Small Bites: Growing new farmers and the Beard Foundation celebrates the “Best of the Best”

Stone Barns Center’s efforts to mentor young farmers and a new cookbook celebrating winners of the James Beard Foundation’s annual Outstanding Chef Award are the subjects of recent USA Character Approved Blog posts.

How you gonna keep them down on the farm? As America’s population of farmers ages, this question is keeping some food producers—and consumers—awake nights. The average age of American farmers is now 57. In Medium Raw, Anthony Bourdain makes the point that even if we “bring monstrously evil agribusinesses” to their knees and free up “vast tracts of arable land for small, seasonal, sustainable farming,” we don’t have enough people actually willing to farm. The Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is working to change that. Continue reading “Small Bites: Growing new farmers and the Beard Foundation celebrates the “Best of the Best”” →

Quick comfort: Meat and potatoes (and kale)

Nutrient-rich kale and turkey sausage give Braised Kale with Potatoes and Sausage a lighter, healthier touch while keeping it totally in the comfort food category. Recipe below.

Looking back over recent posts, I noticed a distinct lack of meat-and-potatoes, stick-to-your-ribs food. In fact, the entire month of March had somehow been, if not meat-free, then certainly meat light. So a return of seasonably chilly, windy weather had me thinking meat-and-potatoes comfort food. Happily, a big bunch of kale in the fridge gave me an idea for taking it in a healthy direction too.

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse. The winter vegetable is excellent source of cancer-fighting antioxidant vitamins A, C and K. Kale is also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin compounds, both good for eye health, and a good source of minerals. It’s high in fiber too and can help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Continue reading “Quick comfort: Meat and potatoes (and kale)” →

East meets Eastern Europe: Pierogi made with wonton wrappers

Purchased wonton wrappers make these Pork and Sweet Potato Pierogi (left) and Apple and Goat Cheese Pierogi quicker to assemble and deliciously light and crispy. Recipes below.

Marion grew up eating pierogi. I had never heard of them until we met. So this week, I’m turning the kitchen over to her, so she can share her modern take on these delicious dumplings.

What culture does not approve of a stuffed dumpling? Shiu mai, won ton, mandu, maultaschen, pelmeni, gyoza. Buuz. Apple dumplings. Ravioli. As Alan Davidson says, “A dumpling is a food with few, indeed no, social pretensions, and of such simplicity that it may plausibly be supposed to have evolved independently in the peasant cuisines of various parts of Europe and probably in other parts of the world too.”

For me, the heart of the matter is pierogi. My mother’s pierogi were wonderful—the dough just right, light and thin and not too gluey or grossly thick, and always filled with the classics: Plain mashed potato; cooked, drained ground beef; and, in summer, blueberries. She served them with a little melted butter and a spoonful of sour cream, and it was heaven. I never had that great Polish-American variation, the pierog with potato and cheddar filling, until I moved to Chicago, but I think my mother would have approved. Continue reading “East meets Eastern Europe: Pierogi made with wonton wrappers” →

Small Bites: Fight climate change in the dark and alternative spring breaks

Turn out the lights this Saturday night for Earth Hour. And students spending their spring breaks fighting hunger and supporting sustainable food are the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post.

In 2007, 2.2 million people and more than 2,000 businesses in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for one hour, marking the first Earth Hour. Last year, more than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also marked the start of something new—going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action on climate change.

Earth Hour is organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and encourage people to live in harmony with nature. Continue reading “Small Bites: Fight climate change in the dark and alternative spring breaks” →

A delicate balance of New England shellfish, world flavors: Curried Mussels with Cilantro

Curry powder, garlic, shallots, coconut milk, wine and cilantro blend into a surprisingly delicate broth for steamed mussels. Recipe below.

One of the things I love about cooking is the prep work, getting everything chopped, minced, measured and ready to go. I still remember the first time, years ago, that I did a proper mise en place, organizing everything I would need before turning on the flame under the pan. Seeing the five or six little bowls of ingredients lined up on the counter, I could tell I had taken a step forward in my cooking.

An added bonus of doing the prep work, certainly with this dish, is all the wonderful aromas that take over. Garlic, shallot, cilantro, the lemongrass as you smash it with the side of the knife, the curry powder as you spoon it into a waiting ramekin… Their fragrances come in waves as you work, layering together and hinting at the flavors you’ll soon be enjoying. Continue reading “A delicate balance of New England shellfish, world flavors: Curried Mussels with Cilantro” →

Small Bites: Pressure cookers rehabilitated and a fruitful life in food

Modern, non-exploding (and even programmable) pressure cookers and celebrating Women’s History Month with the woman who launched Julia Child’s career are the subjects of recent USA Character Approved Blog posts.

My mom had a pressure cooker. She loved it. But for the rest of us, it was kind of like having Mt. Vesuvius in your kitchen. You didn’t know when it was going to blow, but you knew it would be bad. More than once, I remember my mom cleaning stew or pot roast or something off the kitchen ceiling. She took it in stride. Mom took lots of stuff in stride, as I recall.

Still, I have to think she’d love the new generation of pressure cookers. They’re just as efficient at cooking foods up to 70 percent faster and don’t involve as much potential drama. Find out more about these classic timesavers made safe in my latest post on the USA Character Approved Blog. Continue reading “Small Bites: Pressure cookers rehabilitated and a fruitful life in food” →

Simply impressive starter: Sautéed Belgian Endive with Bacon and Goat Cheese

Elegant looks and sophisticated flavors make this surprisingly simple first course a fun way to kick off dinner. Recipe below.

I often say that inspiration for a recipe can come from just about anywhere. But two ideas from a single source is a rare piece of luck. The same informal dinner party that sparked last week’s dessert of sautéed pears with thyme and ice cream was also responsible for this easy, elegant starter.

That meal had started with my never fail endive salad with blue cheese and pecans. As many times as I’ve served this shared dish, no one has ever just taken a single polite bite and then leaned back to let others finish it. To a person, every diner has remained, shall we say, engaged until the plate was clean. Finally, I decided it was time to find another way to use Belgian endive. Continue reading “Simply impressive starter: Sautéed Belgian Endive with Bacon and Goat Cheese” →

Fruit as the dessert course: Sautéed Pears with Thyme and Ice Cream

Pear slices sautéed with butter and fresh thyme and topped with ice cream and lemon zest create a fresh, decadent dessert. Recipe below.

Sometimes, dinner parties can be all glossy and elaborate, with candlelight, multiple extravagant courses and multiple opportunities to overindulge. And while this dessert would hold its own in that setting, it came out of the other kind of dinner party. The over-the-top informal kind that can only be shared with really old friends—and that is every bit as much fun.

We spent Sunday afternoon wandering around the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing with our friend Casey. We’ve known her longer than we’ve known our own daughters, so when we got back to our apartment, we were totally comfortable convening in the kitchen to throw together a simple dinner. Continue reading “Fruit as the dessert course: Sautéed Pears with Thyme and Ice Cream” →

A hearty winter meal with a hint of spring: Lamb Thyme Meatballs with Vegetables

Lamb meatballs, peas, carrots and potato wedges, all flavored with fresh thyme, satisfy in winter, taste like spring. Recipe below.

Last week’s recipe was inspired by boredom. This week’s was born of disaster. I spent much of Sunday afternoon in the kitchen, filling it—and the entire apartment, in fact—with heavenly smells, if I say so myself. The taste of the finished dish delivered on the aroma, and the dish was acceptably photogenic. Sadly, it was also irreparably dry and chewy.

At moments like this, I sometimes question what I’m doing here in the food blogosphere. On occasion, as on Sunday night when I lay in bed wondering what I was going to do now for a post, the question takes a succinct and, well, non-question form: “I suck.” Continue reading “A hearty winter meal with a hint of spring: Lamb Thyme Meatballs with Vegetables” →

Black History Month: Two chefs trade restaurant kitchens for activism

As Black History Month draws to a close, two chefs who’ve taken very different career paths—one trying to turn at-risk youth around, the other trying to turn nutritionally at-risk communities around—are subjects of recent USA Character Approved Blog posts.

Many chefs are exposed to cooking and what will become their careers in their mother’s or grandmother’s kitchens. For Jeff Henderson, it was a prison kitchen. He was serving a ten-year sentence for drug trafficking and was assigned to kitchen duty as punishment. That punishment turned his life around. He quickly discovered a passion for cooking and developed a head for business.

Upon his release from prison, Henderson talked his way into a dishwashing job in the new Los Angeles restaurant of a prominent African American chef. From there, he eventually worked his way up to Chef de Cuisine for the restaurants of Caesar’s Palace. Then he walked away from it all. Continue reading “Black History Month: Two chefs trade restaurant kitchens for activism” →