Four recipes for versatile, quick(ish) lentils

Lentils cook up faster than most other dried beans and pulses, usually in 30 minutes or so without soaking. No wonder they’re favored by so many cultures. Here are four flavorful ways to use them.

We’re quickly becoming regulars at the recently reopened Johnny’s Grill in our Logan Square neighborhood. Besides great cocktails and elevated takes on standard diner fare, Johnny’s new chef/owner Sarah Jordan offers delicious surprises like an excellent fish & chips and a fragrant red lentil dal. The latter, a staple of Indian subcontinent cuisine, inspired this post. Continue reading “Four recipes for versatile, quick(ish) lentils” →

Taking miso beyond soup: chunky, fork tender Miso Braised Pork Shoulder

Winter is getting ready to prove to Chicago—and the upper Midwest—that it isn’t done with us yet. This oven-braised Miso Pork Shoulder first appeared on Blue Kitchen in November 2012, and it’s the perfect antidote for the coming snowy cold. Recipe below.

What’s the traditional sixth anniversary gift? If it’s a food blog anniversary, I’m going with pork. Yes, Blue Kitchen is six years old this month. A lot has changed for me foodwise in that time. For one thing, I feel like I know more about food than when I started—including how ungodly much I don’t know and will never know. But some things have remained the same, like my willingness to borrow ingredients from the global pantry and use them authentically or otherwise. This week, that ingredient is miso paste. [Read more here…]

All the comforts of restaurant: Egg Drop Soup

This six-ingredient egg drop soup is as impressively restaurant-authentic as it is quick and easy to make. Recipe below.

THE LINE BETWEEN HOME COOKING AND RESTAURANT COOKING can get blurry at times. There’s a whole subset of restaurants that tries to serve—or at least convince us they’re serving—homestyle cooking. And in kitchens around the world, home cooks obsess over recreating chef-driven restaurant meals. But there’s another style of restaurant cooking that’s often overlooked at home, not complex or seasonal or locally sourced. Just humble fare, but soul-satisfyingly comforting. This is one of those recipes. Continue reading “All the comforts of restaurant: Egg Drop Soup” →

Not a TV dinner, but television-inspired: Chicken Fennel Soup

Fennel bulb, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, chicken, cannellini beans, pasta and lemon. What else do you need to know? Recipe below.

I’ve been not cooking lately. Yes, we’ve been crazy busy at times, with long hours away from home and non-meshing schedules. But it’s been more than that or simple midwinter malaise. I just didn’t seem to be in the mood to get in the kitchen, even when all the ingredients for a particular dish were in the house. I needed a kick in the pants to get over myself. It came in the form of a PBS show. Continue reading “Not a TV dinner, but television-inspired: Chicken Fennel Soup” →

Cooking with cabbage’s sweeter, prettier sibling: Savoy Cabbage Potato Soup

Mild, beautiful Savoy cabbage is the base for this simple, comforting, creamy soup. Recipe below.

A LITTLE WHILE AGO I WAS VISITING ONE OF OUR DAUGHTERS, who was a bit under the weather, and when I asked her if there was anything I could fix for her, she handed me a recipe for a Savoy cabbage potato soup. I don’t know where she got it—there are a lot of recipes kind of like this floating around online—but it looked so easy and direct that I was happy to give it a try. Continue reading “Cooking with cabbage’s sweeter, prettier sibling: Savoy Cabbage Potato Soup” →

Too good to save for cold weather: Marion’s Simplified Three-bean Chili

Besides meat, beans and various spices, this weeknight-quick chili includes surprises like red wine and coffee. Recipe below.

FOR MANY PEOPLE, CHILI SEASON IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. For us, it’s always chili season. While a steaming bowl of chili may be especially comforting when winter’s chill settles in, we are always up for a good bowl of red. Like the one you see here. It’s from a batch I made the other night, with the temperature and humidity both flirting with 90. Continue reading “Too good to save for cold weather: Marion’s Simplified Three-bean Chili” →

Too cool: seven cold soups for summer

Soup doesn’t have to be relegated to cold weather. Here are seven chilled soups from the Blue Kitchen archives.

We took a quick road trip to upstate New York last weekend. There was a practical reason for the trip, helping one of our daughters move, but there was also plenty of pleasure, much of it food-based. (I know you’re surprised.) And even though we’re in the thick of summer, soups were part of that pleasure. Continue reading “Too cool: seven cold soups for summer” →

Changing up chili with chicken and tomatillos: Chicken Chili Verde

Replacing tomatoes with tomatillos gives the tradition bowl of red a nice green hue and a fresh, lively flavor. Recipe below.

A friend once called me a Border Collie. I took her label as a compliment. It’s not that I’m covered in black and white fur, or that I herd sheep. It’s that I seem to be constantly moving, doing things, covering ground. When Marion and I travel, that’s certainly our style. We arrive anywhere we go with an impossibly long list of museums, restaurants, shops, events to attend, friends to visit… Our weekends are often similarly overbooked. Continue reading “Changing up chili with chicken and tomatillos: Chicken Chili Verde” →

Five recipes, five favorite bloggers

One of the fun things about writing a food blog is getting to know other food bloggers—even if it’s only “knowing” them from their blogs. This week, I thought I would share recipes from five fellow bloggers I read pretty regularly. Dig in. Continue reading “Five recipes, five favorite bloggers” →

Spicy, tangy Korean comfort: Kimchi Soup with Pork Belly and Tofu

The savory, pungent, spicy goodness of Kimchi Soup with Pork Belly and Tofu will fend off just about anything winter throws at you. Recipe below.

Compared to Boston and other points east, we’re not having a bad winter in Chicago. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t getting to us. Multiple days of mostly single digit temperatures and sub-zero windchills have gotten old. And then there were the unexpected snow squalls Sunday, wrecking our plans for the day and causing a 38-car accident on a downtown expressway. It was time for some serious comfort food. Continue reading “Spicy, tangy Korean comfort: Kimchi Soup with Pork Belly and Tofu” →