIL. I saw an article somewhere about quickly infusing tequila with the heat and pepper flavor of jalapeño, just by muddling it—no setting it aside for days. Then we were at La Mejikãna, a fun bar/restaurant that combines “the authenticity of the traditional Mexican kitchen with a modern flair,” according to their website (apparently part of the flair includes using the tilde over the letter A in their name as a design element). Our drinks featured mezcal and had spicy chile salt rims. Synapses fired. A drink idea happened—this one, to be exact. Continue reading “Smoke and fire: Spicy Mezcal Margarita”
This rich, creamy chilled cucumber bisque is an elegant starter. Make it up to a day ahead to give it time to chill. Recipe below.
RECENT NEWS MADE MY FORMER-SAINT-LOUISAN-PERENNIAL-FOODLOVER HEART SKIP A BEAT: the restaurant Balaban’s is moving back to the city. And according to a press release, the new owner is bringing back its “original menu and signature dishes.” For Marion and me, that means this glorious soup. Continue reading “An accidental restaurant and an enduring soup: Balaban’s Chilled Cucumber Bisque”
In Spain, the classic gin & tonic gets more relaxed, more creative, more sippably refreshing, with more garnishes and lots of ice. Recipe below.
THE CLASSIC BRITISH GIN & TONIC has been one of my summer go-tos for years. Easy to make, and crisp and refreshing to drink. Turns out Spanish bartenders have long been doing their own take on gin & tonics, amping up the drink’s classic taste with a whole range of interesting garnishes and dialing up its summeryness. Continue reading “A classic summer cocktail gets a fresh twist: Spanish Gin & Tonic”
Chicken gets a buttermilk brine and a lively spice mix—Szechuan peppercorns, cumin seeds and Korean red chile powder—then is grilled instead of frying. Recipe below.
WE LOVE FRIED CHICKEN, BUT WE DON’T DEEP FRY. Still, when I come across a particularly enticing fried chicken recipe, I’m, well, enticed. That happened last week. Spending more time than was strictly proper studying it, I decided to see what elements of the recipe could translate from deep frying to grilling. Continue reading “Borrowing deep fried tricks for the grill: Szechuan Buttermilk Grilled Chicken”