Globe-trotting whole cumin seeds bring a whole lot of flavor to Lamb with Cumin

Whole cumin seeds, jalapeño and red bell peppers, garlic and onions all deliver big taste in this lively Chinese dish. Recipe below.

Cumin gets around. Originally cultivated around the Mediterranean and the Middle East—and in fact found at archeological sites in Babylonia and Egypt—it’s now found in cuisines throughout Asia, Africa, the Americas and parts of Europe.

One of our favorite places to find it is in a lamb with cumin dish served at Lao Beijing, one of Tony Hu’s authentically regional restaurants in Chicago’s Chinatown. Lamb with Cumin is a traditional dish of Mongolia and the neighboring Xinjiang region of western China, but variations have made their way across much of China. Continue reading “Globe-trotting whole cumin seeds bring a whole lot of flavor to Lamb with Cumin” →

Globally inspired: Grilled Tahini-marinated Chicken Tacos

Inspiration and ingredients from Asia, the Middle East, Mexico and possibly even Bakersfield come together in tacos stuffed with grilled chicken marinated in tahini, gin, lemon juice, soy sauce, cumin, garlic and ginger. Recipe below.

One of the benefits (and pitfalls) of writing about food is that everything you put in your mouth is also food for thought. Marion and I don’t go all foodie obsessive and kidnap restaurant conversation with a play-by-play (or bite-by-bite) analysis. But we do store all sorts of information away—new flavor combinations, interesting techniques or ingredients—ever ready to call them up and mash them together into something new.

Which is precisely how these tacos came about. First, tacos are definitely enjoying a moment—I wrote about this delicious phenomenon for the USA Character Blog. Among the more interesting iterations are the Korean tacos at Chicago’s tiny, bustling Del Seoul. Since the first bite, we’ve not gotten these tacos out of our heads. Continue reading “Globally inspired: Grilled Tahini-marinated Chicken Tacos” →

Braised Rabbit, Italian Grandmother Style

Slow cooked with carrots, onions, tomatoes, olives, fresh herbs, wine and brandy, braised rabbit makes an impressive rustic company dinner. Recipe below, including substitutions for rabbit.

Rarely seen in American kitchens, rabbit shows up on dinner tables all over Europe. I’m turning the kitchen over to Marion this week, as she gets in touch with her inner Italian grandmother.

Years back, when I lived in the country, a lady up the road raised rabbits for meat, and it got so pretty much no month went by without some rabbit dish making it to my table. I would walk down to her place, about a mile away (sometimes getting the chance to see the local pheasants, owls and the wacky, kind of scary neighborhood flock of turned-feral guinea hens), make a purchase, then walk back home and cook it. It was inexpensive, delicious, low in fat and versatile. I was crazy about it. Continue reading “Braised Rabbit, Italian Grandmother Style” →

Simply inspired: Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Lemons and Capers

Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Lemons and Capers makes a flavorful, beautiful one-pot meal when paired with a salad. Recipe below.

Recipe ideas can come from just about anywhere. This one began with a comment by Laura over at What I Like on last week’s Meyer Lemon Pizza with Goat Cheese and Bacon recipe. She said, in part, “I love roasted lemons.” I’d never thought of roasting lemons before, but suddenly synapses were firing, and I was picturing roasting little red potatoes with lemons and rosemary. Then I remembered the whole chicken lurking uncooked in the fridge, and things just kind of snowballed.

I love this kind of cooking. As much as I also love poring over cookbooks, magazines and the daily bombardment of Internet food for inspiration, there’s something exciting about starting with the simplest idea (roasted lemons, in this case) and turning it into a meal. Continue reading “Simply inspired: Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Lemons and Capers” →

No sauce needed on lively Meyer Lemon Pizza with Goat Cheese and Bacon

Four simple toppings work together beautifully on this light, flavorful pizza. Recipe below.

The new USDA dietary guidelines came down hard on pizza. In fact, as Jane Black reported in New York magazine, the report singles out pizza as one of the worst things we eat. It is “Americans’ No. 2 source of saturated fat and solid fats” and our “No. 3 source of sodium, beating out cold cuts and even bacon.”

Perversely, reading this made me want pizza. Not that I was craving saturated fats and sodium. It’s just that we rarely eat pizza, and this article reminded me just how delicious it is. So when I was looking around for something to do with the last of our recent windfall of Meyer lemons (thanks again, Christina!), I started thinking pizza. Continue reading “No sauce needed on lively Meyer Lemon Pizza with Goat Cheese and Bacon” →

A month of loving lamb: Lamb Chops with Cherry Marsala Sauce

Lamb chops topped with a sauce of dried tart cherries, Marsala wine, shallots, rosemary and garlic are a perfect way to celebrate Lamb Lovers Month. Recipe below.

THERE ARE LOTS OF REASONS TO LOVE LAMB. So many, in fact, that the American Lamb Board has proclaimed the entire month of February Lamb Lovers Month. All month long, you’ll find recipes, lamb trivia and more on their website. You can even enter a recipe contest and win Date Night Dinner Packages of lamb (of course) and paired wines. Continue reading “A month of loving lamb: Lamb Chops with Cherry Marsala Sauce” →

For Valentine’s Day, a pair of birds you’ll love

Cornish hens roasted on a bed of leeks, olives and Meyer lemons are an impressive, elegant dinner, sure to win hearts on Valentine’s Day. Recipe below.

Marion cooked for me on our first date. I cooked for her on our second date (which was the next night—was I moving too fast?). We only learned much later that cooking for someone this early in a relationship (is it even a relationship on the second date?) can be pitted with minefields. Somehow we survived. Thousands of home cooked meals later, when we want a romantic dinner, home cooking often wins out over restaurants. For this Valentine’s Day dinner, I’m turning the kitchen over to Marion.

When you are thinking about a romantic dinner, presentation is as important as taste. You want to create something that is delicious, but that also honors the beauty of the occasion. And it helps to have something that is easy to assemble, and that you can put together beforehand—no sense fussing around in the kitchen when you could be with your guest, opening the champagne. Continue reading “For Valentine’s Day, a pair of birds you’ll love” →

Celebrating Meat Week: Grilled Pork Roast with Mustard and Fresh Herbs

Marinating boneless pork shoulder with Dijon mustard, garlic and a fresh herb mix adds extra depth to the smoky flavor of this grilled roast. Recipe below.

Meat Week is a great time to know a butcher. Yes, it’s a real holiday, as the official website’s URL somewhat defensively states: meatweekisreal.com. Started in January 2005 by two bored guys in Florida, Meat Week is now observed in 18 cities across the US and, randomly enough, in London. Meat Week is a celebration of all things BBQ. Its primary focus is restaurants that serve BBQ (I’m guessing the two bored founders also aren’t much on cooking). Revelers are encouraged to enjoy eight straight nights of eating BBQ in a specific list of restaurants in each city, in order.

For me, though, learning about Meat Week gave me an excuse to haul my charcoal grill out into the snow and fire it up. Continue reading “Celebrating Meat Week: Grilled Pork Roast with Mustard and Fresh Herbs” →

Another reason to thank a bartender: White Bean Escarole Soup with Turkey Meatballs

White Bean Escarole Soup with Turkey Meatballs is a healthy, hearty, flavorful meal—perfect for a cold winter’s evening. Recipe below.

Never underestimate the power of a bored bartender. In January 2009, Chicago editor and writer Martha Bayne was tending bar at the Hideout, a comfortably divey music venue in an industrial corner of the city. Her midweek shifts meant small crowds and smaller tips, so the bored and broke Ms. Bayne came up with an idea to liven things up and do some good.

What she, fellow staffers and regulars cooked up was Soup and Bread. It’s a weekly free dinner of homemade soups cooked by the aforementioned staff and regulars as well as local musicians, writers, artists and professional cooks. Other treats include fresh bread and the occasional muffins, pie or cookies. While the dinners are nominally free, a donation is suggested. In the two years Soup and Bread has been going, it has raised more than $10,000 for Continue reading “Another reason to thank a bartender: White Bean Escarole Soup with Turkey Meatballs” →

Osso Buco: Italian “Bone with a hole” packs a whole lot of flavor

There are many versions of the classic Northern Italian favorite, osso buco. This one uses slow oven braising to make the meat flavorful, fork tender and moist. Recipe below.

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT USING KITCHEN TWINE that makes me feel like a chef and connects me to the past. Trussing up pork tenderloins or rolled roasts with string says you’re getting serious in the kitchen, in a comfortingly old school way. It was something Julia did. Continue reading “Osso Buco: Italian “Bone with a hole” packs a whole lot of flavor” →