Beef and Pork Ragù: Hearty, rustic, meaty

Seasonably frigid temperatures inspired Marion to remake this delicious, hearty pasta dish from the Blue Kitchen archives. It originally appeared in unseasonably cold May 2011.

THIS ROBUST ITALIAN RAGÙ IS PERFECT COLD WEATHER FARE. It is absolutely meaty and hearty, combining ground beef, chunks of pork, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, red wine, paprika and other ingredients into a thick, stew-like sauce served with some kind of big pasta. And one of its charms is that it cooks on your stovetop for hours, mostly unattended, as the sauce builds and develops, filling your kitchen with amazing fragrances. Find the recipe here.

Not a TV dinner, but television-inspired: Chicken Fennel Soup

Fennel bulb, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, chicken, cannellini beans, pasta and lemon. What else do you need to know? Recipe below.

I’ve been not cooking lately. Yes, we’ve been crazy busy at times, with long hours away from home and non-meshing schedules. But it’s been more than that or simple midwinter malaise. I just didn’t seem to be in the mood to get in the kitchen, even when all the ingredients for a particular dish were in the house. I needed a kick in the pants to get over myself. It came in the form of a PBS show. Continue reading “Not a TV dinner, but television-inspired: Chicken Fennel Soup” →

Coleslaw gets a lively makeover with giardiniera and bacon

Giardiniera Slaw with Bacon packs some heat and some surprises, including olive brine. Recipe below.

Johnny’s Grill, an old school diner in our Logan Square neighborhood, closed some time ago. In our nine or so years of living here, it had never seemed to be what you’d call hopping. For that matter, it had never enticed us in. Recently, it has reopened with a gently hipsterish makeover. Same formica counter and red vinyl stools, but the menu, still diner-ish and still reasonably priced, has gotten some cheflike loving. Continue reading “Coleslaw gets a lively makeover with giardiniera and bacon” →

What we’ve been doing instead of cooking

THESE ARE VICTORIAN DOOR BACK PLATES. Until very recently, they were buried under 120+ years of paint, so thickly coated that their exquisite patterns were completely obscured. Not any more. We got them off the doors, and Marion went at them with dangerous chemicals, brass brushes, rags and fierce determination. Continue reading “What we’ve been doing instead of cooking” →

A road trip and Roast Chicken Provençal

Chicken thighs are browned, then roasted with shallots, lemons, garlic and what sounds like way too much herbes de Provence. It isn’t. Recipe below.

Last week, I wrote about how we would spend Christmas. Christmas Eve dinner in Chinatown (at Lao Shanghai—delicious), a movie Christmas day (Spotlight, a surprisingly uplifting film for such a heavy subject) and a simple roast chicken dish for dinner. It was good. The dish you see above was my second attempt, cooked last night with a few tweaks. It was very good. Continue reading “A road trip and Roast Chicken Provençal” →

Traditions and non-food food for thought

Our holiday celebrations are shaping up pretty much the same way they do every year. Well, actually, things have been on the crazy busy side for us lately, even by our standards, so Hanukkah got the most perfunctory nod. But we’ll make up for it by celebrating Christmas as generations of Jewish families have—and as we always do. Continue reading “Traditions and non-food food for thought” →

Comfort with a kick: Roasted Chili Cumin Chicken with Pickled Red Onions

This Mexican street food-inspired dish packs big flavor, but not too much heat. Two recipes from the archives—and a wedding story—below.

At some point, I’m not sure when, Mexican restaurant food became relegated to comfort food status for us. Something we could count on to be reliably good, filling and cheap, but no longer something we got a hankering for. It wasn’t always this way. At one point, Marion and I ate at a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood at least once a week for a year or more. In fact, we went there on our wedding night, before going barhopping with my mom and my brand new sister-in-law. [read more here…]

Black Friday breakfast: Ricotta Pancakes with Sautéed Pears

Thanksgiving was a smashing success (or close enough). Now delight your weekend house guests with Marion’s light, creamy pancakes topped with sautéed fruit. Recipe from the Blue Kitchen archives below.

Thanksgiving is arguably the most important food holiday. Sure, food matters with other holidays, but for Thanksgiving, food is the holiday. For food magazines, the Thanksgiving issue is the September issue of Vogue, and the cover girl is invariably the turkey.

At Blue Kitchen, we prefer to focus on the periphery, providing interesting side dishes that liven up the holiday table. Sweet Potato Vichyssoise for a surprising, elegant first course, Kasha, a non-traditional traditional side in our house that gravy loves every bit as much as mashed potatoes, Potato Gnocchi with Roasted Root Vegetables, a tofu-free vegetarian main course or side… [read more here…]

A sweet Thanksgiving surprise times two: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Another trip into the Blue Kitchen archives as our needed break continues. If you’re looking for an unexpected Thanksgiving dessert, consider Marion’s whoopie pies with pumpkin cookies and two different cream cheese fillings—lemon and maple syrup.

When I told my friends that for this week’s post I would be making whoopie pies, no one said, “Making what?”

Pretty much everybody in the United States these days knows what a whoopie pie is. A cookie sandwich with an icing filling, it’s simpler than cake, a happy intermediate between a cupcake and a sweet bread. Whoopie pies emanated from the American Northeast—Maine (where it is the “official state treat”), Pennsylvania and Boston all vow they invented it. Wikipedia reports that the world’s largest whoopie pie was made in South Portland, Maine in 2011. It weighed 1,062 pounds. This is a real thing, that happened. [Read more here…]

Cooking for one, well done: Lamb Chops, Couscous with Raisins and Onions

While Blue Kitchen is enjoying a short break, we’re sharing favorite recipes from the archives. This week, it’s actually two recipes—Pan-grilled Lamb Chops and Couscous with Raisins and Onions—plus some thoughts on the pleasures of cooking for one.

Shortly after I’d moved to Chicago the first time, I bought a half ham. Trying to figure out what to do with it, I consulted Joy of Cooking, where I was greeted by these cheery words: “Someone defined eternity as a ham and two people.” Standing there alone in the galley kitchen of my tiny studio apartment, I did the math—my half ham and I were in for a long haul. [Read more here…]