Potatoes, cabbage, leeks and plenty of butter cook into a humble-sounding, but luxuriously creamy traditional Irish favorite, colcannon. Recipe below.
WE LOVE POTATOES. WE LOVE CABBAGE. So how have we never heard of colcannon? Now, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day (a coincidence?), we have. The humble beginnings of colcannon, a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage, belie its heavenly flavor. Continue reading “Why Irish eyes are smiling: Colcannon”
Chicken, mushrooms and tomatoes are at the heart of this rustic, one-pot dinner, traditionally cooked by French hunters. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]L[/su_dropcap]ast week’s recipe, Marion’s Polish Hunter’s Stew, came about because John over at Kitchen Riffs shared a recipe for an Italian hunter’s dish, Chicken Cacciatore. When I saw it, I realized Marion had never made bigos for the blog and put in a request. (We’ll share a link to John’s recipe in the Kitchen Notes below.) So when I saw a French hunter’s dish somewhere else, I of course had to make it. Continue reading “How the French do rustic: Chicken Chasseur (Hunter’s Chicken)”
Kielbasa, pork roast, chicken, sauerkraut and cabbage anchor bigos, a hearty stew and Poland’s national dish. Recipe below.
TECHNICALLY, MARCH 1 IS THE END OF METEOROLOGICAL WINTER. So why is the weather still so wildly cold? In fact, just before sitting down to write this, I saw that this coming weekend we will be in a bubble of frigid air that will be the coldest on the planet. How can we face it? The answer, of course, is bigos. Continue reading “Meat, sauerkraut and warm, delicious traditions: Bigos, Polish Hunter’s Stew”
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.
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”
Kimchi adds a garlicky, tangy, spicy kick to a chicken and potatoes hash. Recipe below.
[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”
Barbacoa is a flavorful Mexican meat preparation with many variations. Here, it’s cooked in an Instant Pot and served as tacos. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]I[/su_dropcap]t is colder in Chicago right now than in Antarctica. And the North Pole. And Mount Everest. But even before the polar vortex bore down on us this week, bringing the coldest weather in a generation, snow and cold had us thinking of meaty, stewy, cozy dishes. And as luck would have it, Marion had recently come across a barbacoa recipe. Continue reading “A traditional Mexican favorite, not so slow cooked: Beef Barbacoa Tacos”
This traditional Quebecois soup turns dried yellow peas, smoked ham hock, aromatics and broth into a simple, comforting meal. Recipe below.
WHEN I WAS A KID IN DETROIT, our family was all about practical home cooking from fresh ingredients. One of the few prepared foods that was a regular part of the rotation came in a can: Habitant French-Canadian Pea Soup. And, you know, all these years later, I still love this soup—and, wonderfully, it still tastes the same: hearty, soothing, and delicious. It’s still a part of our lives, even though now, to buy it, we have to drive to Canada. Continue reading “A warming soup from people who understand the cold: French Canadian Pea Soup”
Pasta and lentils—pasta e lenticchie—is a traditional Italian favorite with many versions. Here’s ours. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]his week’s recipe began with six words: Tortellini, Lentils/Collard Greens/Pork Sausage. Lifestyle website InsideHook asked six Michelin-starred Chicago chefs to name their favorite meals in town, and Lee Wolen at BOKA called out the pasta dishes at Daisies. Those six words were the full menu description of one of those pastas. Continue reading “Lentils and pasta in one delicious, traditional dish: Pasta e Lenticchie”
As popular as pizza in Japan, karaage is an ideal appetizer—chunks of chicken thigh marinated in soy sauce, sake, mirin and aromatics, then dipped in potato starch and quickly fried. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]hen we are in Detroit, which is every few weeks these days, we almost always find some reason/excuse to have dinner at Johnny Noodle King. This small, busy, fast-moving joint is always bustling and always full of all sorts of people who happily line up for a bowl of ramen, a nice drink and some terrific Japanese-inspired snacks. Continue reading “Karaage: Chinese-style Japanese fried chicken”
Butter, a mix of mushrooms, arborio rice, Parmesan and patience add up to a luxuriously creamy, savory, rich meal. Recipe below.
[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”