Slow and creamy, with a side of memories: Mushroom Risotto

Butter, a mix of mushrooms, arborio rice, Parmesan and patience add up to a luxuriously creamy, savory, rich meal. Recipe below.

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]e’ve already talked about our wonderful road trip through Quebec this summer. Now that the nights are starting to draw in, I’ve often thought of our favorite meal of the trip—which was at, seriously, a Best Western. And the pinnacle of that meal was a dish of mushroom risotto. Creamy, rich, fragrant, at once rustic and elegant, it was so well made and so unforgettable. Continue reading “Slow and creamy, with a side of memories: Mushroom Risotto” →

Making use of more of our garden’s bounty: Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

Regional variations of Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce are a mainstay on countless Chinese restaurant menus. Here’s how to make it at home. Recipe below.

Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]I[/su_dropcap] have recently written—twice, mind you—about our prolific Romano bean plants. Our single eggplant, er, plant is giving the beans a run for their money, producing endless long, slender Asian eggplants and challenging us to find new ways to prepare them. Instead, I’ve opted for an old way, a classic Chinese dish. Continue reading “Making use of more of our garden’s bounty: Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce” →

Slow, seasonal yard-to-table goodness: Romano Beans with Cashews

In season—and farmers markets—right now, Romano beans are simply, slowly cooked with olive oil, salt and chili pepper, then tossed with lemon juice and chopped cashews for a summery side or a lunch on their own. Recipe below.

Roma Beans

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]he first thing I did when we got home from our latest giant road trip was go out to survey the back 40. What with almost two weeks of neglect and dry weather, I had figured that things in the garden could be anything from merely meh to disastrous. They were actually pretty wonderful! Continue reading “Slow, seasonal yard-to-table goodness: Romano Beans with Cashews” →

Not just for breakfast: a half dozen recipes made with (or made better with) eggs

Salade Frisée aux Lardons

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]E[/su_dropcap]ggs—quick-cooking, affordable, versatile sources of protein—show they can go beyond the breakfast table in these six recipes. Continue reading “Not just for breakfast: a half dozen recipes made with (or made better with) eggs” →

Hard work, serious cravings and a simple recipe: Penne Alla Vodka with Sausage

Penne Alla Vodka, a retro classic of uncertain heritage, combines tomatoes, butter, cream and vodka to create a lively, rich dinner. Leave out the sausage for a satisfying vegetarian meal. Recipe below.

FOR A SINGLE PERSON, OUR OLDER DAUGHTER OWNS A LOT OF STUFF. We know because we just helped her move. Professional movers were hired, but there were still things to pack and label (including six bookcases overflowing with books and a surprisingly vast collection of thrift-shopped ’80s prom dresses), stuff to sort and organize, donations to haul and deliver, recycling to, well, recycle. Continue reading “Hard work, serious cravings and a simple recipe: Penne Alla Vodka with Sausage” →

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” →

Savory, satisfying, meatless: six of our favorite vegetarian recipes

I claim to be an omnivore, but if I’m being honest, I’m more of a carnivore who also appreciates decent sides. I’ve been known to say, “A day without meat is like a day without sunshine.” That said, some really delicious vegetarian recipes have appeared here over the years, some of them even cooked by me. Here are six of our favorites. Continue reading “Savory, satisfying, meatless: six of our favorite vegetarian recipes” →

Eggplant. It’s what’s for dinner. Again. Linguine with Japanese Eggplant and Basil

Some eggplant roasted ahead of time is the base of this weeknight quick vegetarian pasta. Basil, garlic and Parmesan are the other key ingredients. Recipe below.

Our tiny, abundant garden continues to be, well, abundant. So one recent evening, I came home to find Marion roasting eggplants, beets and potatoes. Okay, the potatoes were from the fridge, not our garden, but they weren’t getting any fresher. The beets and potatoes were sides for dinner that night. A few nights later, I turned the eggplant, some basil from the garden and a few always-on-hand ingredients into this quick dinner. Continue reading “Eggplant. It’s what’s for dinner. Again. Linguine with Japanese Eggplant and Basil” →

A winter root vegetable gets a holiday-rich creamy makeover: Puréed Parsnips

Naturally sweet parsnips turn lusciously silky when cooked in cream, milk and butter. Perfect for holiday dinners—or everyday indulgence. Recipe below.

A few weeks ago, Terry wrote about his duck-filled dinners in Omaha. Well, while he was eating all sorts of duck, I was delving into some of my own favorites—not least, wonderful offal. My first Omaha dinner at La Buvette? Lamb kidneys on a bed of puréed parsnips. I just loved the whole thing—the intense, meaty chunks of kidney, the fluffy bed of parsnips. The dark sauce pooling around the white purée and a hearty big red wine alongside. It was a great meal for an autumn evening after a day on the road. And the parsnips were a marvel: at once sweet and savory and silky and faintly earthy. They were just wonderful, and we knew that when we got home, we would have to make some. Continue reading “A winter root vegetable gets a holiday-rich creamy makeover: Puréed Parsnips” →

Getting playful with pesto: five recipes improvise on a summer standard

Pesto is a quintessential summer meal maker—garden fresh, versatile and requiring little or no cooking. Here are five pesto recipes, from the traditional basil to creative takes using sage, cilantro and even kale.

A sudden abundance of basil in our garden has us enjoying quick weeknight—and lazy weekend—dinners of simply prepared pesto with pasta. But it doesn’t always have to team up with pasta. It can be tossed with cooked potatoes and green beans, spooned over grilled meats and fishes—even smeared on crusty bread as a snack or appetizer. And it doesn’t always require basil, as some of these recipes demonstrate. Continue reading “Getting playful with pesto: five recipes improvise on a summer standard” →