Weeknight quick and versatile: Cauliflower with Pears, Pistachios and Eggs

Cauliflower is sautéed with pistachios, ham, sage and pears, then topped with a fried egg for dinner. Add or subtract various ingredients and you’ve got a side, a vegan meal or a pasta dish. Recipe below.

I’ve been kind of out of it for a bit now. Up until two hours ago, I hadn’t eaten anything for two days, and the only thing I’d had to drink was water and ginger ale. All in all I have been one pathetic feeble mess. Then an hour ago, our daughter Laurel came home and asked how I was feeling. “Actually,” I said, “I’m feeling hungry.” “Great!” she said. “I recommend a pear.” Continue reading “Weeknight quick and versatile: Cauliflower with Pears, Pistachios and Eggs” →

Simple, no-cook ideas for upgrading rotisserie chicken dinners

When it’s too hot to cook—or you’re too busy—these easy, no-cook ideas can turn a store-bought rotisserie chicken into a satisfying meal.

The simplest way to make a meal of a rotisserie chicken was once witnessed by Marion’s sister at Costco. A fellow customer purchased his chicken at the store, proceeded to the store dining area and sat down and started eating it. I don’t remember now if some utensils or perhaps a soft drink figured into the meal or not. Continue reading “Simple, no-cook ideas for upgrading rotisserie chicken dinners” →

Pan-grilled Lemon Tarragon Lamb Chops, weeknight quick and naturally tender

A lemon juice/olive oil/tarragon marinade quickly tenderizes lamb shoulder chops and adds a lively citrus note. Recipe below.

Lamb is one of our favorite carnivorous pleasures. And shoulder lamb chops are one of our go-tos for scratching our occasional lamby itch. They’re typically one of the cheaper cuts, they cook quickly and they’re big on flavor. Unfortunately, they can also be chewy. The good news is there are simple techniques to tenderize these delicious chops. Continue reading “Pan-grilled Lemon Tarragon Lamb Chops, weeknight quick and naturally tender” →

Two Irish cookbooks, one hearty weeknight meal: Pork and Potato Cakes

Leftover mashed potatoes combine with ground pork, grated apple, chopped onion and fresh sage for a quick, economical, thoroughly satisfying dinner. Recipe below.

AS ST. PATRICK’S DAY APPROACHES, revving up America’s love of all things Irish, two cookbooks celebrate Ireland’s culinary heritage in very different ways. The first is Irish Pantry: Traditional Breads, Preserves, and Goodies to Feed the Ones You Love, published last November by Running Press. Chef/restaurateur Noel McMeel and writer Lynn Marie Hulsman have teamed up to deliver foods steeped in Irish tradition. Continue reading “Two Irish cookbooks, one hearty weeknight meal: Pork and Potato Cakes” →

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” →

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” →

Seasonal summer cooking, as simple as it gets: Pasta alla Caprese

Pasta turns a classic Italian salad into a quick vegetarian meal, Pasta alla Caprese. Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil are the key ingredients. Recipe below.

The thing about growing tomatoes is this. You plant them as soon as there’s no chance of frost, and then you wait. For a long time, there are no tomatoes. No tomatoes. No tomatoes. Still no tomatoes. And then one day, there are TOMATOES!!! Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, TOMATOES!!! So you find yourself looking for lots of things to do with TOMATOES!!! Continue reading “Seasonal summer cooking, as simple as it gets: Pasta alla Caprese” →

More umami, less meat: Mushroom Lamb Burger

Mushrooms marinated in soy sauce, brandy, garlic and Chinese five-spice powder replace half the lamb in these burgers, for a healthier, umami-rich and satisfyingly meaty meal (and yes, you can substitute ground beef for lamb). Recipe below.

Tom Robbins advises us to “Breathe properly. Stay curious. And eat your beets.” I’m not sure if I do the first and I’ve only in the last few years started doing the last, but I nail the one in the middle. Sports and actuarial tables aside, pretty much everything interests me, and I want to know more. I have what I call a magpie eye, always ready to latch on to some shiny new thing.

Which leads me to another quote—one of my favorites—by one of my favorite photographers, Walker Evans: “Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.” I’ve said here before that I’m not a great cook. But curiosity makes my good cooking better than it might otherwise be. Continue reading “More umami, less meat: Mushroom Lamb Burger” →

Simple, savory and versatile: Korean Kimchi Pancake with Chicken

Savory, crunchy and often spicy, pickled kimchi is the Korean national dish. It’s also the delicious heart of this weeknight-quick pancake. Recipe below.

Kimchi is a living thing—beautiful, colorful, naturally fermented cabbage, rich with garlic, red pepper, fiber and vitamins. When I opened the jar of kimchi to make this pancake, it began bubbling around the edges of the liquid in a very satisfying way.

We first thought of making this pancake a few weeks ago, when we were passing through Rochester, New York and had dinner at Young’s Korean Restaurant. And if you ever happen to be in that part of the world, get your GPS to take you there (and you’ll need it). Young’s is cozy and welcoming, but it is located kind of beyond a dreadful strip mall hell, in the confusing middle of an office park, in what looks like a warehouse on: Mushroom Boulevard. It is just wonderful. Everything we had that night was delicious, the banchan were crunchy and fresh and the humblest dish of all was this simple pancake. It was so unassuming, and yet so flavorful, that I just had to give it a try. Continue reading “Simple, savory and versatile: Korean Kimchi Pancake with Chicken” →

Stir frying for good: Black Pepper Beef with Kampot pepper from the Pepper Project

Black Pepper Beef is a weeknight-quick classic Chinese stir fry. Onion, fresh ginger, red bell pepper, celery, garlic and lots of black pepper offer plenty of flavor. And the Pepper Project helps Cambodian pepper farmers and communities. Recipe below.

One simple ingredient can often make all the difference when you’re cooking. And now that’s more true than ever. The ingredient in this case is black pepper—freshly ground, of course, instead of pre-ground and packed in a tin. Freshly ground peppercorns pop with flavor and fragrance, becoming a true flavor, not just background noise, and you can control the grind, from fine to coarsely cracked.

And in Cambodia, the Pepper Project is making a difference, with pepper. Run by the husband and wife team Tom Gordon and Cris Peterson, the Pepper Project is a not-for-profit enterprise devoted to introducing products of Cambodia to the United States. Through the sales of these products, primarily pepper, they support fair trade for farmers as well as organizations that protect street children, disabled children and victims of sex trafficking. Continue reading “Stir frying for good: Black Pepper Beef with Kampot pepper from the Pepper Project” →