A new-to-us ingredient from Ancient Rome makes Linguine Colatura di Alici sing

Colatura di Alici, an Italian fish sauce, brings savory deliciousness to a quick, simple pasta. Recipe below.

The oddest little things catch my eye in the most random places. And lots of recipes here start that way. In a recent issue of New York magazine, a description of ribs at Danny Meyer’s Vini e Fritti included “After a toss in a sticky mix of Calabrian chiles, honey, vinegar, and the Italian fish sauce colatura…” Italian fish sauce? I stopped reading and started Googling. Continue reading “A new-to-us ingredient from Ancient Rome makes Linguine Colatura di Alici sing” →

Hummus, served Southern style: Hoppin’ John Black-Eyed Pea Butter

Black-eyed peas stand in for chickpeas in this delicious Southern take on hummus. Recipe below.

Who doesn’t love hummus? This now-ubiquitous Middle Eastern staple has become nearly a staple in homes around the globe. According to the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, an estimated 25 percent of US households regularly stock hummus (as of 2016). There are many variations on this dish, perhaps none as interesting as one that swaps black-eyed peas for chickpeas. Continue reading “Hummus, served Southern style: Hoppin’ John Black-Eyed Pea Butter” →

East meets chuck roast: Chinese-inspired Pot Roast with Potatoes

Chinese five-spice powder, fresh ginger, soy sauce, star anise and oyster sauce bring subtle Asian flavors to this traditional meat-and-potatoes pot roast. Recipe below.

SLEET IS PELTING THE WINDOWS AS I WRITE THIS. The first day of spring is less than two weeks away, but for many of us, that’s just a number on the calendar—a cruel false promise. So we remain in the braising mode, filling the kitchen with the oven’s warmth and the entire house with heavenly, meaty smells. Continue reading “East meets chuck roast: Chinese-inspired Pot Roast with Potatoes” →

Review: An innovative red and a good read

The Prisoner Wine Company produces super premium wines by carefully sourcing their grapes. And in The Mamma Mia! Diet, an Italian biochemistry professor and a pharmacist, researcher and food writer explain why the Mediterranean diet is so good for us and how to eat it.

Not all wineries grow their own grapes. In fact, many makers of modestly priced wines work with multiple growers, combining the same varieties of grapes from many sources to produce their wines—with an eye on price and availability as well as the final product. Napa Valley-based The Prisoner Wine Company takes a different approach. Continue reading “Review: An innovative red and a good read” →

Why we love meat: Wine-braised Beef Short Ribs with Parsnips

Beef short ribs are slow braised with red wine, beef stock, parsnips, shallots, onion, garlic and anchovies (for added umami). Recipe below.

CHICAGO OFFERS A WEALTH OF OPTIONS for carnivorous home cooks. Besides the usual supermarkets, there are Mexican carnicerias, Korean markets, old-fashioned butcher shops, new-fashioned locavore snout-to-tail butchers… When we were looking for short ribs last Saturday, we reacquainted ourselves with yet another source, Peoria Packing. Continue reading “Why we love meat: Wine-braised Beef Short Ribs with Parsnips” →

Review: Flat Broke with Two Goats

This week, we share a book review and a recipe from the book—for Snow Cream.

We’re big fans of goat cheese. So when we were asked to review Flat Broke with Two Goats, a memoir with recipes, we answered with an enthusiastic yes. We didn’t find the goat cheese recipes I was expecting. Instead, we found something much richer. Continue reading “Review: Flat Broke with Two Goats” →

A classic gin cocktail gets a mezcal makeover: The Penultimate Word

Inspired by the gin-based Last Word cocktail, mezcal gives a nice smokiness to this citrusy drink featuring lime juice, maraschino liqueur and simple syrup. Recipe below.

RANDOM FINDS ALWAYS SEEM LUCKY FOR US. On our road trip to DC and the Virginias last fall, our first overnight stop was in Pittsburgh. We ate dinner that night at Bar Marco, in the city’s Strip District, a cool little neighborhood on the edge of downtown—converted warehouses filled with old and new food and retail shops, restaurants and bars, and sidewalks clogged with street vendors. We went there because, randomly, just before our trip, while Marion was getting a haircut, I flipped through an issue of GQ. It had an article on where to eat and drink in Pittsburgh that included the phrase “inventive yet unpretentious cocktails at Bar Marco.” Continue reading “A classic gin cocktail gets a mezcal makeover: The Penultimate Word” →

A busy weekend and a delicious, if reheated, recipe: Crispy Chicken Schnitzel

A house favorite from the archives: Panko breadcrumbs give chicken breast schnitzels an assertively crispy outside. Recipe, eventually, below.

There really should be a new recipe here. We have a few ideas we’re working on and a new cooking memoir awaiting our review. Didn’t get to any of it. This post isn’t an excuse for that—it’s a recounting of things we found more interesting than cooking this weekend. But if you make it to the end, you’ll find a simple dish we like to cook fairly often. Continue reading “A busy weekend and a delicious, if reheated, recipe: Crispy Chicken Schnitzel” →

White House special: Six recipes created, inspired or influenced by Africa

Six recipes showcase meals, flavors, techniques and culinary influences of the African continent.

Quite unintentionally, a serially bankrupt businessman and second-rate former reality TV celebrity has become the education president. On practically a weekly basis, anxious parents find themselves scrambling to teach their children the meanings of new offensive terms—and worse, explain new offensive behaviors by the so-called leader of the free world. The most recent (as we go to press, at least) is truly appalling. Continue reading “White House special: Six recipes created, inspired or influenced by Africa” →

Pushing all the warm, meaty, spicy buttons: Chicken Chorizo Chili

Spicy, flavorful Mexican chorizo sausage and chunks of chicken are at the heart of this robust, meaty chili. Dark beer helps amp up the flavor too. Recipe below.

The bitter cold Marion wrote about last week just keeps coming. So when I discovered a new-to-me chili—chicken chorizo chili, to be precise—all kinds of delicious buttons were pushed. Continue reading “Pushing all the warm, meaty, spicy buttons: Chicken Chorizo Chili” →