Moroccan Spice Rub brings big flavor to spring leg of lamb—or chicken, or beef, or pork…

A rub of fragrant spices and herbs—including cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and saffron—creates a crust of exotic Moroccan flavor on a roast leg of American lamb. The versatile Moroccan spice rub can be used with other meats and cooking methods too. Recipe below.

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]L[/su_dropcap]et’s do a little word association. If I say “leg of lamb,” you say… “What, lamb again?” Okay, fair enough—I have been cooking a lot of lamb here lately. But the answer I was looking for was “garlic and rosemary.” When we came into possession of the handsome, hefty [over seven pounds] leg of lamb above, my first thought was the nearly universal default cooking approach: Jam lots of garlic slivers into it, cover it with rosemary and roast it. There’s a good reason that’s a popular go-to recipe—it’s absolutely delicious.

But then I thought it was time to try something different. And for no reason I can explain, a Moroccan spice rub occurred to me.

Traditional Moroccan cuisine is one of the most diverse in the world. Morocco sits on the northern edge of the African continent, a mere eight miles across the Straits of Gibraltar from Europe at its closest point. So its cooking is flavored by Berber, Spanish, Corsican, Portuguese, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African cuisines. Continue reading “Moroccan Spice Rub brings big flavor to spring leg of lamb—or chicken, or beef, or pork…” →

Logan Square Kitchen Pastry Market on Saturday, April events at Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand

Chicago’s Logan Square Kitchen Pastry Market returns with another one-day event of delicious creations by local small-batch pastry artisans, and Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand features a month of events highlighting food grown or produced within 250 miles of Chicago.

Going locavore in Chicago is sweeter than ever these days. In February, we wrote about a pre-Valentine’s Day Pastry Market at Logan Square Kitchen. Well, they’re at it again. This Saturday, April 10, the Logan Square Kitchen Spring Pastry Market will feature a day of pastries, chocolates, caramels, ice cream and more. Most of these treats are not widely available. In fact, many one-of-a-kind items will be created just for this event.

All the vendors featured at this one-day event are local food artisans, most of whom produce their wares in small batches, many producing seasonal items available for only a short time. Continue reading “Logan Square Kitchen Pastry Market on Saturday, April events at Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand” →

American cider, Italian onions: Cider-Braised Chicken with Cipollinis and Sage

Crisp, dry hard cider combines with fresh sage, garlic and chicken broth to create a deliciously complex sauce without a hint of apple, for Cider-Braised Chicken with Cipollinis and Sage. Recipe below.

When we were recently invited to a dinner pairing food with super-premium American hard ciders, I planned to enjoy the food and be a good sport about the cider. I don’t drink beer and am not a real fan of apple juice either, so I merely hoped I could make it through the evening, politely sipping without openly grimacing in the presence of our hosts, Crispin Cider Company.

I needn’t have worried. The four ciders we sampled were delicious. Unlike many ciders, Crispin hard ciders are not styled as a traditional “sweet beer” beer alternative. They are crisp and clean, not sweet and sticky, and meant to be served over ice. From our first sip of their European-style brut—our favorite of the bunch—we knew we’d found a refreshing, light alternative to our go-to summer drink, pinot grigio. Continue reading “American cider, Italian onions: Cider-Braised Chicken with Cipollinis and Sage” →

International Home + Housewares Show 2010: Six great ideas for the kitchen

If you want to see what’s new—and what’s coming—for the kitchen, the International Home + Housewares Show is the place to do it. Every spring, the world’s largest audience of home goods and housewares professionals—more than 60,000 in all—descends upon Chicago’s McCormick Place. Marion and I elbowed our way through the crowds, looking for interesting new tools, gadgets and ideas for home cooks. Here’s what we found.

1. Hot Pot, BODUM Inc.

Perhaps best known for their beautifully practical coffee presses, BODUM brings plenty of functional style to the rest of the kitchen too. These HOT POTS go from the stovetop to the table, from the oven to the fridge. They’re made of heat-resistant borosilicate glass, with flexible silicone lids that can act as both a trivet and pot holder.

You can use HOT POTS in the microwave too. The food-grade silicone lids Continue reading “International Home + Housewares Show 2010: Six great ideas for the kitchen” →

Don’t call this stuff ‘crunch’: Sweet, salty, addictive Matzoh Crack

A new spin on this dangerously delicious Passover dessert, with white chocolate and spicy rose sugar. Recipe and variations below.

OUR FAMILY MAY NOT HAVE EVERY ETHNIC GROUP, BUT WE’VE GOT A LOT OF ’EM. English, Scottish, Polish, Jewish, Cherokee—and that is just a fraction of it. We are part of the portrait of America, the welcome everyone! stream that keeps reviving and renewing and invigorating us all: One family, one people, one house. Continue reading “Don’t call this stuff ‘crunch’: Sweet, salty, addictive Matzoh Crack” →

Earth Hour 2010: This Saturday, you can help save the world by candlelight

Romantic dinners are usually intended to heat things up, but dining by candlelight this Saturday night will actually help fight global warming.

Earth Hour, now in its third year, is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of global warming and the issues of climate change. According to the Earth Hour website, on Saturday, March 27, 2010, at 8:30 p.m. local time, “hundreds of millions of people, organizations, corporations and governments around the world will come together to make a bold statement about their concern for climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour.”

Tasting Table reports that a number of Chicago restaurants are participating, turning out the lights and serving up specials to mark the occasion. But you can celebrate right at home, with your own candlelight dinner. Here are some romantic menu ideas from the Blue Kitchen archives. Continue reading “Earth Hour 2010: This Saturday, you can help save the world by candlelight” →

Braised Lamb Shanks: Honest meaty goodness

Slow-cooked Braised Lamb Shanks, flavored with generous amounts of onions, shallots, garlic and rosemary—a seriously satisfying main course. Recipe below.

I remember the first time I ordered lamb shank in a restaurant. It came out looking like a giant Flintstones club on the plate, impressively [frighteningly?] large and unmistakably honest about its animal origins. I was immediately hooked.

Seafood has in the past given me pause by looking too much like the original creature—I used to be troubled by my dinner staring back at me, for instance. Now, though, I think that if you’re going to eat animal flesh—and I am—you need to respect the animal and own up to what you’re doing. With its protruding shank bone and knobby joint, lamb shank leaves no doubt. Continue reading “Braised Lamb Shanks: Honest meaty goodness” →

Potato Root Vegetable Mash-up: A colorful, flavorful, healthy spin on mashed potatoes

Mashed potatoes, that venerable side dish, gets a lively makeover with sweet potatoes, parsnips and garlic. Recipe below.

Let me start by saying I love mashed potatoes. They can be a creamy, delicious addition to many meals and a blank canvas for many sauces. But they can also become, well, a blond and bland default side dish.

Here’s an easy way to liven things up, visually and tastewise, with two or three simple additions. A few weeks ago, I sang the praises of sweet potatoes when I made Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Shallots. The Center for Science in the Public Interest calls them a “nutritional All-Star—one of the best vegetables you can eat.” Added to mashed potatoes, they bring beautiful color to the plate and their signature sweetness.

Parsnips bring a lot to the nutrition party too. They’re rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants and high in cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber. Parsnips are also a good source of folic acid, which is shown to reduce risk of heart disease, and may help prevent dementia and osteoporosis. Continue reading “Potato Root Vegetable Mash-up: A colorful, flavorful, healthy spin on mashed potatoes” →

Broccoli Rabe with Pasta: An underappreciated winter green becomes a show-stealing side

Sautéed with prosciutto, garlic and crushed red pepper, broccoli rabe combines with Cannellini beans and small pasta to become a standout side or a satisfying meal in its own right. Recipe below, with a vegetarian variation.

A recent Sunday found us at Quartino having lunch with Marion’s sister Lena. Just off Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, Quartino specializes in “authentic Italian small plates” and pizza. With painstaking attention to architectural detail, the comfortable, rambling space feels as if it’s been around far longer than the less than five years it’s been open. Just as much attention is paid to the food. We ordered a pizza and three small plates to share. All were delicious.

Interestingly, though, the scene stealer was an unassuming little dish of broccoli rabe, made with red chili, garlic, onion, olive oil and pork stock. Before we’d even paid the check, I knew I would be doing something with this multi-named, misnamed winter green.

Broccoli rabe [rob] or rapini [rah-PEE-nee], also called “raab, rapa, rapine, rappi, rappone, fall and spring raab, turnip broccoli, taitcat, Italian or Chinese broccoli, broccoli rape, broccoli de rabe, Italian turnip and turnip broccoli,” according to What’s Cooking America, isn’t related to broccoli at all. It’s actually a relative of turnips and cabbage. Enjoyed throughout the Mediterranean and China, it is used extensively in Chinese and Italian cuisine. And it’s finally gaining popularity here in the United States. Continue reading “Broccoli Rabe with Pasta: An underappreciated winter green becomes a show-stealing side” →