Big on comfort, easy on the heat: Tomatillo Chicken/Turkey Chili

The traditional bowl of red turns green and lightens up, as tomatillos replace tomatoes and chicken and turkey stand in for beef. Recipe below.

TOmatillo Chicken Turkey Chili

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]C[/su_dropcap]hili. For many, it’s over-the-top flavor pyrotechnics. Or “I dare you” fiery hot. To us, chili is comfort food. Like a good stew or soup. Subtle complexity rather than giant flavors, heartily satisfying. You know, comforting. This tomatillo-based turkey/chicken chili checks all those boxes and then some. Continue reading “Big on comfort, easy on the heat: Tomatillo Chicken/Turkey Chili” →

The classic Sicilian dish named for an opera: Pasta alla Norma

Pasta alla Norma, a beloved traditional dish, gets its name from a Bellini opera—and an update with Japanese eggplant. Recipe below.

Pasta alla Norma

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e’ve been doing a lot of harvesting and prepping of crops from our modest city yard. Last weekend, Terry brought in all the remaining basil and put up a bunch of pesto. I froze a flock of shishito peppers. We are drying herbs, and I am pondering whether to dry some tomatoes or just continue my usual policy of eating and eating and eating them out of hand while standing next to the tomato plants. Continue reading “The classic Sicilian dish named for an opera: Pasta alla Norma” →

A nicely busy Sunday ends with simple, smoky goodness: Dijon Grilled Chicken Thighs

Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, garlic, tarragon and thyme and good, hot coals add up to smoky chicken thighs with a subtle European accent. Recipe below.

Dijon Grilled Chicken Thighs

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]L[/su_dropcap]ast Sunday was Father’s Day. I mention this only because last Sunday, we went to a big box hardware store to pick up some garden supplies and something I’d thought of last minute. The parking lot was jammed, busier than we’d ever seen it. Likewise the store aisles. At first, we didn’t know what was going on. Then we realized—it was dads. Continue reading “A nicely busy Sunday ends with simple, smoky goodness: Dijon Grilled Chicken Thighs” →

The Korean-Italian mashup you’ll set on repeat: Kimchi Carbonara Linguine

Pasta carbonara, a bacon-rich Italian favorite, gets a cross-cultural makeover with kimchi, Korea’s national dish. Recipe below.

Linguine Kimchi Carbonara

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]C[/su_dropcap]arbonara is one of nature’s perfect foods. Whatever recipe you follow, it involves bacon (or some sort of fatty pork), vegetables and aromatics cooked in bacon fat, pasta, cheese and eggs. Sometimes cream, sometimes not. Like I said, perfect. And now we’ve discovered something that makes it more perfect. Continue reading “The Korean-Italian mashup you’ll set on repeat: Kimchi Carbonara Linguine” →

A new way to love our favorite cheap cut: Chinese-style Short Ribs

Hoisin sauce, ginger, garlic and scallions help flavor these hearty short ribs. You can cook them quickly in your Instant Pot—or braise them slowly in the oven. Recipe below.

WE HAVE COOKED SHORT RIBS SO MANY TIMES, SO MANY WAYS. So when we had dinner guests coming this weekend and spotted beautiful flanken-cut ribs at the meat market, I wondered if I could find a new way to cook them. The answer, of course, was yes. Continue reading “A new way to love our favorite cheap cut: Chinese-style Short Ribs” →

The seriously foolproof Pork Shoulder Roast

A handful of simple ingredients and even simpler prep and cooking deliver a tender, juicy, wonderfully flavorful pork roast. Recipe below.

WHEN MAKING ROASTS IN THE OVEN, one challenge recipes invariably address (with varying degrees of success) is how to keep the meat from drying out or becoming tough—or both. Beef roasts are particularly prone to these issues, especially the cheap cuts. Not so with pork shoulder roasts. This flavorful cheap cut comes out juicy and tender with practically no fuss at all. And as a bonus, it tastes like you worked really hard to get it just so. Continue reading “The seriously foolproof Pork Shoulder Roast” →

Authentic Indian cooking deliciously decoded: Dal Makhani (Buttery Black Lentils)

Make this flavorful, spicy vegetarian main dish in your slow cooker—you can start it in the morning, then return home to a heavenly fragrance and meal. Recipe below.

OUR WONDERFUL FRIEND ANUPY SINGLA IS A POWERHOUSE. Prolific blogger (over at Indian as Apple Pie), author of numerous cookbooks that make Indian food accessible for the American kitchen and entrepreneur with a bustling company offering delicious Indian ingredients to make the whole thing even easier. Continue reading “Authentic Indian cooking deliciously decoded: Dal Makhani (Buttery Black Lentils)” →

Cooking up a great bowl of red (or white or green): Four Chili recipes

Marion's Chili

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e just got back from a lovely weekend of too much driving, eating out and staying up late. So when we were finally back home in our kitchen, I craved a restorative bowl of chili. Specifically, Marion’s go-to recipe. That got me thinking about some of the various chili recipes we like to make and eat. Here are four of them. Continue reading “Cooking up a great bowl of red (or white or green): Four Chili recipes” →

Liven up your staples and your dinner: “Old Godmother” Oven-braised Chicken

A handful of Asian pantry/fridge staples turns chicken thighs into a delicious, weeknight-quick dinner. Recipe below.

“Old Godmother” Oven-braised Chicken

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]H[/su_dropcap]ere is a very simple, very tasty weeknight dish. So simple, in fact, that we thought it was only going to be dinner, not a post. But as it baked in the oven, the aroma filling the kitchen told us we should photograph it, just in case. Continue reading “Liven up your staples and your dinner: “Old Godmother” Oven-braised Chicken” →

How the French do rustic: Chicken Chasseur (Hunter’s Chicken)

Chicken, mushrooms and tomatoes are at the heart of this rustic, one-pot dinner, traditionally cooked by French hunters. Recipe below.

Chicken Chasseur

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]L[/su_dropcap]ast week’s recipe, Marion’s Polish Hunter’s Stew, came about because John over at Kitchen Riffs shared a recipe for an Italian hunter’s dish, Chicken Cacciatore. When I saw it, I realized Marion had never made bigos for the blog and put in a request. (We’ll share a link to John’s recipe in the Kitchen Notes below.) So when I saw a French hunter’s dish somewhere else, I of course had to make it. Continue reading “How the French do rustic: Chicken Chasseur (Hunter’s Chicken)” →