Sweet, savory, quick, delicious: Sweet Potato Sage Pasta with Chicken

A handful of fresh ingredients—sweet potato, sage, onion, garlic and chicken—make a sweet/savory pasta dish that’s weeknight quick. Recipe below.

With holiday excesses behind us, it’s good to get back to quick, simple, everyday cooking. This dish is one of my favorite examples of that kind of cooking, in that involves fresh ingredients, using up leftovers and unexpected synapses firing.

One thing I’ve noticed in writing about food for the past five years or so is that it makes me think about food, a lot. Sometimes it seems that everything I see or read or hear or smell or taste has the potential to inspire some cooking idea. Continue reading “Sweet, savory, quick, delicious: Sweet Potato Sage Pasta with Chicken” →

Fighting food deserts and taking the week off

Holidays, birthdays, houseguests and other pleasant distractions have kept us preoccupied in the kitchen this week. We’ve mainly been whipping up reliable favorites or ordering in pizza to keep everyone fed and happy. So no recipe this week. But don’t worry, we’ll cook up something fresh next week.

Instead, I’d like to tell you about my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. One of the great things about writing pieces for this blog is discovering cool new things in food—everything from chefs to trends, restaurants, cookbooks and people working to help us all eat healthier. Stockbox Grocers is one of the coolest stories I’ve come across in a while. Continue reading “Fighting food deserts and taking the week off” →

The joys of wasting not, wanting not for the holidays: A simple Italian Celery Soup

Leftover celery teams up with chicken, carrots, tomato paste and rice to become Minestra del Sedano, a satisfying meal in a bowl (recipe below). And a pair of utilitarian holiday gifts lead to hidden urban treasure.

This time of year, food magazines, websites and blogs are awash in holiday recipes. How to make the perfect Hanukkah latke or Christmas roast, countless cookie recipes, vegan holiday menus… Sometimes, I’ve jumped into the fray, with Hazelnut Rosemary Jam Cookies, a Cherry Orange Loaf Cake inspired by a gift my grandmother received as a child and even a dinner for two for friends spending their first married Christmas together.

Other years, I’ve skipped recipes in favor of my grandmother’s story, a poem remembered from grade school and even our non-traditional traditional Christmas Eve dinner (and yes, we’re going again this year). Continue reading “The joys of wasting not, wanting not for the holidays: A simple Italian Celery Soup” →

Lamb, onions and potatoes become comfort food with an English accent: Lancashire Hotpot

This take on 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. Recipe below.

DON’T YOU HATE IT WHEN A GOOD MYTH GETS DEBUNKED? Turns out one of Mark Twain’s cooler quotes may never have been uttered by him. I say ‘may’ because while no one can find it in his writings anywhere, they also can’t find anyone else who said it. Continue reading “Lamb, onions and potatoes become comfort food with an English accent: Lancashire Hotpot” →

Kids teaching kids to cook and a Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide

A new web series starring cooking kids is the subject of my latest Character Approved Blog post. And some last-minute holiday gift ideas from the king of the procrastinators.

Our girls were introduced to the kitchen early. I remember Marion sitting on the kitchen floor with them when they were toddlers, mixing bowls and measuring cups spread out around them. The girls would spoon, stir, mix and measure ingredients that would become a gingerbread or cake or some other delicious baked treat.

Lately, getting kids cooking is being seen as a powerful tool for teaching good eating habits. And as the epidemic of childhood obesity and its attendant health risks continue unabated, those good eating habits are more important than ever. Continue reading “Kids teaching kids to cook and a Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide” →

Savoring National Pear Month with Pear Blue Cheese Bacon Pizza

Blue cheese, onion and bacon give pears a savory twist on this pizza. Recipe below.

December seems an odd month to honor any produce that isn’t a root vegetable. At least that’s what I thought until we recently attended a pear-focused luncheon at Chicago’s Blackbird. The event was hosted by Pear Bureau Northwest as part of an eight-city tour aimed primarily at helping people understand how to tell when pears are ripe and ready to eat. More about that later.

We were treated to a four-course meal by Chef de Cuisine David Posey that showcased pears’ versatility, from pear and butternut squash soup with blis char roe enrobed in stout foam to leg of lamb with roasted pears, maitake mushrooms and hearts of palm and, for dessert, warm beignets with butterscotch, spiced brittle, pears and maple ice cream. We were also treated to lively conversation between delicious bites, much of it about food, but only a little of it about pears. Still, we came away knowing a great deal about this popular fruit. Continue reading “Savoring National Pear Month with Pear Blue Cheese Bacon Pizza” →

Small Bites: Recycled homes for baby oysters and Top 10 for 2011

Efforts to restore Chesapeake Bay’s once plentiful oysters and my best attempt at a Top 10 List for food are subjects of recent Character Approved Blog posts.

Ever wonder what becomes of those oyster shells after you’ve slurped the briny, delicious mollusks from them? If you’re dining in a Mid-Atlantic restaurant, chances are they’ll be recycled into homes for spats (baby oysters) in Chesapeake Bay. This year alone, non-profit Oyster Recovery Partnership collected 7 million shells from restaurants, cleaned them up and used them to introduce half a billion spats into the bay.

Oyster Recovery Partnership isn’t just replenishing decimated populations of sustainable seafood—they’re working to restore the health of Chesapeake Bay. Oysters once filtered the waters of the entire bay every few days. Now it takes years. Continue reading “Small Bites: Recycled homes for baby oysters and Top 10 for 2011” →

What the staff eats before the restaurant opens: Baked Mussels with Saffron and Tomatoes

Adapted from a staff meal at Atlanta’s Bacchanalia, mussels are quickly baked over sautéed scallions, garlic, parsley, oregano, saffron and tomatoes. Recipe below.

Open kitchens in restaurants are popular for one reason: We all like a peek behind the culinary curtain into the world of chefs, sous chefs, line cooks and even dishwashers. And I’m not just speaking of high-end restaurants where tables in the kitchen come at a premium price. I remember a lunch years ago at the counter at Heaven on Seven in Chicago, watching line cooks crank out order after order with practiced skill, plating the food beautifully and effortlessly and tossing used skillets, still hot, into a deep stainless sink. The hostess apologized for not having a table for me during the busy lunch hour, but I was in, well, heaven at the counter.

So imagine my delight when I heard about Marissa Guggiana’s new cookbook, Off the Menu: Staff Meals from America’s Top Restaurants, published last month by Welcome Books. This is the ultimate peek behind the curtain. It’s not just watching chefs cook, it’s getting to see what they cook for their staffs before the restaurant opens. Continue reading “What the staff eats before the restaurant opens: Baked Mussels with Saffron and Tomatoes” →

Everyday French made easy: Roasted Shrimp and Green Lentils

Shrimp roasted with garlic, scallions and tarragon tops French green lentils for a quick, satisfying, quintessentially French meal. Recipe below.

For all the complex, multi-stepped recipes that give French cuisine its daunting reputation, everyday French home cooking is filled with countless utterly simple dishes as perfect and impressive in their own way as the hautest restaurant cuisine.

Wini Moranville’s new book, The Bonne Femme Cookbook: Simple, Splendid Food That French Women Cook Every Day, proves this with recipe after recipe. La bonne femme is French for “the good wife,” the introduction tells us, but in French cuisine, “it refers to a style of cooking—namely, the fresh, honest, and simple cuisine served at home, no matter who does the actual cooking, femme, mari (husband), or partenaire domestique (significant other).” Continue reading “Everyday French made easy: Roasted Shrimp and Green Lentils” →

Small Bites: Thanksgiving gets a party makeover and a weeknight secret weapon for your pantry

Juicy, flavorful turkey is the centerpiece of a Thanksgiving cocktail party—this time in the form of sandwiches. And store-bought red sauce that it’s okay to love is the subject of my latest Character Approved Blog post.

Thanksgiving is just about our favorite holiday. No presents to buy, no elaborate ceremonies, just a celebration of food and family. Last week, we attended a pre-Thanksgiving event at the test kitchens of Urban Accents that put a new twist on the holiday for us. The Chicago maker of spice blends, grilling rubs, sauces and seasonings turned the traditional family feast into cocktail party fare to share with friends.

Sweet potato smash crostini, maple-glazed, bacon-wrapped Brussels sprouts lollipops and smoky chipotle roasted pumpkin seeds all captured flavors ingrained in our collective memories since childhood. Shooters of mushroom bisque with crisp green bean garnishes and a sprinkling of crumbled crispy onion stood in for green bean casserole. Continue reading “Small Bites: Thanksgiving gets a party makeover and a weeknight secret weapon for your pantry” →