Aptly named, make-it-again delicious: Weeknight Spicy Tofu Stir Fry

Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp adds crunchy, garlicky spiciness to celery, bell peppers, garlic, ginger and extra firm tofu in this quick vegan stir fry. Recipe below.

IN RECENT DAYS, WE’VE SEEN A NUMBER OF ARTICLES in which food writers and chefs stuck at home and even regular folks talk about the extras they need to have in their kitchen—not the basic pantry items like beans or tinned fish or unbleached flour, but basics-plus—the things that bring a dish to life, that are the foundations of their palates and styles. Preserved lemons, black garlic, 5-year cheddar, harissa paste, Plugra butter, fish sauce, Tabasco, gochujang. Continue reading “Aptly named, make-it-again delicious: Weeknight Spicy Tofu Stir Fry” →

Is drunk cooking even a thing? It can be: Midnight Spaghetti

Olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovy fillets, red pepper flakes, Parmesan and parsley create a simple, lively sauce for late-night pasta. Recipe below.

Midnight Spaghetti

MIDNIGHT SPAGHETTI HAD US AT THE NAME. It just sounds like something that comes together quickly with things you have on hand. Something you can actually do after a night out involving wine or cocktails, and even if the wine is still flowing while you cook. When it’s midnight and you’re suddenly hungry, but for something cooler than drive thru fare. Continue reading “Is drunk cooking even a thing? It can be: Midnight Spaghetti” →

An accidental restaurant and an enduring soup: Balaban’s Chilled Cucumber Bisque

This rich, creamy chilled cucumber bisque is an elegant starter. Make it up to a day ahead to give it time to chill. Recipe below.

RECENT NEWS MADE MY FORMER-SAINT-LOUISAN-PERENNIAL-FOODLOVER HEART SKIP A BEAT: the restaurant Balaban’s is moving back to the city. And according to a press release, the new owner is bringing back its “original menu and signature dishes.” For Marion and me, that means this glorious soup. Continue reading “An accidental restaurant and an enduring soup: Balaban’s Chilled Cucumber Bisque” →

A quick-cooking, show-stealing dish: Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans

In the Instant Pot, dried black beans and a handful of ingredients turn into a luxuriously delicious side or main course in 45 minutes, no presoaking, no sautéing, no fuss. Recipe below.

Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans

THE FIRST TIME I EVER HAD BLACK BEANS was in a tiny restaurant somewhere in upstate New York, in the form of black bean soup. I was ever so young and ever so inexperienced. I don’t remember anything about the restaurant except that it was small and friendly, and the windows looked out on hemlock trees, and our waiter, a tall, calm woman, was also the sole front of house person and likely the owner and possibly one of the cooks. Continue reading “A quick-cooking, show-stealing dish: Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans” →

Quick, simple, satisfying: Chicken Kimchi Hash

Kimchi adds a garlicky, tangy, spicy kick to a chicken and potatoes hash. Recipe below.

Chicken Kimchi Hash

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e love kimchi so much. We try to have a jar of it in the fridge at all times. And while we mix it in all sorts of things, most often we just snack on it, and I’m not embarrassed to say that this often takes the form of straight from the jar, in front of the open refrigerator.

Sunday afternoon, we were randomly driving around, taking care of a few little errands and musing about what to fix for dinner. It was really cold and windy out, and we were a bit under the weather, so we were trying to puzzle out something that would be full of comfort and heartiness and simplicity. Continue reading “Quick, simple, satisfying: Chicken Kimchi Hash” →

Turkey overload antidote: Pan-seared, oven-finished Steak with Mustard Sauce

New York strip steak is topped with a simple sauce of cream, brandy and Dijon mustard. Recipe below.

Steak with Mustard Sauce

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e loved our Thanksgiving turkey. We loved sitting down to dinner with family, sharing the roast turkey, the sides, the three(!) desserts. We loved the leftover turkey—on plates with also leftover sides; in sandwiches; random bites nabbed from the container and eaten cold; reheated in an impromptu sauce with aromatics and served over rice. Then suddenly, we didn’t love the turkey. It was time for steak. Continue reading “Turkey overload antidote: Pan-seared, oven-finished Steak with Mustard Sauce” →

A new-to-us ingredient from Ancient Rome makes Linguine Colatura di Alici sing

Colatura di Alici, an Italian fish sauce, brings savory deliciousness to a quick, simple pasta. Recipe below.

The oddest little things catch my eye in the most random places. And lots of recipes here start that way. In a recent issue of New York magazine, a description of ribs at Danny Meyer’s Vini e Fritti included “After a toss in a sticky mix of Calabrian chiles, honey, vinegar, and the Italian fish sauce colatura…” Italian fish sauce? I stopped reading and started Googling. Continue reading “A new-to-us ingredient from Ancient Rome makes Linguine Colatura di Alici sing” →

Breakfast for dinner: Breakfast Pasta with Bacon and Kale

Bacon, kale and a freshly beaten egg give this weeknight-quick pasta a satisfyingly breakfasty flavor. Recipe below.

Our younger daughter just moved to a new city and started a rewarding, but demanding, job. To her credit, she is still managing to cook at home more often than not. Sunday evenings will often find her cooking a batch of something that will serve as at least a few lunches. For dinners, she frequently improvises something like this quick pasta. Continue reading “Breakfast for dinner: Breakfast Pasta with Bacon and Kale” →

Hold the ketchup, hold everything: Turkey Feta Burgers are just plain good

Made with ground turkey, feta and dried herbs, these pan-cooked burgers are so flavorful, they don’t need condiments. Recipe below.

I CAME UP WITH THIS RECIPE A FEW WEEKS AGO in the middle of a complicated family project that had me working very long hours with not much time to do things like eat. It was exhausting. Then one day I was in the grocery store and saw some ground turkey, of all things, and thought animal protein, and then it had somehow leaped into my cart and the must eat animal protein trance was falling over me and then I was home, rummaging around in the fridge, hunting for saute pans in a frenzy, and next thing I knew, I was putting these burgers on plates, and thinking how handsome they looked and, in the moments before they vanished, how good they smelled. The whole thing was amazing. Continue reading “Hold the ketchup, hold everything: Turkey Feta Burgers are just plain good” →

Bright, springy, bacon-y: Fettuccine with Asparagus, Bacon and Lemon

Slender, fresh asparagus teams up with lemon, bacon and Parmesan for a bold pasta dish that tastes like spring. Recipe below.

I always love when those first bunches of tender, slender asparagus show up in markets and grocery stores. For me, this first asparagus tastes like spring. I always overbuy and overindulge, because I know all too soon, the brawnier, cigar-thick, woody stalks will take its place. I overbought last weekend at Detroit’s Eastern Market, getting two big, beautiful bunches. Also overbought on lemons, from the same enterprising vendor. From there, this recipe practically wrote itself. Continue reading “Bright, springy, bacon-y: Fettuccine with Asparagus, Bacon and Lemon” →