Comfort with a kick: Roasted Chili Cumin Chicken with Pickled Red Onions

This Mexican street food-inspired dish packs big flavor, but not too much heat. Two recipes from the archives—and a wedding story—below.

At some point, I’m not sure when, Mexican restaurant food became relegated to comfort food status for us. Something we could count on to be reliably good, filling and cheap, but no longer something we got a hankering for. It wasn’t always this way. At one point, Marion and I ate at a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood at least once a week for a year or more. In fact, we went there on our wedding night, before going barhopping with my mom and my brand new sister-in-law. [read more here…]

Provence redux: Layered Pot Roast with Anchovies, Capers and Garlic

Blue Kitchen is going on a short break for the next few weeks. We are crazy busy with a major project that, no, isn’t a cookbook—or anything even specifically food-related. All is good—we’ll fill you in soon. In the meantime, we’ll be posting recipes from the archives that we especially like. This week, it’s a traditional Provençal pot roast that is toothsome and ridiculously easy. Don’t let the anchovies scare you—they disappear into the dish, leaving only dialed-up umami behind.

A couple of weeks ago, I admitted to being a major Francophile when I wrote about roasting chicken on a bed of lentils. I guess that makes Karin over at Second Act in Altadena an enabler. After reading that post, she told me about three different French cookbooks. Already having more cookbooks than we have shelf space for, I immediately headed for the library website and ordered them. Of course, all three showed up within days of each other. [Read more here…]

Velveting keeps things tender: Stir-fried Chicken with Asparagus

Velveting the chicken before stir-frying it, a simple Chinese cooking technique, keeps the meat moist and tender in Stir-fried Chicken with Asparagus. Recipe below.

WE HAVE A LOT OF VINTAGE CHINA, mostly individual pieces picked up at antique shops, flea markets, yard sales and farm auctions. Some are quite old and fairly valuable, true antiques. Others fall squarely into the collectibles realm. All were chosen because we liked them and wanted to use them on our table. Continue reading “Velveting keeps things tender: Stir-fried Chicken with Asparagus” →

Tomatillo Salsa Verde, uncooked

This no-cook Tomatillo Salsa Verde tastes as fresh as its ingredients—tomatillos, peppers, red onion, garlic and cilantro. Serve it with chips or over chicken, chops, fish, scrambled eggs… Recipe below.

I am officially smitten with tomatillos. The lively, citrusy relative of the tomato, a key ingredient in Mexican and Central American cooking, is as versatile as it is easy to work with. Apparently I’m not alone in my infatuation. When I told colleagues last week of my Chicken Chili Verde adventures, one said she’d made a big pot of her own the week before. And my creative director shared his go-to salsa recipe, a no-cook salsa verde made of tomatillos and just four other ingredients, one of them being salt. Continue reading “Tomatillo Salsa Verde, uncooked” →

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” →

Layered flavors and textures: Creamy Polenta with Mushrooms and Fried Capers

Buttery, creamy, slow-cooked polenta is topped with mushrooms cooked in butter and sherry (optional) and crispy fried capers. A delicious, unexpected side or a vegetarian comfort food lunch. Recipe below.

I’m still learning to cook. The way I see it, I always will be. And that’s the beauty of food and cooking. The more you explore and learn, the more there is to know, to try. Continue reading “Layered flavors and textures: Creamy Polenta with Mushrooms and Fried Capers” →

Two chops, one pot, Indian inspiration: Braised Lamb Chops with Potatoes, Peas and Cumin

Cumin, turmeric and chili powder give this quick, one-pot meal of braised lamb chops with potatoes and peas a delicious Indian twist. Recipe below.

Life is being busy right now, so this post will be about as quick as making this dish is. At the recent International Home + Housewares Show, we ran into Anupy Singla, author of several best-selling Indian cookbooks. We’ve cooked from one of her cookbooks here and eaten food she’s cooked at an event hosted in her home. So we were excited to see what she’s up to now. Continue reading “Two chops, one pot, Indian inspiration: Braised Lamb Chops with Potatoes, Peas and Cumin” →

Chinese cooking made weeknight-quick: Pork and Green Bean Stir Fry

Start marinating pork in the morning with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, mirin and Korean red pepper paste. In the evening, add green beans for a quick, flavorful stir fry. Recipe (and a vegetarian version) below.

I STARTED COOKING CHINESE FOOD BACK IN THE DAY—back before the day, really, when exploratory cooking was not quite a thing yet in North America. I lived in a small college town with a lot of international students, so there were a couple of tiny shops where one could get ingredients like soy sauce (real, actual soy sauce), tofu, chili paste, all these products that today are an ordinary part of our pantries, but back then were… odd. Whatever. I loved trying to figure it out. Continue reading “Chinese cooking made weeknight-quick: Pork and Green Bean Stir Fry” →

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” →

Cooking the basics: Homemade Marinara Sauce

Marinara sauce, a classic Italian red sauce with garlic, onions, herbs and not much more, is easy and weeknight quick to make. Recipe—and variations—below.

This post is about breaking old habits and overcoming fears. In our kitchen, both for the blog and for everyday cooking, we try to work with real ingredients as much as possible, not overly processed foods. (We do count certain canned and frozen goods as ingredients—beans, tomatoes and spinach, for instance.) But for some reason, I’ve resisted making my own marinara sauce. Continue reading “Cooking the basics: Homemade Marinara Sauce” →