Savory with a subtle sweet touch: Braised Chicken with Prunes and Onions

This braised chicken dish combines prunes, onions, sage, bay leaf, garlic, apple juice and a little sherry vinegar for a delicious weeknight-quick meal. Recipe below.

Summer’s bounty has disappeared from produce shelves. Berries, apricots, peaches and plums have been supplanted by a sea of apples, pears and more apples. But in another section of the store, you’ll find many of your summer favorites in a long-lasting, shelf stable form: dried. When dried, apricots, grapes, plums and more provide chewy, flavor-intense snacks to be enjoyed as is. Add them to a savory braise, though, and they achieve a whole new level. They plump up and soften. Flavors mellow and blend. Continue reading “Savory with a subtle sweet touch: Braised Chicken with Prunes and Onions” →

Banana Pecan Bread and contemplating why good is apparently no longer good enough

This simple Banana Pecan Bread is perfect for baking—and sharing—on a chilly fall weekend. Recipe below.

THIS BREAD WASN’T MEANT TO BE FEATURED HERE. We just had some bananas on their way to becoming a science experiment. I’d planned to make my Mango Banana Bread, but balked at spending $1.99 for a mango at the supermarket. At the Mexican produce market in our neighborhood, where we usually find better prices, they’re currently $2.49! So I decided a simple banana bread with pecans would be good. And that got me thinking how good is somehow not good enough these days. Continue reading “Banana Pecan Bread and contemplating why good is apparently no longer good enough” →

Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Spinach, unstuffed

One-pan simple and weeknight-quick, pork chops are browned, then finished in a braise of mushrooms, spinach, onion, tarragon, garlic and lemon juice. Recipe below.

We’ve been eating a lot of spinach lately. Sometimes in salads, but mostly quickly sautéed until just wilted with butter, olive oil, garlic and salt. Maybe a grind of pepper, if we remember. Eating spinach this way makes me sad that I spent my whole childhood hating it. So when I found myself with spinach, mushrooms and pork chops the other day, I thought they needed to get cooked together. Continue reading “Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Spinach, unstuffed” →

Six soups, stews and other fall comfort foods

We’re big fans of wet food, especially when cool weather settles in for the season. Sauces and broths add warmth and comfort to any meal. Here are six soups, stews and other wet food favorites from the Blue Kitchen archives. Continue reading “Six soups, stews and other fall comfort foods” →

Serious flavor for cool temperatures: Braised Chicken with Artichokes and Olives

Bacon, marinated artichoke hearts, olives, garlic and lemon juice and zest combine with chicken drumsticks and thighs in this big-flavored braise. Recipe below.

WE TURNED ON THE HEAT FOR THE FIRST TIME this fall a few days ago. It’s been unseasonably cool lately in Chicago, and that has prompted complaints from some. Not from me. This is cooking weather for me—not just because it’s cooler in the kitchen, but because we can finally turn away from light summer fare and get back to the good stuff. Roasts. Stews. And robust braises like this one. Continue reading “Serious flavor for cool temperatures: Braised Chicken with Artichokes and Olives” →

Sweet, spicy taste of summer: Peach Habanero Tarragon Butter

Peach Habanero Tarragon Butter adds a lively kick to toasts with goat cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, plain Greek yogurt and more. Recipe below.

Peach Habanero Butter with Tarragon — Peach Habanero Tarragon Butter

I REMEMBER BEING SUSPICIOUS OF APPLE BUTTER AS A KID. We were mostly a margarine family, but I still wondered how you could call something butter if it had no butter in it. And yes, I ate peanut butter pretty much every day, but that was different. Continue reading “Sweet, spicy taste of summer: Peach Habanero Tarragon Butter” →

Cooking from the yard: Grilled Chicken with Lemon Sage Butter

Chicken is basted with butter, lemon juice and fresh sage, then cooked using both direct and indirect grilling. Recipe below.

I often say I would be a lousy farmer. And by that, I specifically mean that if I had to grow my own food, I would starve to death. Not so, Marion. Over the years, she has grown many of the foods we’ve eaten—and the flowers that have dressed the dinner table—usually in the confines of a smallish backyard. This year, though, her efforts were limited to a number of herbs, several varieties of tomatoes and some habanero peppers. So when we sat down with our guests on Labor Day, we were surprised to see just how much of our dinner had come from our backyard. Continue reading “Cooking from the yard: Grilled Chicken with Lemon Sage Butter” →

Cooking from the garden: Linguine with Tomatoes, Ricotta and Basil

Tomatoes and basil from the garden (or the farmers market) combine with ricotta cheese and linguine for a quick, creamy vegetarian dinner. Recipe below.

It’s August, and that can only mean one thing. Food websites and blogs everywhere are telling you how to use up all the tomatoes that are filling your garden, CSA box or farmers market. Sounds good to me. Here’s a quick, simple pasta dish that will also help you use up some of your excess fresh basil. Continue reading “Cooking from the garden: Linguine with Tomatoes, Ricotta and Basil” →

Bold spices deliver big flavor (and a little heat) with Stir-fried Masala Fish and Okra

White-fleshed fish and okra are quickly stir-fried with garam masala, cumin seeds and other spices, then served over rice with coconut milk and cumin for a big-flavored, slightly spicy meal. Recipes below.

At the heart of Indian cuisine is a deft and exuberant use of spices. While some are used for heat, many simply supply huge, complex flavor. And at the heart of Indian spices is garam masala, a spice blend that sees almost daily use in Northern Indian kitchens—and in many South Asian kitchens as well. Typically, it is made fresh from family recipes for each day’s cooking. Though the mix varies regionally—and from kitchen to kitchen—it often includes some variation of peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, cumin seeds, nutmeg and cardamom. Continue reading “Bold spices deliver big flavor (and a little heat) with Stir-fried Masala Fish and Okra” →

Just say no to stemless wineglasses

An admittedly biased (and sometimes not so biased) rant on why to avoid stemless wineglasses.

IN THE 1970s, SHELL GAS STATIONS gave out NFL goblets with fill ups. My mom’s kitchen cabinet quickly became filled with them. They were free, after all, and their smoked tint—all the rage at the time—made them a step up from the Flintstone jelly glasses they pushed aside. Today when I see stemless wineglasses, I can’t help but see the ghost of those gas station goblets. Continue reading “Just say no to stemless wineglasses” →