We’re not cooking much this summer—well, not cooking much in the way of new shareable recipes. So I raided the archives to see what we’ve cooked in past Julys. Some good stuff, it turns out. Continue reading “Six recipes for a summer with a thousand Julys”
We are a nation of immigrants. Appropriately enough, our eating on the 4th of July holiday weekend, a time that celebrates our nation’s birth, illustrates why this is a good thing. We started Friday night at Lao Beijing. Continue reading “Independence Day and food in the land of immigrants”
Feta cheese, black olives, red onion, dill, and lemon juice and zest do their predictably wonderful thing when mixed together and heaped on pan-seared pork chops. Recipe below.
Leave it to me to appropriate a vegetarian dish for a meaty use. We were at a housewarming last weekend thrown by the adult daughter of a friend from our St. Louis days. She and her roommate have a lovely new Humboldt Park apartment, and it was filled with a lively crowd—including an impressive contingency of fairly newly minted babies. We seem to be going through a period right now where many of our friends, old and new, are young. Continue reading “A vegetarian-inspired Feta and Olive Salsa plays nicely with Pan-seared Pork Chops”
Potatoes stand in for pasta as the only cooked ingredient in this dish, warming the Italian tuna, artichoke hearts, capers, red onion, lemon and parsley. Recipe below.
This was going to be a salsa cruda pasta, one I make several times every summer. A salsa cruda (uncooked sauce) is perfect for warm weather cooking, because all that gets cooked is the pasta. It warms the other ingredients, causing their fragrances and flavors to blossom. The other ingredients, in turn, cool the pasta a bit. Your meal is warm, but not hot—perfect for warm weather dining. And your kitchen doesn’t overheat either, since you’re only cooking the pasta. Continue reading “Salsa cruda minus the pasta: Tuna Artichoke Potato Salad”
Hoisin sauce brings a barbecue sauce-like flavor to this chicken dish equally at home on the grill or in the oven. Ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar add their own flavor notes.
The kitchen in our new old house is still very much a work in progress. As is the rest of the house. But we entertained our first non-family member on Memorial Day. It being the traditional kickoff weekend for grilling, we had bought a new charcoal grill the previous weekend. What we didn’t do in the ensuing week was assemble it. So instead of a cookout, we had a cook-in. And the in-progress kitchen performed beautifully. Continue reading “Variations on a delicious theme: Hoisin Chicken Thighs, grilled or roasted”
Dandelion greens add a pleasant bitter bite—and loads of nutrients—to this weeknight-quick pasta. Recipe below.
Last week, we cooked with ramps acquired at a supermarket, of all places. That same trip yielded fresh dandelion greens. While long a staple of farmers markets and farm-to-table restaurant menus, their recentish appearance in mainstream grocery store produce departments surprises me a little. It also impresses me. Supermarkets are increasingly getting the way we eat—or at least aspire to. Continue reading “Eat your (garden) enemy: Dandelion Greens, Prosciutto and Chicken Pasta”
Garlicky, oniony ramps—”wild leeks”—star in this simple, seasonal pasta dish. Recipe below.
Farmers markets seem to be leaking into supermarkets. Or at least influencing the better ones. There is more emphasis on seasonal and locally grown in the produce section—like at farmers markets. The most recent example for us was this past weekend at our neighborhood Mariano’s. They had ramps. Hyper-seasonal, local, often foraged ramps. Continue reading “A wild onion, in season right now: Linguine with Ramps and Shrimp”
Barely sautéed fresh peas bring the taste of spring to Fettuccine with Peas and Prosciutto, with fresh cream and Parmesan adding a subtle richness. Recipe below.
FRESH PEAS ARE JUST STARTING TO SHOW UP IN THE PRODUCE SECTION. I know this because there are some fresh sugar snap peas in our fridge right now that were expecting to become this week’s post. Next week, I promise, you will see those peas here in a new recipe. This week, their delicious brethren English peas appear in a quick, delicious pasta dish that tastes like spring. [Read more here…]
This rustic French dish with a base of coarsely puréed scallions and potatoes is perfect for when April isn’t playing nice—as it wasn’t in April 2009, when we first shared this recipe.
The kitchen in our new old house is still half-assembled, but functional. The meals we’re cooking are still mostly functional as well—good, filling, but not necessarily post-worthy. So while we’re still getting things under control, culinarily and otherwise, please enjoy this recipe inspired by a lovely Amanda Hesser cookbook we haven’t managed to unpack yet. [Read more here…]
Unlike many things, moving doesn’t get easier the more you do it. If anything, it gets harder. As much as we love waking up every day in our new old house, life is still makeshift on a daily basis. Besides living among not always well-labeled boxes here, we’re still vacating our apartment of nine years. We’re working around the contractor finishing up things. We’re dealing with disappearing cats when the contractor leaves doors open (the cat was found—in a closed vanity drawer, of course). And we’re getting up and going to work every day. So instead of a fresh recipe this week, you’ll be getting a confessional post of sorts. Continue reading “Moving, cheats and getting food on the table”