A promising hint of spring: Broccoli Rabe and Chicken Quiche

Broccoli rabe (rapini or spring broccoli) and lemon juice add a subtle spring brightness to this quiche. Recipe below.

ONE NIGHT IN LYON, MARION AND HER SISTER HAD DINNER in a little neighborhood restaurant. When they were seated, the waiter asked them one question: “Rouge ou blanc?” Red or white, meaning the wine. Once they chose their wine, there were no more choices—the meal they were served was all determined by the wine. I sometimes think Blue Kitchen is like that. Continue reading “A promising hint of spring: Broccoli Rabe and Chicken Quiche” →

Artichoke Heart and Spinach Quiche? Yes, please

Marinated artichoke hearts and spinach create a subtle, flavorful base for this vegetarian quiche. Recipe below.

I AM ALWAYS READY FOR QUICHE. If we’re out somewhere and see it on the menu, that’s what I’m ordering. I’m also a big fan of artichoke hearts. So recently, when Kalyn Denny shared her recipe for Artichoke, Kale and Ricotta Pie, my first thought was “that looks delicious”—closely followed by my second thought: “artichoke hearts would make a great quiche.” Continue reading “Artichoke Heart and Spinach Quiche? Yes, please” →

Leave it to the French to dial up a favorite side dish: Boursin Mashed Potatoes

Boursin, a garlicky, herby French soft cheese, livens up the flavor of mashed potatoes. Recipe below.

WE LOVE MASHED POTATOES. Our weeknight go-to batch is garlicky mashed potatoes made with peeled yellow potatoes, butter, buttermilk and plenty of garlic. When we came across a recipe for Boursin mashed potatoes, we thought it might dial our favorite side dish up a notch or two. It did exactly that, making them still garlicky, but adding a rich, creamy, cheesy, herby flavor along with the nice texture of bits of red potato skins. Continue reading “Leave it to the French to dial up a favorite side dish: Boursin Mashed Potatoes” →

Fun to make, delicious to eat: Pork and Cabbage Potstickers

These classic Chinese dumplings are an impressive “yeah-I-made-these” appetizer. Recipe below.

MY POTSTICKERS ARE LIKE SNOWFLAKES. NO TWO LOOK EXACTLY ALIKE. In celebration of Lunar New Year, the fun committee of the ad agency where I work hosted a virtual potsticker-making class. Having made our fillings beforehand from shared recipes, there we were in our Google Meet grid, trialing and erroring our way through filling, folding and pleating our dumplings. Continue reading “Fun to make, delicious to eat: Pork and Cabbage Potstickers” →

Weeknight quick comfort food: Instant Pot Korean Beef

Gochujang, a Korean fermented pepper paste, and a host of pan-Asian ingredients create a comforting beefy antidote for winter dinner blahs. Recipe below.

WE SOMETIMES REFER TO OUR APPROACH IN THE KITCHEN as cooking with a magpie eye. Like those inquisitive, acquisitive birds, we’re always looking for shiny new objects. For us, that can mean new-to-us ingredients, techniques, ideas. So when we recently came across recipes for Korean beef, we already had most of the ingredients on hand—and some sense of what they could do together. Continue reading “Weeknight quick comfort food: Instant Pot Korean Beef” →

Bò Kho (Vietnamese beef stew) gets an Instant Pot makeover

Flavors from all over Asia (ginger, lemongrass, five-spice powder, garam masala, fish sauce…) spice up this delicious, aromatic, meaty stew. The Instant Pot speeds it up. Recipe below.

OUR FAMILY LOVES THIS DISH. Hearty, complex, aromatic, it’s a popular favorite over here. Now that we are not eating all that much red meat, this has become even more of a special occasion meal. When one of our daughters found herself able to visit us over the holidays, this was the dish she requested. This time, we made it in the Instant Pot to see how it would work out. Continue reading “Bò Kho (Vietnamese beef stew) gets an Instant Pot makeover” →

Now Instant Pot-ready: Layered Pot Roast with Anchovies, Capers and Garlic

This hearty pot roast made with capers, onions, garlic and anchovies, Grillades à L’Arlésienne, comes from the South of France. Here, it gets an Instant Pot makeover. Recipe below.

OUR HANKERINGS FOR THIS DELICIOUS ROAST always come at the most inopportune times. As in when we don’t have two and a half hours for it to roast after we’ve done the simple prep work. So it was time for an Instant Pot makeover. Continue reading “Now Instant Pot-ready: Layered Pot Roast with Anchovies, Capers and Garlic” →

Authenticish maybe, genuinely delicious: Portuguese-style Beef Stew

Beef stew meat, Portuguese chouriço, bell peppers, paprika and potatoes drive the comforting flavor of this hearty stew. Recipe below.

PORTUGAL POPPED UP ON OUR CULINARY RADAR innocently enough. Not finding anything new we wanted to watch on TV one night, we settled into something old. We had already binge-watched Somebody Feed Phil about a year ago, and Netflix offered it up to us again. The first episode they served up was Lisbon, Portugal. Continue reading “Authenticish maybe, genuinely delicious: Portuguese-style Beef Stew” →

Simple, authentic, delicious: Burmese Green Tomato Salad (kayan chin thi thoke)

Green tomatoes, and some kind of pepper and onion are at the heart of this crisp, tart, easy-to-make traditional Burmese salad. Recipe below.

IT’S OCTOBER. THE DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER, the nights crisp (well, sometimes). The bees are fewer in number and acting kind of drowsy. But the tomato plants, ever cheerful, are still optimistically generating loads of tomatoes. Continue reading “Simple, authentic, delicious: Burmese Green Tomato Salad (kayan chin thi thoke)” →

Exploring an underknown cuisine: Burmese Mango Chicken

A curry sauce made of onions, garlic, ginger, mango and coconut milk is the base for the delicious Burmese chicken dish. Recipe below.

BURMESE RESTAURANTS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN in the United States. So when boredom-inspired antiquing sent us out to the western suburbs last weekend, we knew we would be visiting Pa Lian. Continue reading “Exploring an underknown cuisine: Burmese Mango Chicken” →