Cooking up a lucky start to the new year: Black-eyed Pea Soup with Thyme

Thyme and white wine add a little complexity to hearty black-eyed pea soup.

EATING BLACK-EYED PEAS ON NEW YEAR’S DAY has long been claimed to bring you good luck, especially in Southern culture. One possible explanation for the origin of their status as a good luck meal dates back to the Civil War. When Union soldiers advanced through the South, destroying food crops as they went to hasten the end of the war, they spared black-eyed pea plants, which they called cowpeas, apparently considering them merely livestock food. Continue reading “Cooking up a lucky start to the new year: Black-eyed Pea Soup with Thyme” →

Happy holidays from Blue Kitchen

THE KITCHEN IS CLOSED FOR A SHORT BREAK, traveling to visit family. Enjoy celebrating the holidays deliciously—maybe even at a hot dog stand, if you can find one open.

Lancashire Hotpot—English comfort food for a cold night

Lancashire Hotpot—traditional English food at its most comforting—is made with lamb, onions and carrots topped with sliced potatoes and baked until fork tender.

IT’S NOT EVEN OFFICIALLY WINTER YET, but you wouldn’t know it here in Chicago. Or in a lot of places. But snow and cold and more snow and ice are having us craving warm meat-and-potato meals, stick-to-your-ribs food that ideally requires firing up the oven. Like Lancashire Hotpot. Continue reading “Lancashire Hotpot—English comfort food for a cold night” →

Thanksgiving on the road

Looking Along Broadway Toward Grace Church, Red Grooms, Cleveland Museum of Art

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE WHO CAN REMEMBER, we’re not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but traveling to a potluck celebration with family and friends. We’re still doing some cooking because we can’t not do some cooking. But we’re (and by that, I mean mostly Marion) not doing all of it. Mostly, we’re looking forward to spending time with everyone and enjoying a dazzling array of treats. Including, yes, a turkey. However and wherever you’re celebrating, if you are, we wish you a wonderful day and a wonderful meal. Happy Thanksgiving, all! Check back next week for a new recipe here.

Tasting the world in a Detroit weekend

A RECENT DETROIT WEEKEND REMINDED US YET AGAIN of how much richer migrants make us all—including on our plates. Our daughter and her boyfriend are major explorers of international cuisines in the Detroit area, and we are always happy to tag along, feasting on their finds. Like this Salvadoran pupuseria tucked between a quiet residential neighborhood and an industrial area in the city. The pupusas were amazing, our first time trying them. And the trio making them in the food truck, a family from El Salvador, was friendly, helpful and generous. We left with more food than we ordered, at their insistence. Continue reading “Tasting the world in a Detroit weekend” →

Savoring seasonality: Poulet à la Normande (Normandy Chicken)

This luscious traditional northern French chicken dish, made with apples, apple cider and brandy, is a perfect autumnal meal. Recipe below.

FALL—AND FALL INGREDIENTS—ARE UPON US. For us, it means enjoying being back in the kitchen. This classic French recipe includes both apples and apple cider, true autumnal ingredients. As a bonus, it also calls for turning on the oven, warming the kitchen. Continue reading “Savoring seasonality: Poulet à la Normande (Normandy Chicken)” →

Linguine with Sautéed Fish and Parsley Anchovy Sauce

A bright, savory, umami-rich way to add more seafood to your diet. Recipe below.

ON OUR RECENT TRIP TO BOSTON, our diet consisted mostly of seafood and cannolis. Since we’ve been back, we’ve been craving more seafood in our regular diet. Well, and cannolis too, but our doctor encourages only the former. So when we came across a recipe featuring fresh and tinned fish, and pasta, we were all in. Continue reading “Linguine with Sautéed Fish and Parsley Anchovy Sauce” →

Cabbage and Red Lentil Soup, for cool autumn nights

NEXT MONTH, BLUE KITCHEN TURNS NINETEEN YEARS OLD. And when you’ve been creating recipes as long as we have, you lose track of some (or many) of the things you’ve cooked. The other day, Marion came across a recipe for a soup made with cabbage and lentils. It sounded maybe worth doing something with. When she checked our archives, though, it turned out she’d already made our own version of it, Cabbage and Red Lentil Soup. Continue reading “Cabbage and Red Lentil Soup, for cool autumn nights” →

Notes from the road, eastern time

WE DO LOVE OUR ROAD TRIPS. Our latest took us to Boston, in search of seafood, art and history—and hanging out with friends here. Oysters and lobster were big parts of our mostly seafood diet while we were here. We ate at Neptune Oyster not once, but twice, during our four-day visit. Briny, sweet, creamy oysters and lobster rolls—warm with butter one night, cold with mayo the other, incredibly rich and delicious both nights. Continue reading “Notes from the road, eastern time” →

Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange

Black tea, orange zest and a host of aromatics give Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange a satisfyingly complex taste.

WE DON’T GRILL VERY OFTEN. Not sure why—we love grilled foods, and it’s no harder (or easier, for that matter) than other cooking methods. But over the years, we’ve stumbled across some techniques that have been showstoppers. One is the ancient Chinese technique of tea-smoking. Continue reading “Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange” →