The (sort of) French connection: Grilled Lamb Chops with Lavender

Fresh lavender blossoms, rosemary, thyme and garlic deliver complex depth with a slight French accent to Grilled Lamb Chops with Lavender. Recipe below.

Cooking with lavender got me thinking about some of the strange things we humans put in our mouths. Whether out of desperation or sheer culinary curiosity, we’ve eaten just about everything, from grasshoppers to poisonous blowfish, stinging nettles and even Marmite. And while much has been comedically made of how hungry the first person to eat a lobster must have been, I’m far more impressed that anyone ever decided that there might be something worth eating inside a sea urchin.

By comparison, cooking with lavender seems downright tame. Continue reading “The (sort of) French connection: Grilled Lamb Chops with Lavender” →

BODUM’s colorful new knife holder is no chip off the old knife block

The unboring, unblocky BODUM Bistro Universal Knife Block is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post.

One of the biggest problems in most kitchens is storage. More precisely, the lack of enough of it. For many home cooks, storing knives is one of the toughest challenges. You need them readily available when you’re cooking, but you also need them some place safe—both for you and the blades.

For years, wooden knife blocks have been the answer. The chunky, counter space-gobbling answer. And if you’ve built your knife collection one carefully chosen knife at a time (the best way to do it, by the way), chances are the knife block’s pre-cut slots won’t perfectly accommodate your collection. Enter BODUM’s Bistro Universal Knife Block. Continue reading “BODUM’s colorful new knife holder is no chip off the old knife block” →

Cooking in Cabo: Zucchini Tomato Goulash

Inspired by a cooking class on an organic farm in Los Cabos, Mexico, this hearty goulash combines zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, jalapeño peppers and ricotta cheese to create a lively side dish or vegetarian meal. Recipe below.

You know how when you’re traveling and one of the locals asks where you’re from, then says wistfully, “Wow, I’ve always wanted to go there”? I didn’t get that once in Los Cabos. Not once. And I live in Chicago, a place I consider capable of generating a certain amount of destination envy.

I was in Los Cabos a few weeks ago, at the southernmost tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, on a culinary press trip to explore the foodie side of this popular tourist destination. Continue reading “Cooking in Cabo: Zucchini Tomato Goulash” →

Small Bites: A farm built by sheep, and craft beers team up with a food truck

The unexpected making of Mint Creek Farm is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post. And Half Acre Beer Company and Gaztro-Wagon team up for one delicious night.

We’ve been buying lamb (and on occasion, mutton and goat) from Mint Creek Farm for a couple of years now. Mostly, we pick it up at farmers markets here in Chicago and always seem to get into great conversations about the farm with whoever’s working the booth. Still, when I decided to write about their certified organic farm in downstate Illinois for the USA Character Approved Blog, I thought it would be worth checking in with someone at the farm to see what was new. As luck would have it, soon I was on the phone with Harry Carr. He and his wife Gwen started the farm almost 20 years ago, and Harry has a reputation for having a way with a story. Continue reading “Small Bites: A farm built by sheep, and craft beers team up with a food truck” →

Five cool grilling recipes for the long, hot summer

From tea-smoked chicken to lamb feta burgers and a classic Alabama white sauce, here are five great recipes to liven up your summer grilling.

For Americans everywhere, the 4th of July weekend is a time to declare independence from the kitchen stove and fire up the grill. For Marion and me, this weekend was more about the freedom of the road—some 700 miles of it, without a kitchen in sight. So this week, I’m serving up grilling recipes from the Blue Kitchen archives.

1. Grilled Lamb Feta Burgers with Light Rémoulade

This is a truly American burger, in that it happily borrows ingredients from other cultures and then reinvents them. Continue reading “Five cool grilling recipes for the long, hot summer” →

Medium Rare: Well done steaks and wine in DC

A neighborhood restaurant that lets you choose your wine, but not your dinner, is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post.

One of life’s most exquisite little pleasures for me is a neighborhood bistro with steak frites on the menu. Unfortunately, such bistros will often have duck confit, lamb shanks or other alluring carnivorous delights on the menu as well. And then I’m sunk decisionwise. I think I may need to move to our nation’s capital. Medium Rare opened there this spring with a single entree choice on its menu. Continue reading “Medium Rare: Well done steaks and wine in DC” →

No-fry zone: These Korean Style Chicken Wings are roasted, not fried

Korean hot pepper paste, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger make oven roasted Korean Style Chicken Wings a flavorful appetizer, main course or bar snack. Recipe below.

The first time we had Korean fried chicken wings, we were at a rooftop bar in Manhattan. It was the Mé Bar on the 14th floor of the La Quinta Manhattan in Koreatown, with the Empire State Building rising high above us just a block away. And it was a single wing, generously pressed upon us by a table of enterprising New Yorkers who’d had them delivered to the bar (New Yorkers seem to be able to get just about anything delivered just about anywhere). We had smelled something spicy and delicious and asked what it was. They insisted we sample one.

The next day, we headed to the source for lunch—Kyochon Chicken, at Fifth Avenue and 32nd Street. Continue reading “No-fry zone: These Korean Style Chicken Wings are roasted, not fried” →

Small Bites: Ice cream trucks, Seattle street food moves inside and how to cook like a Momofuku

Three recent posts on USA Network’s Character approved Blog cover a lot of ground—and flavors.

Ice cream trucks loom large in our collective summer memory bank. Who hasn’t urgently pleaded for ice cream money from whichever parent was the softer touch when the siren song of the Mister Softee truck or the Bomb Pop guy caught our ear?

A diminishing number of these old school trucks still prowl the streets of some neighborhoods, but a new breed of ice cream trucks is serving up artisanal ice creams in exotic flavors, made from carefully sourced ingredients. Continue reading “Small Bites: Ice cream trucks, Seattle street food moves inside and how to cook like a Momofuku” →

Sustainable and mayo-free: Tilapia Fish Tacos

Chunks of pan seared tilapia fillets seasoned with chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and lime juice are topped with cilantro, tomatoes and green onions for a healthy, flavorful meal. Recipe below.

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]I[/su_dropcap] like fish. I like tacos. So why has the charm of fish tacos always eluded me? Maybe it’s the fact that mayonnaise is used in so many recipes. I do use mayo on occasion (and appreciate its creamy tanginess every time I do), but putting it on fish tacos sounds like tuna salad in a tortilla to me. Some recipes even call for chopped cabbage—tuna salad and coleslaw in a tortilla.

Recently, though, two mayonnaise-free events had me reconsidering fish tacos. The first was in New York. Continue reading “Sustainable and mayo-free: Tilapia Fish Tacos” →

Enjoying the return of berries with a simple Berry Blue Cheese Watercress Salad

Blueberries, raspberries, watercress, butter lettuce and blue cheese all shine in this simple salad. Recipe below.

Berries are suddenly abundant in the supermarket—and therefore in our fridge. After not having them for so long, or else having them be too well traveled and hideously expensive to consider, we can’t seem to go to the store now without bringing some home.

Looking for ways to use up some of the unexpected bounty, I started thinking of salads. Nothing exuberant and overly busy, just something simple that would let the berries—and everything else—shine. When I first started eating salads—willingly, I mean—I viewed lettuce as nothing more than a vehicle for multiple ladles of gloppy, sweet dressing. Then I dallied with salad bars and their countless edible doodads and distractions for a while. Continue reading “Enjoying the return of berries with a simple Berry Blue Cheese Watercress Salad” →