A very simple, very French vinaigrette elevates this mixed greens salad. Recipe below.
ALL OF US WHO LOVE TO COOK CAN THINK OF CERTAIN “AHA!” MOMENTS in our culinary lives. Moments when we’ve learned some new technique or connected a couple of dots and suddenly know something that changes how we cook or how we think about food or, as in the case of this simple vinaigrette, adds a lasting weapon to our food arsenal. Continue reading “Garlicky vinaigrette and a three-legged beagle”
Flavored pasta brings plenty to the table tastewise, so stick with a few simple ingredients. Recipe of sorts below.
We took a road trip to St. Louis last weekend. This was supposed to be a nice, chatty post about the wonderful, underrated city where I grew up and some of its unexpected delights. But things are suddenly hectic at Blue Kitchen. So today I’m just going to focus on its farmers market and one of the delights we discovered there.
Soulard Farmers Market is one of the oldest farmers markets in America and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. It’s been in continuous operation since 1838.
It’s also one of the most colorful farmers markets around. That, as much as the cheap produce to be had, made it part of more Saturdays than not when we lived there and a required stop anytime we visit now. Not manufactured colorfulness like mimes and face painters, either—I’m talking white-haired old ladies sucking down cold cans of Busch beer while doing their weekly shopping at 10 in the morning.
Besides local produce and not so local stuff [I’m assuming the bananas and kiwis I saw weren’t locally grown], you’ll find plants and cut flowers for sale; baked goods [both artisanal and otherwise]; an excellent spice shop; fresh meat; live rabbits, ducks and chickens waiting to become fresh meat; and a pet shop where live animals await a decidedly happier fate. We were happy to learn this visit that the pet shop serves as a kind of no-kill shelter. The kittens and puppies they sell aren’t from pet factories or puppy mills—they take in unwanted litters from people in the neighborhood. And they seem to do a land office business.
There are also purveyors of T-shirts; incense; sunglasses; “art” on mirrors, velvet and other, um, interesting surfaces; tiny doughnuts pumped out and fried by an ingenious little machine that not only cooks and flips them before your eyes, but also lures a steady stream of customers—and last Saturday, at least, a genius of a salesman/showman on par with Ron Popeil and Ed McMahon—Ken Baker. His demonstration of the Super-Shammy, his own invention, bordered on performance art. We bought some. If he had a website, I’d even provide a link here. But he only does business through a P.O. box in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and on QVC and the Home Shopping Network.
This Endive Salad with Blue Cheese and Walnuts always reminds me of one of my favorite little New York bistros. Recipe below.
SOMETIMES A RESTAURANT JUST CLICKS WITH YOU. The food, the setting, the staff—even the moment it’s part of. Lucien, in Manhattan’s East Village, is just such a place for us. The moment it fit so neatly into the first time we ate there was the first time Marion and I managed to get to New York together. Marion had spent lots of time there, and I had made a number of three-day solo forays in search of art, jazz and booze [all plentiful there, by the way]. But we only got around to getting there together when I won a trip for two on Taco Bell’s website a few years ago. Seriously. Continue reading “Endive, blue cheese: A great salad remembered”
Fresh parsley and garlic turn small potatoes into a stellar side. Recipe below.
Parsley has long been the Rodney Dangerfield of herbs, getting little or no respect. For years [in America, at least], it was always curly and its only role was as a look-but-don’t-eat garnish on dinner plates at restaurants just slightly above diners on the food chain—social climbers that fancied themselves “fine dining” establishments. The irony, of course, is that places that use the term “fine dining” are as much about fine dining as people who use the term “classy” have class.
Lately, though, parsley has come into its own as a legitimate herb, especially with the increased availability of the more strongly flavored Italian or flat-leaf variety. Still, parsley doesn’t even appear on the radar screens of many cooks when they’re thinking of herbs, and that’s too bad. To me, parsley has a wonderfully fresh flavor that brings a lot to the party in a wide variety of dishes. It also has a slight peppery taste, not unlike arugula. And it’s the perfect foil for big flavors like garlic—think shrimp scampi.
For all these reasons, I thought I’d do something with parsley for Weekend Herb Blogging. Hosted this week by Sher over at What Did You Eat?, it was started a year ago [that’s seven years ago in blog years] by Kalyn over at Kalyn’s Kitchen. Be sure to check out Sher’s Round-up of WHB Sunday evening or Monday [whenever she gets them all reviewed and posted]. Continue reading “With all due respect: Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Parsley”
Rosemary and mirepoix, a sautéed mix of onion, carrots and celery, are at the heart of rustic, delicious Tuscan beans. Two recipes below.
As much as possible, I try to be a “waste not, want not” kind of guy. So, having some nice rosemary left over from my last week’s Rosemary Apricots post done for Weekend Herb Blogging, I thought I’d make this simple, delicious side dish. Also being a “two birds, one stone” kind of guy, I decided to post this one on Weekend Herb Blogging too. This week, it’s hosted by the newly married Anna over at Morsels and Musings [best wishes, Anna!]. Continue reading “A Little Something on the Side: Tuscan Beans”
Baking and sweet potatoes join forces with cayenne pepper for a lively side. Recipe below.
First things first. I’m doing two postings today—so after you read about this easy, tasty side dish, be sure to check out the cool tool I found at Ikea.
This roasted potato dish is roughly based on one I found on epicurious.com. That recipe used only sweet potatoes. As you can see from the photo, I used both sweet potatoes and baking potatoes. I started doing this because one of my daughters, the antithesis of picky eater by just about any measure, for some reason doesn’t like sweet potatoes. Now I use both because I think the dish looks and tastes more interesting with both. You can use just sweet potatoes or just baking potatoes, if you like.
I like these roasted potatoes for a few reasons. First, when I’m jonesing for some french fries, these will kind of satisfy that craving without all the frying evils. That said, I do indulge my fries desires on occasion, but only on occasion. As Oscar Wilde said, “All things in moderation, including moderation.”
Second, the kick of a little cayenne pepper and the mixing of sweet and baking potatoes actually makes them more interesting than fries, I think. More versatile too. You can pair them with burgers, roast chicken, salmon… or pan seared, bone-in pork chops, as I did the other night.
And finally, after a few minutes of simple prep work up front, you’ve got about a half hour to pull together the rest of the meal while the potatoes roast. Continue reading “A little something on the side: Simple, Spicy Roasted Potatoes”
