A classic summer cocktail gets a fresh twist: Spanish Gin & Tonic

In Spain, the classic gin & tonic gets more relaxed, more creative, more sippably refreshing, with more garnishes and lots of ice. Recipe below.

THE CLASSIC BRITISH GIN & TONIC has been one of my summer go-tos for years. Easy to make, and crisp and refreshing to drink. Turns out Spanish bartenders have long been doing their own take on gin & tonics, amping up the drink’s classic taste with a whole range of interesting garnishes and dialing up its summeryness. Continue reading “A classic summer cocktail gets a fresh twist: Spanish Gin & Tonic” →

Borrowing deep fried tricks for the grill: Szechuan Buttermilk Grilled Chicken

Chicken gets a buttermilk brine and a lively spice mix—Szechuan peppercorns, cumin seeds and Korean red chile powder—then is grilled instead of frying. Recipe below.

Szechuan Buttermilk Grilled Chicken

WE LOVE FRIED CHICKEN, BUT WE DON’T DEEP FRY. Still, when I come across a particularly enticing fried chicken recipe, I’m, well, enticed. That happened last week. Spending more time than was strictly proper studying it, I decided to see what elements of the recipe could translate from deep frying to grilling. Continue reading “Borrowing deep fried tricks for the grill: Szechuan Buttermilk Grilled Chicken” →

Seven recipes for grilling globally

Baked and Grilled Chinese Spareribs

STRAIGHT UP GRILLING—DELICIOUS, RIGHT? Smoke, seasonings, maybe a little barbecue sauce and you’re good to go. But borrow some spices, cooking techniques and flavors from various stops around the world and some wonderful things happen. Just in time for Memorial Day, the semi-official start of grilling season, here are seven globally-inspired recipes. Continue reading “Seven recipes for grilling globally” →

The Korean-Italian mashup you’ll set on repeat: Kimchi Carbonara Linguine

Pasta carbonara, a bacon-rich Italian favorite, gets a cross-cultural makeover with kimchi, Korea’s national dish. Recipe below.

Linguine Kimchi Carbonara

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]C[/su_dropcap]arbonara is one of nature’s perfect foods. Whatever recipe you follow, it involves bacon (or some sort of fatty pork), vegetables and aromatics cooked in bacon fat, pasta, cheese and eggs. Sometimes cream, sometimes not. Like I said, perfect. And now we’ve discovered something that makes it more perfect. Continue reading “The Korean-Italian mashup you’ll set on repeat: Kimchi Carbonara Linguine” →

A new way to love our favorite cheap cut: Chinese-style Short Ribs

Hoisin sauce, ginger, garlic and scallions help flavor these hearty short ribs. You can cook them quickly in your Instant Pot—or braise them slowly in the oven. Recipe below.

WE HAVE COOKED SHORT RIBS SO MANY TIMES, SO MANY WAYS. So when we had dinner guests coming this weekend and spotted beautiful flanken-cut ribs at the meat market, I wondered if I could find a new way to cook them. The answer, of course, was yes. Continue reading “A new way to love our favorite cheap cut: Chinese-style Short Ribs” →

From dinner to dessert to breakfast: five ricotta recipes (and a surprise or two)

Ricotta Chevre Cake

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]his weekend, our daughter who bakes was in town. So she and Marion baked the traditional Italian cake you see here, made with ricotta, goat cheese, dried tart cherries and a mere seven tablespoons of flour. More about this cake later, but it got me thinking about ricotta. Continue reading “From dinner to dessert to breakfast: five ricotta recipes (and a surprise or two)” →

Authentic Indian cooking deliciously decoded: Dal Makhani (Buttery Black Lentils)

Make this flavorful, spicy vegetarian main dish in your slow cooker—you can start it in the morning, then return home to a heavenly fragrance and meal. Recipe below.

OUR WONDERFUL FRIEND ANUPY SINGLA IS A POWERHOUSE. Prolific blogger (over at Indian as Apple Pie), author of numerous cookbooks that make Indian food accessible for the American kitchen and entrepreneur with a bustling company offering delicious Indian ingredients to make the whole thing even easier. Continue reading “Authentic Indian cooking deliciously decoded: Dal Makhani (Buttery Black Lentils)” →

Liven up your staples and your dinner: “Old Godmother” Oven-braised Chicken

A handful of Asian pantry/fridge staples turns chicken thighs into a delicious, weeknight-quick dinner. Recipe below.

“Old Godmother” Oven-braised Chicken

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]H[/su_dropcap]ere is a very simple, very tasty weeknight dish. So simple, in fact, that we thought it was only going to be dinner, not a post. But as it baked in the oven, the aroma filling the kitchen told us we should photograph it, just in case. Continue reading “Liven up your staples and your dinner: “Old Godmother” Oven-braised Chicken” →

Why Irish eyes are smiling: Colcannon

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” →

How the French do rustic: Chicken Chasseur (Hunter’s Chicken)

Chicken, mushrooms and tomatoes are at the heart of this rustic, one-pot dinner, traditionally cooked by French hunters. Recipe below.

Chicken Chasseur

[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)” →