Refreshing the taste of comfort: Pork Meatballs with Juniper Berries

Juniper berries add a subtle, light freshness to pork meatballs. Wine, sherry and sour cream create a simple sauce. Recipes below.

This weird and messy winter just won’t quit us. Today it is a pleasant 50 degrees, and sunny, and all our windows are open. But Saturday was cheerless and frigid, and not that far in our future is “damp and raw,” “periods of rain” and even a nasty “wintry mix.”

The term wintry mix always sounds so dull and industrial. And it always makes me remember Sonny Eliot, a “weathercaster” in the Detroit of my youth, who brought the spirit of playfulness to TV reporting. Continue reading “Refreshing the taste of comfort: Pork Meatballs with Juniper Berries” →

Butterflies and a taste of spring: Farfalle with Peas, Bacon and Sage Butter

Farfalle—butterflies in Italian—is tossed with peas, bacon, butter, sage, lemon juice and zest and Parmesan. Recipe below.

Circumstances converge, synapses fire. And sometimes, recipes happen. Recently, we were at the International Home + Housewares Show here in Chicago. We try to go every year, looking for new kitchen tools and trends. (In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing various finds from this year’s show.)

There are always big, exciting discoveries and great conversations at the show. But there are also little asides, quiet incidental moments that we almost miss. One happened at Eataly’s booth. The giant purveyor of all things food and Italian opened a Chicago outpost this winter, as Marion reported here. At their Housewares Show booth, they were showcasing some of their wares and brewing up cups of amazing espresso. As Marion chatted with the barista, I picked up a recipe card. It was for squash-filled ravioli in a sage butter sauce. I ignored the ravioli and stowed the simple sauce (sage leaves browned in butter and mixed with reserved pasta water) away in my head for a future pasta dish idea. Continue reading “Butterflies and a taste of spring: Farfalle with Peas, Bacon and Sage Butter” →

Chicken Piccata, buttery and lemon bright

Based on the classic Italian dish veal piccata. Chicken breast fillets, pounded thin and sautéed in butter and oil, are topped with a piquant sauce of butter, wine, lemons, capers and parsley. Recipe below.

It’s week three of Butterfest at Blue Kitchen. Last week, my Hake with Lentils and Sage Mustard Butter had five and a half tablespoons of butter. And while Marion’s Chevre Cheesecake with Hazelnut Crust two weeks ago only used two tablespoons, dairy was otherwise well represented, with cream cheese, goat cheese and sour cream.

Based on the classic Italian dish veal piccata, this chicken piccata recipe requires a rather modest half stick of butter, four tablespoons. And requires is the operative term here—the buttery richness plays beautifully against the tart brightness of the capers and lemons. Continue reading “Chicken Piccata, buttery and lemon bright” →

A French twist: Hake with Lentils and Sage Mustard Butter

In this take on the classic French recipe Saumon aux Lentilles, mild white-fleshed fish and sage stand in for salmon and tarragon. Recipe below.

Julia Child famously said, “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” We’re not afraid of butter. We use an impressive amount, especially given how little we bake. But when I started researching the classic French dish of salmon with lentils and mustard-herb butter, I was still taken aback by how much butter was called for.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t just the volume of butter—eight tablespoons, a stick of butter, divided among the various components. It’s that this dish was fish. And lentils. These are not foods one generally associates with such exuberant use of butter. Continue reading “A French twist: Hake with Lentils and Sage Mustard Butter” →

Dinner fit for winter’s apparently endless tale: Mustard-glazed Pork Loin Roast

A pork loin roast is coated with a glaze of Dijon mustard, rosemary, shallot and garlic, allowed to marinate for several hours, then roasted until just cooked through. Recipe below.

We are so over winter. Two weeks ago, I reported here that we were already a foot over our annual average of three feet of snow. We have now had more than five feet of snow, and we’re not done.

The only good thing I can say about the weather is that it encourages firing up the oven and roasting savory cuts of meat. The warmth fills the entire apartment, as do wonderful, meaty fragrances. Chickens, beef pot roasts and, when I’m feeling flush, legs of lamb all spring to mind when I’m ready to roast. Somehow, though, as much as I cook with pork, I seldom think of it as a roast. This weekend, I decided it was time to fix that. Continue reading “Dinner fit for winter’s apparently endless tale: Mustard-glazed Pork Loin Roast” →

Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts, Sausage and Olives, with a side of New York City

Pantry and freezer staples—jarred marinated artichoke hearts, green olives, Italian sausage, tomato paste and pasta—create a weeknight-quick, rustic Italian meal. Recipe below.

New York is a feast every time we’re there. On arrival, it puts our senses on high alert and keeps them there, in a good way, until we leave. There is always something to see, hear, do… always.

Our recent four-day visit was no exception. As always, we arrived with an overly ambitious list of things to do. As always, some went undone, often replaced by new things we learned about on the fly. And as always, the longest part of the list was devoted to art. Continue reading “Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts, Sausage and Olives, with a side of New York City” →

Inspired by lunch at Eataly: Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Wilted Kale

Sweet potato gnocchi are quickly sautéed in butter, giving them a beautiful color and a lovely, nutty flavor. Then they’re tossed with kale cooked with garlic, shallots and red pepper flakes. Recipe below.

Last weekend, our family plans fell through, leaving us with two marvelous open days of no plans at all. We were cheerfully meandering around town when we realized that we had not yet been to Eataly Chicago. All those stories of long lines and frenzied crowds had kept us away—during their first week in early December, they had a stunning 120,000 visitors. By the time of our visit on Saturday for lunch, it was bustling, but not as frenetic as the smaller New York store has been every time we’ve visited. And everywhere we looked, people were relaxed and happy, having a wonderful time and glad to be there.

We lunched at La Piazza, standing at a tiny communal table. Bread and olive oil appeared almost immediately, followed by glasses of Italian wine—a chardonnay for Terry, a prosecco for me. We shared three small plates—a salad of roasted beets, olive tapenade, sea salt and mozzarella (made there daily, and so fresh and light); a half-dozen oysters representing both coasts; and supplì, deep-fried balls of creamy risotto filled with Cacio di Roma, a sheep’s milk cheese. It tells you everything about the cheerful, friendly atmosphere that strangers stopped to ask us about the supplì, and then about the oysters, and then told us about what they were having and what they were doing in Chicago. Everything was convivial and everything was sublime. Which of course got us talking and thinking about Italian food. Continue reading “Inspired by lunch at Eataly: Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Wilted Kale” →

Making the most of too much: Braised Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes

Oven-braised Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes is a hearty, one-pan meal—perfect for a winter night. Dried minced orange peel adds a bright citrusy note. Recipe below.

I recently remembered a children’s book that was already ancient when I was a child. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, was first published in 1938. It tells the story of a boy who removes his hat as the king passes (as the law says he should), but a new one magically appears in its place. This happens again and again, until the boy is eventually threatened with death if he fails to bare his head.

What got me thinking of young Cubbins’s troubles was a giant bag of Brussels sprouts in our fridge. We try very hard not to waste food, especially fresh produce. But it seemed the more sprouts we took from the bag for various meals, the more there were. To their credit, while they didn’t seem to be diminishing in quantity, they also weren’t going bad. That’s a great thing about most winter vegetables. They reliably last when you need them most. Continue reading “Making the most of too much: Braised Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes” →

Classic Mexican cut of meat meets French technique: Braised Costillos de Puerco

Mexican pork short ribs are given a classic French comfort food treatment, oven braised with aromatics, herbs and wine. Recipe below.

Our neighborhood is rich with little Mexican groceries, each with a small produce section and dairy case (that shuns anything low fat), aisles of canned goods and imported candy, and—no matter how tiny the store—each with its own fresh meat counter, presided over by a living, breathing butcher.

The other night, during one of the rare breaks in the snowfall, I was walking around looking at stuff in the neighborhood and remembered we were out of, well, everything fresh. So I clomped across Diversey to the store we now like the best (it is “the one that is kind of across the street”—our immediate ambit also includes “the one around the corner,” “the creepy one by the El,” and “no, five blocks west is too far”). Continue reading “Classic Mexican cut of meat meets French technique: Braised Costillos de Puerco” →

Healthy, delicious and one-pan easy: Tilapia with White Beans and Kale

Tilapia with White Beans and Kale is a weeknight-quick, one-pan meal. Capers add a bright, briny kick. Recipe below.

INSPIRATION FOR THE RECIPES YOU FIND HERE COMES FROM EVERYWHERE. From restaurant meals to farmers market or grocery store finds, cookbooks, magazines, even random photographs or phrases. This recipe’s origin was much more straightforward. The tilapia fillets in the fridge weren’t getting any younger, and I wanted something other than my usual couple of go-to recipes. Oh, and it had to be quick. We had something to do after dinner. Continue reading “Healthy, delicious and one-pan easy: Tilapia with White Beans and Kale” →